So Much Unfairness of Things

In the session "A Business Manifesto for Globalization" at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, economist Joseph Stiglitz said that as a result of globalization "countries as a whole have gained more than they have lost but that doesn't mean that individuals as a whole are better off." Renault and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn remarked: "Most people who are hurt or think they are hurt by globalization know it; most people who benefit do not know it."

So who are the winners and losers in this age of rapid and merciless globalization? There are the impoverished of course, but many of the poor particularly in Africa are losing out because they remain untouched by globalization and have not yet benefited from the advantages that it can bring. What about those people whose lives have been humming along nicely but are now finding themselves outsourced or outfought in the competition for jobs or customers? One panelist yesterday said that more people are appreciating the unfairness of globalization because it is hitting skilled workers in the knowledge-based and service industries - middle-class folks in uncompetitive sectors or without niche skills that keep their jobs secure. These are the persons whom globalization is bringing down or at least tripping up. They see the rich get richer, while they stay still or even fall back.

On the first day of the meeting, Arianna Huffington spoke at the US update session of how middle-class Americans are using credit card debt to buy basic necessities. From our own experience in journalism over the years, we know of many professionals our age (40s) and older who have been "globalized" out of their jobs and have struggled to find new employment, full employment or new careers. Many knowledge workers who thought that their education and skill sets had set them up for life have suddenly found themselves sliding off the globalization wave. We're guessing that the erosion of the middle class is so shocking in many countries where upward mobility has become the norm if not part of the culture. If whole groups of people fall back and have to moderate their expectations, that will only create more divides in this divided world.

So it was quite refreshing to hear Larry Summers, the former Harvard President and ex-US treasury secretary, speak about the unfairness of things and the elitism - intended or unintended - that even the most enlightened may be party to. When a participant at the session on freedom suggested that the "spirit of Davos" might be the basis for a framework of global governance, Summers said: "There is a great and profound concern about the cosmopolitization of elites. There is a deep concern that this networking of the elite is not something that is fundamentally directed at the interests of regular working people - people who work hard and play by the rules."

Globalization is now a personal matter. Many ordinary, earnest people who expected to live comfortable lives in clean, well-lighted places have found that even if they play by the rules and work hard, they might not get on; they may even go backwards. Life is no longer so simple.