Cogito Ergo Non Serviam

Right and Left Being Replaced by Open and Closed

The ideological divide of right and left has persisted since the French Revolution when the Girondist supporters of the old regime sat on the right of the Convention Hall and the Montagnards who opposed them sat on the left. During the 19th and 20th centuries, these terms evolved such that the right was capitalist and the left socialist. Something is happening in the politics of the developed world that renders these two terms obsolete. The smart kids at the Economist have labeled the new dichotomy open versus closed. While the realignment will take a decade or two to be completed, their new terms seem to fit.

Nationalism, the evil twin of patriotism, is replacing the idea of market economics as the driving force among parties currently called "right wing." Donald Trump has said "Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo." The Brexit supporters said they wanted immigration to Britain governed by the British government, not Brussels. In France, the National Front is a serious political force rather than an unwieldy vehicle of protest votes.

On the left, internationalism is clashing with working class, blue collar interests. One can either support free movement of people and the cultural enrichment that brings or one can support keeping jobs in one country because it is in that nation's social interest rather than its economic interests. The two, however, are mutually exclusive.

The communications revolution and the decline of manufacturing have changed the global economy. Information workers are more valuable and those who bang metal less so. Winners and losers exist, and governments around the world have done nothing to address the losses while cheering the gains. Yet, those who have fallen behind are still members of society, and they are angry.

The result is a division based on the effects of globalization and greater information flow. Those left behind believe something has been stolen from them, and they want it back. To achieve this, they want to move the clock back to the "good ol' days." Trumpism is nothing more and nothing less than wanting to return America to the 1950s. The nativists of the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, France, and other European countries long for a time when everyone was white and Sundays were boring.

Many of the winners believe, wrongly, that they played by the rules, succeeded and those left behind are just sore losers. A 25-year-old coder simply can't understand why his 55-year-old steelworking uncle didn't retrain and learn a new trade. Retraining costs time and money; not everyone has an unlimited supply of either.

The Economist offers a partial prescription that this journals believes wholeheartedly:

Trade creates many losers, and rapid immigration can disrupt communities. But the best way to address these problems is not to throw up barriers. It is to devise bold policies that preserve the benefits of openness while alleviating its side-effects. Let goods and investment flow freely, but strengthen the social safety-net to offer support and new opportunities for those whose jobs are destroyed. To manage immigration flows better, invest in public infrastructure, ensure that immigrants work and allow for rules that limit surges of people (just as global trade rules allow countries to limit surges in imports). But don't equate managing globalisation with abandoning it.