Globalization is still the best way for individual economies, and a competitive marketplace, to thrive
Is this the beginning of the end for globalization? That’s what some commentators hinted at last week after the stunning result of the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, or Brexit. The Leave campaign earned 51.89 per cent support (17,410,742 votes), while Remain finished at 48.11 per cent (16,141,241 votes). This led to an eruption…
The EU made a terrible mistake in the early '90s by choosing to massively enlarge its membership rather than strengthening its core
All of this was avoidable. British Prime Minister David Cameron may have lit the fuse that may lead to the disintegration of the European Union, but it was the EU’s own actions in the early 1990s that proved to be the powder keg. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe faced a critical decision:…
The referendum has aggravated growing concern about the instability of the global economic landscape
The Brexit referendum result has the makings of a global financial disaster. Fifty-two per cent of United Kingdom citizens who recently went to the polls voted in favour of leaving the European Union. It's a decision that will be felt around the world for years. In fact, the Brexit vote will have gigantic economic repercussions…
The EU’s resolve to continue sanctions against Russia may well weaken, with the nations of Eastern Europe caught in the crosshairs
Britons’ June 23 vote to leave the European Union set the stage for a multi-year period of negotiations that will allow Great Britain to revise the terms of its participation in the EU and possibly lead to a complete withdrawal from the organization. The results, which triggered the resignation of British Prime Minister David Cameron,…
The next crisis will be triggered by the mounting bad debts of commercial banks
A new financial crisis is brewing in Europe, one that will prove as devastating as the last economic crisis. This one will also be centered in southern Europe, only, this time, instead of being triggered by the rising debt of the region’s governments, it will be triggered by the mounting bad debts of commercial banks.…
Brexit proponents fail to recognize how important Europe is to Britain's economy, and how critical Britain is to Europe's stability
Voters in Britain will determine the fate of the European Union on June 23. A decision to ‘Brexit' – leave the 28-nation EU – could have far-reaching implications for Britain and the world. Arguments for Britain leaving the EU tend to focus on seemingly irrational fears: fear of being swamped by foreign immigration, fear of British…
The tension between nationalists and globalists is very real and we’ll have to live with the consequences of how it turns out
Scratch the surface on many of today’s contentious topics and you’ll find the clash between nationalism and globalism at the heart. While some people worry that the concept of national sovereignty and control is being eroded, others see such a development as a feature rather than a bug. To the nationalist, preserving national identity and…
The UK’s relationship to what is now called the European Union has always been ambivalent
With Scotland’s independence referendum in the rear-view mirror, the UK is on course for another mass public consultation, perhaps even as early as this coming June. The question will be direct: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union? This is known in media parlance as Brexit,…
The intellectual divorce between economics and political science led to the Greek crisis
Economics is a subject with a long and distinguished pedigree, featuring such towering intellectuals and philosophers as Plato and Aristotle to economists like Sir James Steuart and Francois Quesnay, the Frenchman who gave the study its modern foundations. Unfortunately, the discipline split into two distinctive subject areas in the 20th century – economics and political…
Absent its own currency and the ability to conduct an independent monetary policy, no country can be really sovereign
As I write this, the Greek drama is at its umpteenth crisis point. Will it go over the brink this time? If it does, could it conceivably take the euro with it? And what in heaven’s name is going on in Europe – purportedly the world’s most sophisticated polity. Theoretically, the 1648 Peace of Westphalia…