Ch. 1, The Hidden Promise:
Liberty Renewed
Micklethwait & Wooldridge (Excerpted from
Micklethwait & Wooldridge, “The Hidden
Promise…,” in A Future Perfect: The Essentials of
Globalization, Heinemann, 2000)
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*The benefits of GL are not only
economic, but also political and
cultural
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Benefits of GL not only economic,
but also political and cultural



Increases efficiency & prosperity
Puts limits on government power
Promotes freedom
• “the most fundamental freedom of all –
the freedom to define our identities”
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“A measured defense of globalization”

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Yes, GL increases inequality--but
“the winners hugely outnumber the
losers”
Yes, GL can make bad government
worse--but focus should be on
improving governance
Yes, GL weakens nation-states--but
they remain the fundamental unit in
modern politics
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nation-state

a state that derives its political legitimacy from
serving as a sovereign entity
• state sovereignty is control/authority over a territory


the state is a political entity
the nation is a cultural entity
• "nation-state" implies that the two geographically
coincide, and this distinguishes the nation-state from the
other types of state, which historically preceded it
• the nation is the identity attached to a state

in everyday terms, we usually say “country” to
refer to a nation-state
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Economic benefits


GL makes us richer – or makes
enough of us richer to make it
worthwhile
GL is not a zero-sum game
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zero-sum game

a situation in which a gain by one
party must be matched by a loss by
another party (a person or side)
• GL is positive sum – there’s more
wealth to go around
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Political benefits

GL puts limits on the power of
governments
 lowers opportunities for corruption and crony
capitalism

GL spreads political culture based on
liberty to areas that have been longing to
embrace it for years
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crony capitalism

a pejorative term for an allegedly
capitalist economy in which market
success is determined by connections
between business & government
• e.g, favoritism in granting of gov’t
contracts, special tax breaks, exemption
from regulation, distribution of permits,
etc.
(Stiglitz 2002, Globalization and its Discontents)
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Those who say GL just means a
"change of master”-replacing corrupt
gov’ts w/ ruthless TNCs-are wrong

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Increased availability of capital and
technology favors small companies
Of course, current business elites
who benefit from status quo feel
threatened by GL
• GL gives them more competition
• That’s why many elites try to restrict it
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Cultural benefits

GL undermines the "tyranny of
place"
• Gives people freedom to define their
own identities

This gives rise to battle between liberals and
communitarians
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Liberals vs Communitarians

For communitarians, the community/
group takes priority over the
individual
• worry that GL weakens communities,
reduces local, face-to-face interaction,
fostering anomie
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anomie
• briefly, a social condition characterized
by weak social norms, or lack of moral
regulation

e.g., the protagonist in the film, "Up in the
Air"
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GL worthwhile, on economic,
political, and cultural grounds

GL may not be delivering the “liberal
dream,” but it's delivering enough to
make it worth pressing forward and
worth defending on more than just
narrow economic grounds
• Giving birth to an economy closer to the
classical theoretical model of capitalism
(low government intervention, perfect
information, etc.)
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