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Defending Globalization

Facts and Myths about the Global Economy and its Fundamental Humanity

Original essays about the ideas and facts underlying globalization, rebutting the most common arguments against globalization today and educating readers on the intersection of globalization and our societies and cultures.

• Published By Cato Institute

The COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, simmering US-China tensions, and rising global populism have led to globalization facing renewed attention—and criticism—from politicians and pundits across the political spectrum. Like any market phenomenon, the free movement of people, things, money, and ideas across natural or political borders is imperfect and often disruptive. But it has also produced undeniable benefits—for the United States and the world—that no other system can match. And it’s been going on since the dawn of recorded history.

The original essays from both Cato Institute scholars and outside contributors compiled in this volume offer a diverse range of perspectives on globalization—what it is, what it has produced, what its alternatives are, and what people think about it—and offer a strong, proactive case for more global integration in the years ahead.

Covering the basic economic and political ideas and historical facts underlying globalization, rebutting the most common arguments against globalization today, and educating readers on the intersection of globalization and our societies and cultures—from where we live to what clothes we wear and what foods we eat—Defending Globalization will not just educate and entertain readers but also demonstrate the essential humanity of international trade and migration—and why the United States and the rest of the world need more of it.

Contributors include Deirdre N. McCloskey, James Bacchus, Johan Norberg, Daniel W. Drezner, Jeb Hensarling, Marian L. Tupy, and Tom G. Palmer.

Defending Globalization logo with earth illustration
Featured Project

Defending Globalization

Defending Globalization is a new Cato Institute multimedia project on all aspects of the fundamentally human activity that we call “globalization.” Globalization today faces renewed attention—and criticism. Like any market phenomenon, the free movement of people, things, money, and ideas across natural or political borders is imperfect and often disruptive. But it has also produced undeniable benefits—for the United States and the world—that no other system can match.

Praise for Defending Globalization

Defending Globalization is one of the most comprehensive, insightful, and easily accessible accounts of globalization that I have seen in some time. From its basic explanations of what globalization actually is to its discourse on how this phenomenon is being reshaped in a changing world—a process we at the World Trade Organization term ‘reglobalization’—the book offers up nuggets of valuable information on globalization’s resilience. It also shares exciting information on the global trade front of a resurgence in services trade with new growth in digitally driven services and green trade. The book is a primer for all those who want to join the debate on what is actually happening with globalization in the 21st century!”

—Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, director-general, World Trade Organization

“Scott Lincicome, Clark Packard, and their fellow authors have made an important and persuasive contribution to the national debate in their compilation of essays explaining the benefits of globalization. As they document, the standard of living of ordinary Americans has improved enormously because we have generally been free to exchange goods, services, capital, and ideas with people all over the world. Congress should take note.”

—Pat Toomey (PA), former ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

“This wide-ranging collection of superb essays will inform and entertain all readers about the globalization debate today. Everyone from students to trade practitioners will learn and benefit from the contributions in this volume.”

—Douglas A. Irwin, author, Clashing over Commerce: A History of US Trade Policy

“The Cato Institute’s work on globalization is among the smartest and most original of all the think tanks and commentators in the field. It’s rooted in strong beliefs without being polemic and accessible without being glib.”

—Alan Beattie, senior trade writer, Financial Times

About the editors

Scott Lincicome is the vice president of general economics and the Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. He is also a senior visiting lecturer at Duke University Law School, where he has taught a course on international trade law and previously taught international trade policy as a visiting lecturer. Lincicome has written on numerous economic issues, including international trade; subsidies and industrial policy; manufacturing and global supply chains; economic dynamism; and regulation. Prior to joining Cato, Lincicome spent two decades practicing international trade law. He is the editor of Empowering the New American Worker: Market-Based Solutions for Today’s Workforce (2022).

Clark Packard is a research fellow in the Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. He was previously a resident fellow at the R Street Institute focusing on international trade policy. Packard is a contributor to Foreign Policy and has written for National Review, Lawfare, The Bulwark, Business Insider, the National Interest, and other publications.