John Chuckman
EXPANSION OF A COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE BY PAT BUCHANAN IN THE UNZ REVIEW
"Will the Coronavirus Kill the New World Order?"
"New World Order" has become an unwelcome phrase because it is so often used to lend a rather sinister air to something which is not in the least sinister, trade and commerce.
If one means by it the totality of international economic relationships plus the organizations created to provide a framework for that economic activity, the answer to Mr. Buchanan's question is a resounding "no."
Globalization is the natural outcome of humanity's desire for economic growth with advances in technology for planning, transportation, and communications making it possible to work on a global scale.
It allows all aspects of production and distribution to be done on a gigantic scale, bringing down costs as compared to strictly national operations. It allows the same for division of labor and specialization, the practices Adam Smith explained in "The Wealth of Nations" which were fundamental to the great productivity of early factory systems.
Those economic forces are entirely unaffected by the setback of a temporary disease.
It seems a bit silly to think they might be. Very much like believing someone can successfully pee against powerful winds.
And it seems even sillier to see this temporary disease as a trumpet call for resurgent nationalism and trade barriers. Very much Luddite-style thinking. Going backward.
Germany and Japan and other major nation-states were literally in total ruins at the end of WWII. Look at them today.
If the colossal destruction and death of WWII - more than 50 million people died in that conflict - could cause only a temporary pause in the momentum of economics and trade, this disease - which the Chinese already have demonstrated can be brought under control - hardly can be expected to end it.
And it should be noted that a very great part of those countries’ postwar success had to do with international trade.
In 15th century Europe, the next town or village was a far-off place, decent roads being rare and the cost of horses and vehicles being beyond the means of most of the population.
That's a very good measure of the way our thinking and expectations have adjusted with changing technology.
