I am one week into my international business master's degree and one thing has become abundantly clear in the past couple days — Trump and his doctrine of "America First" are not going away anytime soon.
I’m not throwing globalization out the window, yet, and I am not saying that his ideas will always represent this country or even our economic policies in four years’ time. I am simply saying they won’t go away.
This past election cycle was remarkable in that two candidates from seemingly opposite sides of the political spectrum had similar ideas that attempted to reach a similar voter base. I am talking, of course, about Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Friends of mine who have felt the Bern or are eager to see America made great again might recoil at that idea, but when you ignore social policies and focus on their economic ideologies then the similarities become clear.
Economically, both found themselves on the same side of the globalization debate. Each was critical of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a landmark agreement that adhered to free trade philosophies. Sanders and Trump also agreed that free trade hurt the American populace and needed to be addressed in some way. The former claimed that fair trade was necessary while the later promoted an "America First" doctrine where we should change our trade deals so that we are "winning" on the global stage.
This may seem trivial based on the many disagreements these two men had on their platforms, but it actually signals a shift in American politics. Since Reagan, American presidents have supported or advocated for free trade openly and often. The North American Free Trade Agreement was crafted under Clinton and Bush Sr. administrations, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership was partially the brainchild of the Obama administration. NAFTA was barely even mentioned in the previous election cycle because it wasn’t seen as an issue.
Trump and Bernie have made it an issue, and it’s one that resonates with many Americans who have felt left behind in the prosperity that free trade has afforded many Americans. It has not been a tide to raise all boats, and those who are sinking are looking wherever they can for a life line. As voters, you all will have to know what globalization is and what it means to support free trade.
Localization may not be a word that shows up in popular culture in the next election cycle, but be on the lookout for its many aliases. From fair trade to "America First," it appears on all sides of politics from socialists to populists and you may not even know you voted for it.