Listen: Headspace #17—Globalisation

Not long ago, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton said there was no more point in arguing with globalisation than the weather: it was an unstoppable wind of change. No longer. It has spun into reverse. Dani Rodrik joins Tom Clark and explains why good economics always made hyper-globalisation a dubious proposition. Meanwhile, Keynes biographer Robert Skidelsky reappraises the record of one thoughtful globaliser: Gordon Brown. And feminist Lynne Segal takes on another sell from the economics profession: the “happiness industry."

Read more:

Dani Rodrik: The great globalisation lie

"The fundamental thing to grasp is that globalisation is—and always was—the product of human agency; it can be shaped and reshaped, for good or ill."

Robert Skidelsky: We're all in debt to Gordon Brown's borrowing

"His finest hour arrived following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, when he emerged as the de facto leader of the world economy. He was clear about what had to be done."

Lynne Segal: The happiness industry is a symptom of the sad state of society

"It’s hard not to suspect that the emphasis on happiness exists partly to hide something we really do need to address, which is how lonely and unhappy so many people are."

Tom Clark is a Prospect contributing editor

Podcasts Prospect Podcast Globalisation