Globalism

Many Christians are stirred up about globalism, but I am not always sure what they mean by the term. Globalisation is mostly an economic phenomenon, brought about by container shipping and advanced communications, such as the internet and cellphones. These technologies allow goods to be shipped cheaply all over the world. Countries and people no longer need to be self-sufficient, but can buy what they need from the cheapest producer.

Globalisation has made most people in the world better off through access to cheap consumer goods. Workers in Asia benefited. Blue-collar workers in the west lost out, because they lost the protections that kept them in a privileged place. Most people in the world like this freedom and the material benefits that it brings, so the only thing that will break this down would be wars on a really big scale.

Many Christians see globalisation as a political phenomenon. They fear the emergence of a world government that controls the entire world. Fortunately, the time for this idea seems to have been and gone. Fifty years ago, there was a groundswell of national governments surrendering some of their authority to international organisations. That trend peaked with the establishment of the European Union. Most other attempts in the same direction never got off the ground. That trend towards globalisation of political power is now well past, as national politicians have refused to give up their power and people decided they did not want their lives controlled by distant, faceless bureaucrats.

In the coming years, we are more likely to see a collapse of international organisations. Britain has already left the EU, and others like Greece and Italy will most likely follow. Most other groups of nations are also fracturing. We are not going to see one-world government in the foreseeable future, so Christians make themselves look foolish if they keep talking about it.

Ironically, the one grouping of nations/states that has held together is the United States of America, but even it is feeling the pressure of intensifying division, which might fracture it apart.

President Joe Biden does not believe in one-world government. He believes in American power. He will only support international organisations, like NATO, IMF, World Bank and the UN, if they can be used as vehicles to push American power on the world. These attempts will probably fail, because Europe and China are too strong to be dominated by American power.

What Joe Biden is doing is undermining economic globalism by imposing sanctions to enforce US power. This is dividing the world into two trading blocs, which will make most people worse off.