Ian Bremmer - Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism

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Portfolio/Penguin

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Copyright 2018 by Ian Bremmer

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ISBN 9780525536451 (international edition)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bremmer, Ian, 1969- author.

Title: Us vs. them : the failure of globalism / Ian Bremmer.

Other titles: Us versus them

Description: New York, New York : Portfolio/Penguin, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018002952| ISBN 9780525533184 (hardback) | ISBN 9780525533191 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Anti-globalization movement. | BISAC: POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General. | POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Nationalism.

Classification: LCC JZ1318 .B738 2018 | DDC 303.48/2dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018002952

Version_1

For Elisa, who cant read this yet

INTRODUCTION

Why do Palestinians throw rocks? To attract attention? To improve their lives? To make progress toward creation of a Palestinian state? They throw rocks because they want others to see that theyve had enough, that they cant be ignored, and that they can break things. Voting isnt helping them. Outsiders dont care. Where are the opportunities to bring about change? There is nothing left but to throw rocks.

In that sense, there will soon be Palestinians all over the world. Workers everywhere fear lost jobs and wages as a shifting global economy and technological change leave them behind. Citizens fear surging waves of strangers who alter the face and voice of the country they know. They fear terrorists and criminals who kill for reasons no one can understand. They fear that government cannot or will not protect them. Gripped by anxiety, they get angry. To make themselves seen, heard, and felt, they start to throw rocks.

Then the call for help is answered. Donald Trump tells an excited overflow crowd that he sees them, that he sees their enemies, and that only he can take them (back) to the promised land. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders tell cheering fans that big corporations and Wall Street banks are robbing them blind. Champions of Brexit tell voters they must reclaim Britains borders and reject laws and rules imposed by Europeans. European populists tell followers they will lead the charge of patriots against foreigners and globalists.

These leaders arent arguing that government should be bigger or smaller, that it should tax less or spend more. Theyre challenging the right of elites to make the rules that govern our lives. They tell citizens theyve been cheated of their chance to succeed, and that the media is in on it. They promise to comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable, and burn down the houses of power.

We can attack these populists, mock them, or dismiss them, but they know something important about the people theyre talking to, and they understand that many people believe that globalism and globalization have failed them. These would-be leaders have a talent for drawing boundaries between people. They offer a compelling vision of division, of us vs. them, of the worthy citizen fighting for his rights against the entitled or grasping thief. Depending on the country and the moment, them may mean rich people or poor people, foreigners or religious, racial, and ethnic minorities. It can mean supporters of a rival political party or people who live in a different part of the country. It can mean politicians, bankers, or reporters. However applied, its a tried-and-true political tool.

This book is not about the rocks or the damage they do on impact. Rocks are expressions of frustration. They dont solve problems. Instead, we must look more closely at the deeper sources of these frustrations, at how governments around the world are likely to respond to them, and how political leaders, institutions, companies, schools, and citizens can work together to make things better.

There was no wealth where I grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts, but from my childhood street you could see it in Bostons green and gold skyline. I had no idea what went on inside those towers, but they had my attention. How do you get from here to there, I wondered? When my high school offered a program called Teach a Kid How America Works, I leaped at the chance to join. We junior achievers put on our coats and ties, headed downtown, up the crowded streets, past the men in suits, through the tall glass doors, up the quiet elevator before gliding to a silent stop, waiting, and stepping into the place where the executives worked. I think it was a bank. It had the deepest carpet Id ever seen.

Then we were ushered in for an audience with Tim, a man who seemed genuinely glad to meet us. He had a strong handshake, and he looked at me like he was really looking at me. Would you like to work here? he asked the group. One of us said yes and the rest nodded in agreement. Nobodys stopping you, and dont let anyone tell you otherwise. If you want to be successful, you just have to study hard and work hard. Its totally up to you. He believed it, so I did too.

He was right. From the projects, I earned a college scholarship and then a PhD, got an idea, launched a company, made money, got on TV, and wrote books. A kid born on the hard edge of a great American city, the child of a single mother (my dad died when I was four) who, with uncommon singleness of purpose, walked two boys past every trap and pushed us toward success. One small example of the American dream.

As a young adult, the American dream came wrapped in a package of globalism, a belief in universal interdependence and international exchange that seemed to provide paths to prosperity for both the poor boy I was and the successful man I hoped to become. Globalism seemed a generous choice; its the game everyone can win. Embrace capitalism, lower the walls, hire, build, and expand. People whove made it, or who believe theyll get a fair shot, are drawn to globalism. I devoted my professional life to it. Why not? The system worked for me, and it has lifted hundreds of millions around the world from poverty. Why cant it one day work for everyone?