Economic globalization is causing severe economic dislocation and social instability.

 We
don't have to go far to find examples of what they are talking about and why people are
getting a bit upset as they wake up to the realities of who is winning in the ruthless
competition of the global economy. The disparities between the winners and losers in the
global competition are becoming more obscene with each passing day. We are coming to
realize that the extravagant promises of the advocates of the global economy are based on a
number of myths that have become so deeply embedded in Western industrial culture that
we have grown to accept them without examination.

The Growth Myth

The need to clean up oil spills generates economic activity. Gun sales to minors generate
economic activity. The growth myth has another serious flaw. Since 1950, the world's
economic output has increased 5 to 7 times.

This is vividly illustrated by many of the development projects in Pakistan many funded with
loans from the World Bank and other multilateral development banks-that displace the poor
so that the lands and waters on which they depend for their livelihood can be converted to
uses that generate higher economic returns-meaning converted to use by people who can
pay more than those who are displaced.

The Myth of Free Unregulated Markets

We know that free markets create monopolies, which government must break up to maintain
the conditions of competition on which market function depends. We also know that markets
only allocate efficiently when prices reflect the full and true costs of production. Yet in the
absence of governmental regulation, market incentives persistently push firms to cut corners
on safety, pay workers less than a living wages, and dump untreated toxic discharges into a
convenient river.

The Myth that Corporations are Benevolent Institutions

One such lesson is that economies should be local, rooting power in the people and
communities who realize their well-being depends on the health and vitality of their local
ecosystem. If it is protectionist to favor local firms and workers who pay local taxes, live by
local rules, respect and nurture the local ecosystems, compete fairly in local markets, and
contribute to community life-then let us all proudly proclaim ourselves to be protectionist