Credit: Straits Times

Today marks the 1st day of a brand new year 2020. From Sydney to Rio de Janeiro, cities worldwide took their turn to celebrate the passing of 2019, with bursts of fireworks whenever the clock ticked the 00.00am in their timezone.

The year 2019 had been an eventful year, marked especially with the rise of protectionism and mercantilism tone worldwide. It was especially a violent one too, marred by street protests from Hong Kong to Chile. There are plenty of issues why the people raged on the street, from rising living costs leading down to immigration. Nativity, Mercantilism and Chauvinism are indeed real threats to globalisation. The dangers were then when they were capitalised for political opportunists. These partly explained why we had witnessed the rise of the far right wingers both in developing and developed world.

Elsewhere, in Britain, the country is still grappling with Brexit issues. Former PM David Cameron was overly confident that he called a referendum only for him to realise the lurking dangers after the results were out. He was the youngest son of a stockbroker, and was born into an upper middle class family and received elitist education including at Eton and thus was hailing from an elitist background. It was thus unfortunate that when he called for that fated referendum, he was totally disconnected from the general masses.

This particular British episode thus highlighted the epitome of the ruling elites over the economic and political system everywhere even in the advanced economies. The disconnect with and the blind ignorance of the general public economic plight and welfare caused a mistrust in the economic and political system. Thus, ushering in this new year of 2020, governments and political establishments worldwide will need to rethink their own political structures.

Globalisation and open border trades looks good on paper, but in reality, this capitalism force could be blunt and brute especially on those who are fragile in the society. Governments therefore have plenty of things to do to soften these blows and this will not be easy as well as with plenty of job losses making headlines last year.

Fortunately 2019 is now behind us, and we can only be hopeful and to do more in the year to come.

Happy New Year.

escveritasLatest ThinkingPolitics2019,2020,globalisationCredit: Straits Times Today marks the 1st day of a brand new year 2020. From Sydney to Rio de Janeiro, cities worldwide took their turn to celebrate the passing of 2019, with bursts of fireworks whenever the clock ticked the 00.00am in their timezone. The year 2019 had been an eventful...Your Industries Online