Röpke and His Theory of Deglobalization: An Application to Current Perspectives

Resum

Röpke pointed out that the world economy does not stand on its own and needs aninternational meta-economic framework for its development. In addition, it needscountries to embrace market-friendly economic policies, inside and outside of theirfrontiers.Many signs indicate that the forces that made greater international economicintegration possible in decades since World War II are rapidly deteriorating,including the decline in US hegemony, mainly due to the rise of China and themilitary strength of Russia. Growing internal tensions in developed countries regarding globalization could give rise to deglobalization.This deglobalization could have numerous economic consequences, such asgrowing international price differences in outputs and inputs, reduction of international economic exchange, growing regionalization of international trade andinvestment (onshoring and nearshoring), reduction in the stability of internationalmarkets, and loss of global efficiency. Additionally, the process might have politicaland military implications, such as the emergence of military conflicts in border areas(eastern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia), a global increase in military spending,and the emergence of a neutral form of international money (gold or Bitcoin).Another more optimistic scenario is possible. However, perhaps an internationalequilibrium will emerge among the major international players (the US, China,Russia, the EU, and India), so that a kind of international consensus is reached andcooperation among nations through the international division of labor and knowledge remains possible.In any case, there is much uncertainty about the prospects of globalization. Thepassage of time will reveal more clearly the world in which we will live. The task ofscholars and analysts is to try to anticipate the facts so we can make decisions sooner.Let us hope that nations and individuals will figure out ways to understand eachother and coexist!