Protectionism's winds of change are blowing, but the left can make it work

By prioritising protection and rebuilding of local economies the left can find a positive answer to voters' concerns while challenging the extreme right

Next week will see protectionism take centre stage globally as the Davos elite gathers to vent about its rise, and the Twitter protectionist Donald Trump becomes US president.

Yet there is a left, green alternative that could effectively challenge the rise of the extreme right, while giving voters hope for a better future. In my new book Progressive Protectionism: Taking Back Control, I detail why progressives should endorse the controlling of borders to people, capital, goods and services, but not as occurred in the 1930s, when governments attempted to protect domestic jobs while still wanting to compete and export globally at the expense of others.

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