Alarm bells ringing at the IMF | Letters
by Letters from on (#3N8DS)
Protectionism is a logical response to national insecurity, but it doesn't have to be left to the right, suggests Colin Hines, while David Murray considers rising world debt
There is a link between your warning that the International Monetary Fund needs to change policy to ensure that the benefits of global economic activities are shared by the majority (Editorial, 20 April) and Yanis Varoufakis's gung-ho ode to The Communist Manifesto (The long read, 20 April).
It is clear that the economic insecurity inherent in ever more open borders, and the fetishism of exports and international competitiveness, has generated a backlash, and that era is coming to an end. However, the only ones who have turned this crashingly obvious downside of free markets to their own political advantage are the likes of America First Donald Trump, France First Marine Le Pen and Hungary First Viktor Orbin.
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