The Case For Localization

May 2015

Henry Kissinger in the WSJ 29.8.2014 "Henry Kissinger on the Assembly of a New World Order":  "The international order thus faces a paradox: Its prosperity is dependent on the success of globalization, but the process produces a political reaction that often works counter to its aspirations." Well, duh.

Globalization leads to selected, corporate prosperity.  In theory, the consumer benefits from greater choice, but globalization generalizes and anonymizes the consumer.  Kissinger advocates the American model of liberty and participatory government and emphasizes the need for order, but his version of order is an homogenized world.  The retaliation against homogeneity is a righteous defense and is signal sufficient that globalization is not a good fit.

Example:  food chains.  Yes, you can get Subway from Montreal to Morocco, but where are the deli meat and vegetables produced?  None of this food is sourced locally and supporting the regional, agricultural economy.  This statement consequentially invites the hipster, locavore label.  Without delving into the health aspects of local food, it is plainly evident that importing products creates an empty shell of an economy on the receiving end.  The supply chain is so far removed from the end product that the location of the end product can only provide menial labor.  There is no incentive to create a sustainable, small-scale economy.

Theoretical benefits of globalization:

• Lower prices (consumer)
• Wider selection (consumer)
• Specialization (economy)
• Increased profits (corporations)

Costs:

• Lower prices of cheaply-made, foreign goods are detrimental to local producers who must charge a 'premium'
• Lower prices of cheaply-made, foreign goods are detrimental to consumers who must more often replace low-quality items:  "Billig gekauft ist zweimal gekauft"
• Detachment from community and region
• Unsustainable and imbalanced economies
• Labor abuse
• Geographically-driven economic stress caused by increased cost of trafficking of goods all over the world  
• Environmental damage from increased CO2 emissions during transportation

Why would consumers support globalization given the local costs and its primary purpose of perpetuating and strengthening of global fiat currencies?  There is too much emphasis on the monetary price paid at the cashier.  Our economies have gotten so warped and consumers & local producers so disenfranchised, that buying locally produced goods has become too expensive.  An organic tomato grown by a nearby farm, should not be more expensive than the hothouse tomatoes flown in from the Netherlands.  There should never be a premium on local, but that will only change when consumers change their buying habits.  Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see in the world," and one way to do that is to realize your power as a consumer.  Be an educated consumer.  Be the change at the Kasse.