Globalization is Good, Except For…

The Global Attitudes Project at the Pew Research Center just released its latest international survey on people’s attitudes toward various aspects of globalization. With more than 45,000 respondents in 47 different countries, the survey reveals that people worldwide view international trade as a positive, but that they harbor concerns about inequality, threats to their culture, damage to the environment, and the challenges posed by immigration. Interestingly, support for free trade in industrialized Western countries has eroded; this is particularly evident in the U.S., as the number of Americans saying that trade is good for the country has fallen by 19 percent since 2002. In contrast, the publics in emerging economic powers China and India express almost universal approval of international trade. Other noteworthy findings include the following: strong majorities in developing countries endorse foundational democratic values; global publics are sharply divided about the connection between religion and morality (many African, Asian, and Middle Eastern respondents pointed to belief in God as a precondition for morality, which was not the case for the majority of European respondents); and there is a global consensus that both boys and girls should receive an education.