Abstract

Like all great phenomena, globalization is a blessing and a curse. Globalization is realization of the ideal laid out by Adam Smith in 1776, with the good news that the relatively new nation-states could produce immense surpluses of wealth by reducing trade barriers, allowing entrepreneurs in each state to trade their superior products in return for the superior products of others. However, although penetration of state boundaries is essential for free trade, penetration is not and cannot be restricted to commerce. What follows inevitably is markets in morals, in customs, in religions and cultures as well as in practical rules. Thus, free markets bring war as well as wealth. This essay is an exploration of some of the ways states adjust, or fail to adjust, to compromises between war, wealth, and the special case of corporatism.