Economic Nationalism And Its Impact On Business
By Chandra Jayaratne -February 7, 2014
Chandra Jayaratne
Nationalism and Economic Nationalism
Nationalism is defined as “patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts-an early consciousness of nationalism and pride”. This is further elaborated as, “devotion to the interests or culture of one’s nation”, “the belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals” and “aspirations for national independence in a country under foreign domination”.
Wikipedia quotes that “Roosevelt made the case for what he called the ‘New Nationalism’ in a speech delivered on August 31, 1910. The central issue he argued was for government protection of human welfare and property rights. He also argued that human welfare was more important than property rights. He insisted that only a powerful federal government could regulate the economy and guarantee social justice and that a President can only succeed in making his economic agenda successful if he makes the protection of human welfare his highest priority. Roosevelt believed that the concentration in industry was a natural part of the economy. He wanted executive agencies (not the courts) to regulate business. The federal government should be used to protect the laboring men, women and children from exploitation. In terms of policy, Roosevelt’s platform included a broad range of social and political reforms advocated by progressives”.
Investor Dictionary describes “economic nationalism” as “policies which are guided by the idea of protecting domestic consumption, labour and capital formation, even if this requires the imposition of tariffs and other restrictions on the movement of labour, goods, technology and capital. It is in opposition to Globalization in many cases, or at least on questions the unrestricted good of free trade. It would include such doctrines as protectionism, import substitution, mercantilism and planned economies.
