Concerns about globalisation - then and now

In this paper the term 'globalisation' means the international
integration of nationally organised markets in conjunction with
increasing cross-country flows of factors of production. According
to this globalisation has been under way for centuries.
Globalisation is not a completely autonomous, not even a solely
market driven process. Historically, it is for the most part
determined by decisions of nation states. In times of globalisation
speeding up, typically social and political debates start about the
driving forces, extent and impact of globalisation. Already two
centuries ago, globalisation has been discussed in a similar way as
today. Initially, there is a debate about the organisation of the
foreign trade regime. Because change of social and economic
structures is an integral part of globalisation, the debate about
the impact of structural change is constituent in globalisation
discourses. Winners and losers of the structural change try to
improve their social position through foreign trade policy. These
two levels of globalisation discourses are usually distorted by the
argument that globalisation and the induced change of societal
structures provoke adverse effects on the prevailing system of
values. Because of this the globalisation discourse becomes a
matter of emotion and disproportionately complex. The paper
demonstrates the three levels of a typical globalisation discourse
by using three examples. First, the actual globalisation discourse
will be discussed. Second, in Germany at the beginning of the 20th
century globalisation has been hotly debated under the heading
"agrarian versus industrial state". Third, the typical
globalisation discourse can also be outlined by the dispute about
the reform policy in Prussia in the early 19th century.