Dear Editor,
In your fascinating piece comparing the Great Depression of the 1930's to the situation since 2008 (Larry Elliot, 4th. March 2017) it is mentioned that "The second era of globalisation" (i.e. current times) involves the "free movement of capital, goods and people".
Unfortunately the statement regarding the free movement of people is obviously a myth as, for example, workers in Bangladesh (making our clothes) and in China (making our phones) do NOT have the ability to move. The goods created by these people do move ... with significant mark-ups being added to their price-tags and massive profits being made! But the people themselves cannot move.
This is the perfidious nature of our current "liberal" system: It is based on thinly veiled "wage slavery", massive distortions in the terms of trade and systematic environmental destruction. Exploitation is then presented to us as "free trade" with us of course happy to go along with such misrepresentation because it is this system which provides us in the West with the cheap, consumerist "goodies" that we so crave.
We should hang our heads in shame.
Regards
