Globalization is the process in which a firm or economy becomes involved on an international scale. In an effort to become more globalized, many countries turn to open market trading to make the flow of goods and services in and out of the country an easier process. In addition to benefitting the county that participates in globalization, the entire world economy is able to benefit from the process as well. To contrast, protectionism is the process of shielding one’s own economy from foreign involvement. In order to practice the idea of protectionism, countries will often end up taxing imported goods, which makes domestic products more appealing to consumers. Both globalization and protectionism have positives as well as negative, but supporters of one side of the argument tend to discredit the other side almost completely; that is those in favor of globalization are not able to see the positives of protectionism and vis versa. Although globalization and protectionism are both able to benefit a country economically, the most benefit is found by practicing both globalization and protectionism. Many people view globalization as the superior method for creating economic growth because of its ability to impact the world economy, however too much globalization can cause an economy to shrink. Protectionism is not as widely accepted as globalization because of the way countries become isolated economically. Although protectionism is not as widely accepted and does not create as much economic growth as globalization, it is still able to promote growth in a way that globalization cannot. By understanding and implementing these two concepts, the American economy will be able to create new growth. The secret of the economic growth lies within accepting both globalization and protectionism and extracting the benefits from both sides of the argument, not simply supporting just one side. Though I concede that becoming too globalized may harm the American economy, I still insist that America will benefit from globalizing and becoming more economically diverse while still maintaining some aspects of protectionism. Avoiding ideas of severe protectionism and aiming at creating a more globalized American economy, while still practicing certain aspects of protectionism, will people around the world to be better off. 

Once people understand the idea of protectionism and are able to regulate the process, they will see that it offers countries a way to protect important sectors in their economy. In his article “Free Trade, Theory and Practice” John Nye points out that free trade creates high barriers to entry for small start-up companies and businesses (Nye 302). Nye points out that as a result, there is the formation of monopoly like conditions in sectors that are controlled by very large companies (Nye 303). By promoting protectionism, many companies will have less competition, which allows more domestic companies to enter the market. Globalization acts as a way to protect industries that are vital to the U.S. economy from struggling due to increased levels of foreign competition. For example, take the manufacturing industry in the U.S. because it is plays such a large role in the strength of the U.S. economy. The harder it is for foreign countries to start manufacturing in the U.S., the more people will rely on American companies for manufacturing. If there was a lot of foreign competition in this industry, U.S. manufacturing companies would end up manufacturing less, and because this industry plays such a vital role in the economy, the U.S. may end up at risk of a recession. Another reason that protectionism is becoming more popular is because it acts as a way to protect people’s current jobs. Many people fear globalization because it may put them at risk of becoming unemployed, and protectionism acts as a way for those jobs to be protected. In addition to having positive economic benefits, protectionism can also have positive impacts on political regimes as well. John Nye points out that protectionism makes it harder for corrupt governments to be efficient because there is such low trade both in and out of countries with corrupt governments. Protectionism can be beneficial to the economy by protecting industries that play a large role in the economy and also protects the current jobs on the market from being outsourced. 

Although protectionism may have some positive impacts of the economy, many believe that there are more negative impacts on the economy. In the article “Economic Globalization at a Crucial Moment” the author, Zhu Junqing, highlights the idea that protectionism limits the flow of ideas across borders, which slows down potential economic growth (Junqing). Junqing stresses that closing borders causes economic growth to slow because countries will likely run out of resources and ideas because there will be a lack of specialization (Junqing). Instead of focusing on a select few industries and specializing in those areas, a country would need to take a more generalized approach and focus on all industries at once. Although protectionism may give job security to people that currently have jobs, it prevents new jobs from being created because of the limited flow of ideas and innovation. Protectionism may offer short term benefits, but in the long run would lead to fewer jobs and a less productive society. Although some countries may opt to practice ideas and policies of protectionism, some countries are often limited by geological factors. This point is discussed by Ingo Borchert in the article “Services Trade Protection and Economic Isolation” where Borchert points out that countries that have geographical limitations that prevent them from certain infrastructure prevents them from trade (Borchert 641). Taking Borchert’s point one step further, geographical limiting factors can also be seen in certain areas of developed countries as well. For example, if a certain region has a mountainous terrain, there may not be a place for a highway to be built. Because there is no highway, this area will not be accessible for trade, which forces them to become more of a protectionist society. Protectionism acts as a way for a country to isolate itself from surrounding nations and the world as a whole. By implementing protectionist policies, countries are giving up the ability to exchange goods, services, ideas, and even people across borders. When these things are able to be traded and are able to move freely, a more complex society forms because there is no limit on on the goods or ideas a country can produce. Protectionism makes it hard for countries to keep developing because many areas are limited geographically and have limited resources.

As opposed to protectionism, the globalization process is able to effect more than just the country trying to globalize itself. As countries globalize, they make the exchange of goods, services, and ideas easier across borders. As a result, all the countries that practice globalization benefit from each other because they are able to easily exchange with each other. Jerry Ellig explains how countries are able to mutually benefit from trading freely in his article “Why Free Trade Is Good for Consumers”. Ellig explains that globalization leads countries to produce what they specialize in and then engage in trading with other nations (Ellig 19). As a result of trading, Ellig points out that prices will be cheaper for consumer and of higher quality because they are being produced in an area that specializes in production of that product (Ellig 19). In addition to making consumers better off, globalization also provides new jobs for people. As ideas are exchanged, new technologies and processes also enter the country, which provides the public with new opportunities of employment. Although this benefit may be hard to see in the short run, it provides better opportunities for people in the long run because the available jobs are evolving with the new information that is entering the country. Not only does globalization provide economic growth, it also provides a way for societies to become more engaged in each other. 

Although many support the positives that result from globalization, there are also negatives to globalization that some support. One negative point that Charissa Yong points out is that people are not educated on globalization, so they automatically do not accept it (Yong). This point is further emphasized by Jiang Shixue as she describes the uncertain future of globalization as a result of the recent election in America and the Brexit vote (Shixue). Most people automatically think of outsourcing jobs when they hear a term like globalization, so generally, most people are not aware of both sides of the issue and their automatic response is negative. Globalization is responsible for certain jobs losses by offering a cheaper alternative for companies in terms of labor. The effects of the job loss caused by globalization are mainly felt in the short run. Overall, the negative views on globalization are due to uncertainty in the future, false information, and short run unemployment. Another negative impact of globalization is that if a certain country specializes in a certain good and can no longer specialize in the production of that good, then all of their trading partners will feel the effects. Because globalization creates high dependence on other countries, this can be the case for all of the countries participating in the globalization process. 

After analyzing the positives and negatives of globalization and protectionism, it becomes clear that the solution lies somewhere in the middle. The disagreement of whether to implement globalized policies or protectionist policies has cause friction between politicians and economists. Being able to implement components of both processes will cause the most benefit to the world economy. A solution to which theory is more beneficial is tough to implement, mainly because people either advocate for globalization or protectionism, there is no in between. By protecting industries that are vital to the economy and exporting the goods and services that those industries provide, the domestic and foreign economy will boom. Too much protectionism will lead to stagnant growth and complete exploitation of recourses and labor. Too much globalization can lead to high short term unemployment rates, and even high long term unemployment if there are too many jobs transferred to foreign locations. Allowing countries to globalize their economy can also have positive impacts on society by creating more interaction between people from different areas of the world. In the long run, there will be more domestic job growth, however jobs may be lost in the short run. Additionally, there will be more long term growth by globalizing the economy because new ideas and goods will be available to the public and there will be increased levels of innovation. It is clear that specialization in an economy can lead to economic success, which is an aspect from globalization that will benefit the population. Furthermore, the industry that is being specialized in will need to be protected by practicing protectionism in the given industry. By combining forces, globalization and protectionism will be able to not only benefit domestic economies, but the world economy by increasing the availability of new goods and services and protecting the area in which they were exported. 

In conclusion, it is clear that both globalization and protectionism have positives and negatives. Protectionism may cause stagnant economic growth, but is able to protect industries that are vital to economies around the world. On the other hand, globalization has the ability to increase productivity, innovation, and long run job growth; however, globalization may be fought by the public and cause short term unemployment. Keeping in mind both sides of the argument, it is easy to see that the solution to which policy offers better economic stability and growth lies somewhere in between the two policies. By marrying the two theories together and utilizing the positive aspects that come from each side of the debate, it is clear that the economic benefits are greater than either one of the theories can provide alone. 