THE RISE AND FALL OF THE FIRST GLOBALISATION

This article argues that the first globalisation from the late 1840s to the First World War offers important lessons for the present era of globalisation. It is argued that the social and economic change created by the first globalisation led to increased protectionism and nationalism in France and Germany rather than the free-trade utopia envisaged by many liberal optimists. Contemporary optimists should be aware that globalisation and liberalisation are not inevitable processes; more and freer trade may induce a similar negative response from the short-term losers and those who fear a more dynamic and less predictable world.