The causes of contemporary political anger, as expressed in the rise of populism in the West, finds all its seeds in the very mechanisms of globalisation. I am not an economist and much that I read on the subject is not retained. But I do know that the kinds of free trade demanded and the chasing down of the cheapest labour unit or cost of production required seems to have a significant embedded flaw. Nations that once produced all kinds of manufactured items and who are now developed and have a high standard of living are in for a difficult time, if they cannot adapt.

I don't really know what adaptation looks like, but I suspect that, as older industries seek greener and cheaper pastures, newer ones should be replacing them with freshly-minted jobs aplenty. The problem with this argument is simple. The old jobs were often done by people with a poorer education and skills that did not transfer readily to the proposed new environment. Coal miners, steel-workers and the like are unlikely to want to sit at a desk in front of a screen. Still less will they be amongst the new technology start-ups.

I'm sure that somewhere, someone predicted this moment. A friend of mine who is an economist tells me that service economies can work, but I am sceptical that the displaced workers will want to be part of it, even if they can. Something of the meaning of work has been lost for these people, and they are understandably not happy about it. Populism, which is full of promises that cannot be fulfilled, is not an answer, though it is often in the van of change for the worse.