And yet the disillusion grows everywhere

Against all odds, we live in an era of abundance. The impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11 or the tripling of the price of black gold prevented the world economy to know five years its fastest growth in history. Given these performances and the optimism of global markets, could expect that the current era is marked by a strong enthusiasm for the market economy and globalization. And yet, the disillusion grows everywhere. The failure of the Doha round in the universal condemnation is Wal-Mart through the renationalisations in Russia and the populist wave in Latin America and Europe from the East, the market economy creates anxiety unprecedented since the fall of the Berlin wall, and long more likely.

Why this disenchantment Can be interpreted hostility to globalization as a manifestation of resistance in the United States in response to the misadventures of the Bush administration foreign policy. But there is a more disturbing explanation: taking conscience that the middle class does not have its share of the benefits of the current phase of growth, and that portion of the pie may even decrease.

Two categories have the opportunity to be found in the right place at the right time to take advantage of globalization and technological progress. First are the inhabitants of poor countries, mainly in Asia and especially China. The combination of low wages, a technology that broadcasts easily and access to global markets, both for financing products, has promoted strong growth.

Do not forget that the period between the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, known as the "industrial revolution", is named so for good reason. For the first time in the history of humanity, the standard of living of a generation increased significantly. The scale of a human life, the per capita income doubled in real terms, before doubling again. If one looks at the growth of China over the past thirty years, the standard of living is increasing at a rate such that it will be multiplied per cent in a life. One cannot underestimate the impact of such takeoff.

Other big winners are those who hold many assets. Those who possess rare raw materials saw their earnings soar. The leaders of companies able to take advantage of globalization, by producing cheaper and selling in key markets in rich countries, have seen their income advance much faster than average. Like those who work in finance, well placed to take advantage of the rise in the price of assets associated with globalization.

All others are as well from their PIN of the game. As the major companies which derive the productivity gains should their success to the use of advanced technologies combined with that of a low-cost labour, the ordinary workers who form the large battalions of the middle class and their employers they live in the US Midwest, the Valley of the Ruhr, Latin America or Eastern Europe are left aside. In the United States, the median salary of families increased slower than productivity. In the Mexico, the average salary per household languished since the signing of the North American free trade thirteen years ago. Lack of natural resources middle-income countries were very difficult to identify an area in which they could avail themselves of a comparative advantage.

This huge population lacking the necessary capital to benefit from globalization desperately seeks either comfort, or a change of course. However, without its support, it is highly unlikely that the current world economic order can last. Let us be frank. The speech held the world in a middle class auxieuse is unconvincing. The two arguments that globalization is inevitable and protectionism goes against the aim have the great merit of being accurate, but they did not console the losers. They are no more likely to encourage adherence to a policy that would preserve the globalization, or a fortiori would exacerbate it.

Economists point out correctly that, like other forms of progress, international trade enriches everyone in allowing everyone to purchase better goods market. Nevertheless, that this is not a great consolation for those who fear losing their jobs. If the training is crucial, is not in hope of miracles for workers aged 40 years or more. It is also only a partial solution, when a high-level Indian programmer is paid less than 2,000 dollars a month.

John Kenneth Galbraith observed that "all great men share a common trait: the will to confront unequivocally great fears of their contemporaries." "It is this ability, and nothing else, that the leaders of men". Meet the needs of middle class fearful worldwide is the main economic challenge of our time. In the United States, the political pendulum back to the left. In what is best, the progressive tradition does not object to the market economy: it improves the results it produces naturally. This is what we need today. Do not seek solutions. It may well be that the economic logic of free capitalism, globalized and equipped with sophisticated technologies is to make transfers of wealth for the benefit of the richest and some of the poorest people in the world, at the expense of those who are between the two.

The Federal Housing Administration, facilitating accession to the property after the second world war, was a decisive component of the policy which helped launch the Marshall plan. Similarly, our ability to advance global integration will depend on what can be done for the middle classes. The response we make them will not affect only the lives of millions of our citizens, but also the chance of pursuing globalization, which can both bring us prosperity and stability.