This House Believes The Global Economy Is Still An Imperial One | Cambridge Union

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This debate took place on Thursday 8th February 2024 at 8:00pm in the Debating Chamber.

From the 17th Century to the 20th Century, global economic systems were often forged from imperialistic structures- in its first wave, the exploitation of the Americas and the expansion of slavery, and in the second wave, the vast scramble for African and Asian territory for resources and markets.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, empires crumbled, and in its place, a new set of "Bretton Woods" institutions, including the World Bank and the IMF, designed to create a new set of rules for the global economy. But with allegations such vast international loans are leveraged to undermine national sovereignty, and as geopolitical tension hots up, are we still in a fundamentally imperial era? Or are we not giving the vast improvements in the standards of living, life and welfare in the developing world enabled by free trade enough credit?

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Proposition:

PROFESSOR ROBERT WADE

Robert us a New Zealander, educated in Washington DC, New Zealand and Sussex University. He is the author of several books, including Irrigation and Politics in South Korea.

DR CHANDNI DWARKASING

Chandni Dwarkasing is a Lecturer in Economics at SOAS University of London. Her work is focused on environmental economics and carbon footprints, but she takes a keen interest in the intersection between environmental politics and the interactions between the global north and south. This is especially the case with her works on Just Transition models and environmental justice.

KARTIK SAWHNEY

Kartik is a first year MPhil student, reading History at Jesus College. He won the right to speak through process of audition.

Opposition:

MARTA FORESTI

Marta is the founder of the social enterprise LAGO, a community working together to find solutions to global challenges, including the political economy of development and reform.

PROFESSOR JONATHAN HASKEL CBE

Professor Jonathan Haskel is a professor of economics at Imperial College London and an External member of the Monetary Policy Committee for the Bank of England. In this role, Jonathan has served from 2018 to 2024 witnessing the global financial effects of COVID-19 and the subsequent surge in inflation and interest rates. In his other pursuits, he has worked for the UK Statistics Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority.

PROFESSOR MEREDITH CROWLEY

Professor Meredith Crowley is a Professor of Economics at St John's College, Cambridge. She specialises in analysing and discussing systems of international trade, especially on the recent trade war between China and the United States and the risks of global tension on trade systems.

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