Robert Reich describes one of the major problems with globalization. Multinational corporations lose their national identity. They are more interested in influencing governments in ways that benefit them, and they have less interest in supporting programs that might be good for the nations in which they are headquartered. He presents Apple Computer, as an example, by describing the iPhone economy. Apple is doing quite well despite the lack of investment in programs that might make the US more competitive in the global economy. The US is just one of many countries in which it operates. It is not in the business of improving the competitiveness of any of the countries in which it does business. Even worse, it will do what it can to lower its taxes in all of the countries in which it operates. It also demands tax breaks from cities and states that compete for the location of Apple facilities and jobs in the US.
If the iPhone economy is typical of the multinational corporation. And if multinational corporations continue to determine the policies of the countries in which they are headquartered, political polarization and dysfunction is bound to increase. Whats good for the corporation without a national identity may not be good for the nation states.
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