Globalization and the Idea of the West

On Tuesday, April 30, 2024, the Ludwig Erhard Forum (LEF) hosted Harold James, Princeton Univeristy’s Claude and Lore Kelly Professor in European Studies and affiliated faculty member of the Bendheim Center, to deliver the third LEF Academy Lecture.

Relatively new, LEF and its academic lecture series serves as a platform to develop and deliver innovative perspectives on the social market economy, under the principle that “to solve the problem, you must first understand the problem.” The first lecture of the series took place at Princeton University and featured the German Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, who spoke on the future of liberalism. In November of 2023, BCF Director and Princeton’s Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Economics, Markus Brunnermeier, delivered the second lecture in Berlin on resilience and handling the crises of today.

Also held in Berlin, the April 30 lecture presented by Harold James covered “Globalization and the Idea of the West.” In his presentation, James explores the expansion of globalization since the 19th century and the economic crises that preceded increased trade. Looking at the technological advances (or applications) that impacted these expansions, he paints a picture of the history while considering whether we have reached “the end of globalization.”

Watch the full lecture on YouTube.

Ludwig Erhard Foundation & Forum

The Ludwig Erhard Foundation was founded in 1967 by former Chancellor of Germany, Ludwig Erhard, as a non-profit association serving to further develop and strengthen the social market economy. In September of 2022, the Foundation formed the Ludwig Erhard Forum for Business and Society as a think tank and regulatory economics research unit.