The Guardian Weekly has a front page article saying that globalization is in sharp decline and that the World Trade Organization is becoming irrelevant. Outsourcing is in decline because of the cost of oil and transport, and the backlash about the loss of jobs in Europe and the US. Issues over intellectual property, quality of goods and treatment of staff in overseas factories, not to mention grumbling about foreign call centers.

There is no doubt that globalization has benefitted millions in China , India and elsewhere, but the biggest beneficiaries have been the super-rich.

Were Epicurus running the world, believing as he did in equality and fair breaks for everyone, the WTO would never have been formed. The old system was best.