Large majorities of people in the US and in Europe want higher taxation for the rich and even pay caps for corporate executives ...

Monday, July 23, 2007 by the Financial Times/UK New Poll: Globalization Backlash in Rich Nations by Chris Giles in London

A popular backlash against globalization and the leaders of the world’s largest companies is sweeping all rich countries, an FT/Harris poll shows.

Large majorities of people in the US and in Europe want higher taxation for the rich and even pay caps for corporate executives to counter what they believe are unjustified rewards and the negative effects of globalization.

Viewing globalization as an overwhelmingly negative force, citizens of rich countries are looking to governments to cushion the blows they perceive have come from the liberalization of their economies to trade with emerging countries.

Those polled in Britain, France, the US and Spain were about three times more likely to say globalization was having a negative rather than a positive effect on their countries. The majority was smaller in Germany, with its large export base.
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Europeans still overwhelmingly support the principle of free competition within the European Union, contrary to Nicolas Sarkozy’s wishes at the recent European summit, but in France, Germany and Spain, the populations want their political leaders to play a larger role in managing their economies.
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The issue of rising inequality is now high on the political agenda of every country and will feature prominently in the 2008 US presidential election.