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Synonyms for globalism include development, growth, and maturation, and multinational executives are routinely encouraged to have a global mindset. Synonyms for nationalism are often linked to negative things like bigotry, protectionism, and xenophobia. But they also carry positive connotations, such as patriotism and good citizenship, and it is on the rise.
^{— The False Dichotomy Between Globalism and Nationalism by David A. Waldman and Mansour Javidan June 18, 2020}

It seems to me that globalism and nationalism are only hinted at in our public discourse and only rarely discussed in depth. Let’s look at these two ‘isms’ under the microscope. This piece, ‘The Tower of Babel’, is the first of a series, of I don’t know how many parts. Perhaps the number will depend on how much feedback these ideas generate!

Four quotes on globalism from well-known leaders:

We are in a world where globalization, which is an ideology, has forgotten and put aside the people, the people’s interests, aspirations, and dreams.
— Marine Le Pen

Financial globalisation and Islamist globalisation are helping each other out. Those two ideologies want to bring France to its knees.
— Marine Le Pen

Globalization, as defined by rich people like us, is a very nice thing… you are talking about the Internet, you are talking about cell phones, you are talking about computers. This doesn’t affect two-thirds of the people of the world.
— Jimmy Carter

Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom.
— Nelson Mandela

In 2022 Martyn Iles, former CEO of Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), toured eastern Australia with his Babylon roadshow. I caught the Sydney event, and Martyn’s depiction of The Tower of Babel was most memorable.

The Story of the Tower of Babel

1. Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
2. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
4. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5. But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
6. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
7. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8. So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
9. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11: 1-9)

I acknowledge Martyn Iles for the biblical reference, but these applications to globalism are my own.

The Babylonians make no reference to the Lord in their planning. God was not in the picture; He was not consulted, He was ignored. These are people who had been miraculously saved through Noah’s flood, 100, 340 or 700 years earlier, depending on whose estimate you follow. But they were clearly not acknowledging God. I argue the globalists of today are not acknowledging God either (v 1-4).

They were in fear, that they would be scattered over the face of the globe. But note:

God (had) blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” (Genesis 9:1)

Now the people of Babel were seeking to stay safe and secure in the world they had created. And above all, they wanted a name for themselves, rather than to honour the name of the Lord (v. 4).

At the outset of this story, effectively the whole earth, albeit a small region around modern-day Bagdad or ancient Babylon, had one language and a common speech. This made it so easy to manage. Their world was so small, and following a central command was easy, as they all understood the vision and mission in their own language (v. 1).

The globalists have made the world the smallest it’s ever been. The Internet, Skype, Zoom, mobile phones, and smartphones have shrunk distance to zero. Language is predominantly English, but computers and artificial intelligence (AI) have overcome the need to learn and use foreign languages. The globalists have built the modern-day Babel.

But the Lord Came Down

By Genesis 9: 5, the Lord came down. He was not asked, but He came (perhaps there were some who were asking). The architects and builders of the tower were not asking. The Lord could see their capacity for a world without Him — nothing is hidden from the Lord. He had promised no more flood, but this time he confused their language, so they (could) not understand each other (v. 7).

The common language aspect of unity amongst the globalists gives them enormous potential for their vison and mission. During the Covid era, we needed to look no further than the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to see how non-government organizations (NGOs) could coordinate and dictate nearly every people group on the planet. They did not need permission from the various national governments — they coordinated and dictated to national governments! They were the effective global government, but that is rarely acknowledged.

So, using the confusion of language, God stopped the building! (v.8). From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth (v. 9). That was clever! That was His plan all along. But His people had not followed through, so He scattered them all over the face of the earth using their own desperate search for meaning.

What did this create? It created all the nations of the earth. I would argue that God has been a nationalist ever since! He has had His people, His nation, all along. The nations were always plotting against His people, and still are today (Amir Tsarfati, 24 May 2023), but they will not prevail.

So, whenever I see traits of globalism I think back to Babel and what God thought about then. I suggest that’s what God thinks about the globalists of today. At a stroke, He can confuse their language and scatter them over the face of the whole earth and bring them back to their individual national borders.

Fear the Fuel of the Globalists

The first globalists were fearful of being scattered (Genesis 9: 4) as they had dismissed God from their lives. Today’s globalists have also dismissed God from their narrative. Instead, just like their forebears, they are seeking to make a name for themselves as the saviours of the world, the people and the planet.

We saw through the Covid era that the globalists used fear to garner public support for their vision, and their solution. Then, when fear wore thin, they used mandates to demand submission and compliance.

The fallout from the Covid era control measures will be with us for a long time. The loss of businesses, loss of careers, depression and suicide, and the vaccine injured and deaths. For example the statistics on Australian youth mental health are depressing (Sydney Morning Herald, 22 March 2022).

One in four young Australians thought about suicide over the past two years and 15 per cent attempted self-harm, according to a poll of 16- to 24-year-olds.

Our young people are struggling more than ever before, while God, who offers hopes and dreams, is locked out and the Judeo-Christian tradition is mocked, vilified and outlawed.

The globalists from the World Economic Forum (WEF) make no apology for using the association of fear with their latest pandemic.

The spread of infectious diseases has a unique ability to fuel fear, anxiety and mass hysteria. In so doing, as we have seen, it also challenges our social cohesion and collective capacity to manage a crisis.
^{— COVID-19: The Great Reset (2020) by Klaus Schwab & Thierry Malleret, Forum Publishing}

Notice their connection between fear and mass hysteria. This quote does not say this, but it suggests to me that the WEF has recognised the capacity of mass hysteria to massage and generate public opinion in their favour.

It seems to me that fear and anxiety drive men and women to seek solutions. In turn, the globalists use fear to pull people into their solutions for the people and the planet. All the while managing God, faith and hope out of the equation.

COVID-19: The Great Reset

To conclude this opening discussion on globalism and nationalism, I would like to reflect on the most well-known initiative from the WEF, their COVID-19: The Great Reset, published in 2020 (my underlining):

In early July 2020, we are at a crossroads, the authors of COVID-19: The Great Reset argue. One path will take us to a better world: more inclusive, more equitable and more respectful of Mother Nature. The other will take us to a world that resembles the one we just left behind – but worse and constantly dogged by nasty surprises.

The constant theme throughout this book is the tension between globalism and nationalism. Globalism is always seen as the ideal, the prize. It is the approach they want but they recognise that nationalism will always seek to challenge their dream.

If the WEF simply had dreams and they were content to let the nations of the world review, and vote to follow or reject them, I would most likely not be writing this piece.

But The Great Reset is more than a dream for the WEF; it is an ideology, a philosophy, and a mandate of the radical left, who are working to establish a new world order, global governance at any cost. In effect, the globalist’s panacea for all ills.

The coronavirus is spreading globally and sparing no one, while simultaneously the geopolitical fault lines that divide societies spur many leaders to focus on national responses – a situation that constrains collective effectiveness and reduces the ability to eradicate the pandemic. (79)

This last quote is echoed repeatedly throughout the book. The authors passionately believe that only together, as a global community, can global threats be addressed. They have no time for, or faith, to believe that the sovereignty of the nation state can act as responsible citizens and together collaborate to meet real global threats.

To be sure, The Great Reset’s goal for a better world: more inclusive, more equitable and more respectful of Mother Nature, sounds attractive. I can see a huge segment of society in many nations, especially the more affluent, applauding such a goal. It engenders an inner glow of moral superiority and altruism. Perhaps it taps into the spiritual side of those who have jettisoned God in their drive for the god of their own dreams.

The globalists’ dream has removed God from their thinking:

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. (Ephesians 4: 17-18)

How can a Godless globalist agenda work? It’s like The Tower of Babel all over again. I realise this perspective may jar with some, but I encourage you to consider the parallels with ancient Babylon.

This is just the first in my series on globalism and nationalism. There are many angles on this dichotomy still to explore. Let me leave you with this.

Alliance of Responsible Citizens (ARC)

In late 2023, ARC will be holding its inaugural international conference of more than a thousand high level leaders from politics, culture, business and academia across three days in London. This will be coupled with one major public event in this period to invite public participation and engagement (ARC)

This is a fledgling organisation; it is championing personal responsibility in contrast with the globalists who appeal to the common good. Wherever you sit on the global and national continuum, I hope these ideas can stimulate some new avenues of thought.

For further reflections on COVID-19: The Great Reset, review my recent videos COVID-19: The Great Reset Part 1 and COVID-19: The Great Reset Part 2 – Follow the Unmarked Track.

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Images: AlLes, GDJ/Pixabay