Some people have benefited from globalization and some have suffered. Branko Milanovic, an economist at the World Bank, has compiled data which shows which groups have gained and lost income from 2988-2008. The data has been transferred to a graph which shows how income gains and losses have been distributed among different groups in different categories and regions of the world. While it is easy to make the case that the middle class in the US has suffered from globalization, the process has also created larger middle classes in other countries of the world. But the poor have not benefited at all, and the rich have gained the most by far.
Peace negotiations between the warring sides in Geneva have begun, although without any representation from Iran, a key player. It is difficult to overstate the difficulties facing the negotiations between adversaries that have been fighting for three years, and in a conflict in which so many atrocities have been committed. Nonetheless, without negotiations, there was no reason to believe that there would be any changes at all for the better.
On the third anniversary of the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, 29 people have been killed in widespread protests throughout Egypt. The unrest reflects almost a complete breakdown of political legitimacy in Egypt, as various groups compete for power. In essence, there does not seem to be a political center in Egypt today, but rather a constellation of competing factions with limited appeals to small groups within Egypt. The military government seems to have been unable to forge a consensus within Egypt about a political framework that seems legitimate. Until such a framework appears, the violence will likely continue.
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