The backlash against globalisation is spreading among the wealthy nations. It started with worries about job losses. Now it is fuelled by concerns about the credit crunch in the US and Europe.

In a global poll published by the BBC World Service in February, the weight of opinion in 22 out of 34 countries was that “economic globalisation, including trade and investment” was growing too quickly. In the wealthy industrialised nations of the Group of Seven, an average of 57 per cent held that view.