Globalist? WTF

Over the past few years, I have seen the term globalist on twitter many times over the past couple of years.  Sure, it is mostly an anti-semitic dog-whistle--that those called globalists tend to be prominent Jews.  But besides that or in addition to it, I think the core of the idea/accusation is that a globalist is someone who prefers the outside world than the homeland.  So, today, I saw something about free trade/globalism vs. protectionism and it miffed me.  Why?  Because we already have labels and distinctions for those who prefer freer trade and those who prefer less free trade.

What I am getting at is this: "globalist" is a myth.  There are few people who care more about the stuff outside their country than inside.  We may care about the plight of others, wherever they are, but those who prefer not to undo globalization--the ties among countries--do so mostly because they think the gains of increased ties outweigh the losses of increased ties.

Oh, and disentangling is expensive.  Brexit should demonstrate the costs of removing a country from the web of economic and political exchanges.  The British have already sacrificed a hunk of economic growth, and that has happened even before firms flee, even before students and scholars are deterred from moving to the UK. 

So, in the rhetoric wars, globalist means selling out one's country, I guess.  And, yes, of course, folks will associate Jews with this, as any attack on cosmopolitanism tends to do.  It is the case that globalization has costs, but the answer is not to avoid globalization but to figure out how governments can compensate those who pay the costs and re-train them and develop new jobs for them. 

And, yes, the biggest threat to jobs recently, now and in the future ain't what is happening over there, but the automation revolution at home.  It can be easy to blame free trade, but the machines are taking over many jobs, so perhaps we need to figure out how to provide meaningful employment for those displaced by automation.  This is hard and not emotionally satisfying, so blame others at home and abroad...

All I really want to say is that we should not use the word globalist--because that category is empty.  It can be a slur, but it has no real meaning.  Let's not give it any.