With the dawn of the new century (2000), the global community has found itself in a changing, surprise-filled landscape. The intensity and extent of the integration of markets and societies are unprecedented in history and exceed the anticipated 'upheavals' in the economy, society, politics, and culture, in a manner that is roughly uncontrolled and unpredictable.

The discomfort caused by this integration, also called globalization, does not seem to be counterbalanced by the production of new visions, ideological, political, or cultural proposals. From the work of Adam Smith, it is known that the size of the market determines the potential for specialization and achieving economies of scale, and thus affects the level of prosperity of each society.

Also well-known is the fundamental position of another great economist, David Ricardo, that the freedom of international trade, allowing each country to specialize in whatever sector has a comparative advantage, promotes the prosperity of all trading countries. Since then, much has been written to support this classical view, and economic history has essentially affirmed it, driven by technological progress, which increases productive capacity and simultaneously facilitates communication between regions.

(. . .) [Excerpt from the text of the foreword]