The idea of free trade is that you should be able to freely move a factory across the border, freely move money across the border, freely move products across the border, but people are not free to move around and seek work, they are checked, have to pay, go through lengthy procedures, get a visa only for a limited time, etc.
Globalization applied to the interests of the corporations and the wealthy, with people themselves being expected to all stay inside their country, or jump through the correct hoops in order to be allowed to move.
Regarding “the economy”… Well we can always say that stuff is great for the economy. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to be good for the local economy, or that people’s standards of living will increase, but as long as we keep it vague, we can say that it’s good for the economy. If a couple of multibillionaires get all the profits, we can still say it was good for the economy, it doesn’t really mean much to say something is good for the economy.
It’s not great for the people, and maybe that part should be given a bit more importance.
