If you want to visit Zimbabwe from the UK, it’s now Air Zimbabwe or nothing. As this report in today’s Times notes, less than ten years ago it was possible to fly to Harare with any of 18 foreign airlines. Yesterday, the last carrier maintaining long-haul flights into and out of the country—British Airways—brought these to a close, citing economic reasons.
It’s an astonishing example of globalization in reverse: the dismantling of the kind of access we tend to assume is hard-wired into the fabric of our world. Zimbabwe, of course, is an extreme and infamous example of economic collapse. But events there are an important reminder that the global freedoms of movement, trade and information many of us enjoy are underpinned by nothing more reliable than profits—and that, if these vanish, so do all the privileges of purchase that go with them.
You have now reached your limit of 3 free articles in the last 30 days.
But don’t worry! You can get another 7 articles absolutely free, simply by entering your email address in the box below.
When you register we’ll also send you a free e-book—Writing with punch—which includes some of the finest writing from our archive of 22 years. And we’ll also send you a weekly newsletter with the best new ideas in politics and philosophy of culture, which you can of course unsubscribe from at any time
Prospect may process your personal information for our legitimate business purposes, to provide you with our newsletter, subscription offers and other relevant information.
Click to learn more about these interests and how we use your data. You will be able to object to this processing on the next page and in all our communications.
