Free Trade does not make everything right. All it does is increase the size of pie. It is a parallel to better machines, new technology,
innovation - and the rest.
It doesn't distribute the wealth, it just produces more goodies for less exertion.
To be consistent, if you oppose free trade, you must oppose the use of machines and restrict all improvements in the arts and science that might improve production.
To be sensible, you should find why there isn't a just distribution of production. Even there, unfortunately, the people who should be advocating justice have established the cause, which prevents any thinking about it. It's the corporations, stupid.
This leads to "palliative" thinking. You let the people be screwed, so long as the screwers get higher taxes - which are then used to give welfare and suchlike to the poor - who were screwed in the first place.
Meantime, let's mindlessly oppose free trade, which in practice means supporting those who advocate restrictions on trade.
Who are they? Why, it's those corporations who certainly don't pay politicians to increase competition to themselves.
Never has the left been so conned.
Harry ----------------------------------------------------
Karen wrote:
Surely, a rhetorical question. I also read overtones to the local living economies thread, which attracted some good commentary on FW. - KWC
Looking Beyond Free Trade
By Jeff Madrick, NYT, June 12, 2003 @ <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/business/12SCEN.html>http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/business/12SCEN.html
SINCE the Iraq war, developed nations like France and the United States seem to be vying to show that they care about the world's poor. The events of Sept. 11, 2001, made us all more aware of the deprived state of citizens around the world. The difficult aftermath of the war has also shown us that overthrowing a dictator is not enough to ensure security, economic opportunity and sustained decency.
**************************************************** Harry Pollard Henry George School of Social Science of Los Angeles Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 Tel: (818) 352-4141 -- Fax: (818) 353-2242 http://home.attbi.com/~haledward ****************************************************
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