Ray,

No.

Too much cussing and violence.

Harry 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Evans Harrell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 1:39 PM
To: Harry Pollard; 'Christoph Reuss';
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [Futurework] E.European Women discover the Joys of
Free Trade

Gee Harry, have you ever read the Phenenology of Fire?

REH


----- Original Message -----
From: "Harry Pollard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'Christoph Reuss'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 2:22 PM
Subject: RE: [Futurework] E.European Women discover the Joys of
Free Trade


> Chris,
>
> We have fallen into the trap of word definition. Any word can
mean 
> anything you want it to and people often use the same words to
mean 
> different things. Then they cannot possibly find agreement.
>
> I've told you what I mean by free trade again and again. It is
simply 
> the dropping of tariffs and quotas and antidumping legislation
that 
> now stop goods coming into the country.
> Internally, a free market removes restrictions on the passing
of goods 
> and services between people.
>
> It is the essence of freedom.
>
> It doesn't mean you remove such things as health regulation or
the 
> banning of dangerous substances. It doesn't mean the ending of 
> pollution restrictions and suchlike. It also doesn't mean the
coercion 
> and force that are present in such things as the trade in 
> prostitution.
>
> The free market tends to produce better quality goods at lower
prices 
> -- by competition.
>
> People who dislike the market lay every problem on it. It seems
that 
> every nasty thing that happens across the world is labeled free
trade. 
> It's rather like Orwell's "1984" (peace is war).
>
> I personally like people, and peoples, coming together and 
> cooperating. The first expression of this is the trading of
goods and 
> services which, as Keith has noted, has happened since the dawn
of 
> history.
>
> There are other considerations. The old free trade dictum said
"if 
> goods don't cross the frontiers, armies will". That makes sense
to me. 
> Interdependence is an important factor in maintaining the
peace.
>
> A warning note is sounded when a nation decides to become 
> self-sufficient.
>
> The Third World antipathy stirred up by the WTO is not because
they 
> are advocating free trade, but because free trade has not been 
> generated. The major contenders in the global market -- Europe
and the 
> US -- have maintained their tariff structure and coupled it
with 
> enormous subsidies to agriculture and other industry. The Third
World 
> has been prevented from earning a living. No wonder they are
annoyed.
>
> The Third World is not blameless. Governments are riddled with 
> corruption. Money that comes to them from the developed nations

> doesn't often seem to reach the people it is designed to help.
My 
> favorite, as I've said, is the $60 million that Nigeria "lost".
> They simply have no idea what happened to it.
>
> I'm not against government, but I have a jaundiced view of
governments 
> as they have developed. This extends to international
government 
> organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO. I
had some 
> hopes for the WTO as its intention, which was to break down
barriers, 
> seem good to me. However, as I've mentioned, the big boys won't
play 
> and that makes a mockery of any good intentions.
>
> The international government organizations seem to follow the
"least 
> exertion" principle and adopt a 'one size fits all'
> program. Instead of analyzing the problem of a particular
country, 
> they try to make it conform to their standard plan. The result
is 
> sometimes disaster. In their defense, we should note that the
IMF is 
> usually not called in until the country is already a basket
case -- 
> the result of the ineptitude of their government.
>
> What I would like you to do is to stop labeling any disaster a
result 
> of free trade. We don't have free trade. We have very unfree
trade, 
> for the fingers of government poke into every aspect of our
lives. 
> Trade is now distorted and murdered by governments.
>
> So, let's talk about the same subject. Either the monumental 
> government interference in our lives, or the freeing of people
to do 
> their own thing in harmony and with profit to everybody
concerned.
>
> Harry
>
>
-----------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of
Christoph 
> Reuss
> Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2003 4:45 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: [Futurework] E.European Women discover the Joys of
Free 
> Trade
>
> About what "free trade" means:
>
> I wrote:
> > The free trade/market is characterized by the lack of (or
> bypassing
> > of) regulations (from gov't) and of ethical considerations,
and
> by
> > treating humans as commodities.  All these criteria are met
in
> the
> > trade described in the forwarded article, so it does have a
lot
> to do
> > with free trade/market.  (Note that it's a trade _with_, not
> > _by_prostitutes.)
>
> Harry replied:
> > Free trade is simply the breaking down the barriers between
> people --
> > and between peoples. The restrictions that stop people from 
> > cooperating are removed for everybody's benefit.
>
> The two definitions above are not incompatible, except for the
last 
> part ("for everybody's benefit"), which is in contradiction to
the 
> example.
> There are countless other examples (externalization of costs)
where 
> removal of trade restrictions is harmful to many, such as the
tunnel 
> fire example which you still didn't care to reply to.
> Another example is that bans on hazardous substances (e.g. food
> colorants) must be lifted by countries that previously had
these bans, 
> because the FTers (WTO) consider the bans "trade barriers".
> This is harmful to anyone except a few shareholders of the
substances' 
> manufacturers and the pharma industry that benefits of the
resulting 
> cancers etc.
>
>
> > Free trade means dropping tariffs, quotas, anti-dumping
> measures, and
> > the rest. It allows people freely to exchange their goods and
> services
> > for the benefit of all.
> > It has nothing to do with the coercion of human beings, so
your
>
> > suggestions are nonsense
>
> It has a lot to do with coercion, such as being forced out of
business 
> just because polluters and exploiters (wage dumpers) produce
cheaper 
> stuff.
>
>
> > Protection is the opposite of free trade. It is the granting
of
>
> > privileges to certain groups of people, or corporations, or
> political
> > cronies. Protection allows them to get rich at the expense of
> the
> > consumer, which is everyone of us.
>
> Free trade allows polluters and exploiters to get rich at the
expense 
> of the planet's inhabitants and workers, which is everyone of
us.
>
>
> > I cannot understand your support of privilege, but apparently
> that is
> > what you do.
>
> If clean air/water/etc. and decent wages are a privilege, then
I 
> support privilege.  If making $10,000+ profits by selling
crappy 
> unsafe cars (SUVs) --instead of $1000 profits with good cars--
is a 
> privilege, then _you_ support privilege, or so you did recently
on 
> this list in the SUV thread...
>
> Chris

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