Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
2009
Abstract
The very idea of Free Trade is, of course, a noble one.The idea is to bring the third World nations of Latin
America, Asia, and Africa into a fair competition with, and economic parity with, the Western countries.
The many strong pro- and con- convictions of a number of respected authors do deal with the fact that
the original framework, which was based on the Industrial Revolution has vanished. It has already been
mentioned that the idea of a borderless economy is now a fait accompli. The world, therefore, no longer
consists of a series of closed national economies, each with its unique set and factors of production.But
there is a problem with this view of the world. Today it is increasingly irrelevant(we now) confront...
the inevitable integration of national capital markets into a single, powerful global market.1
Bryan, Lowell and Diana Farrell: Market Unbound, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996, p. x
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Tibid, p. 130
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Krauss: Melvyn: How Nations Grow Rich: The Case for Free
Trade, New York: Oxford University Press, 1997, p. xiii
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Krauss, p. 52.
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Garten, Jeffrey E.: The Big Ten, New York: BasicBooks, 1997,
p. 32.
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ibid, p. 32.
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ibid, p. 3.
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Thompson, Maurice K.: Common Sense Global Investing, Chicago: Dearborn Financial Corp, 1998, p. vii.
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However, there has been a change and not really a subtle one- for the role of
foreign capital in China. It has nothing so
much to do wu\ith the current government,
or the Communist recent past. It goes well
back to the time of the Opium Wars in
China. And, outward-looking Chinese are
well aware of what colonial policies did
elsewhere, the literal raping of the natural
resources of the Congo by the Belgians,
for example. The Chinese, as well as other
emerging nations who want a place at the
economic table are not seeking foreign
capital- regardless of incentives offered or
their need- without having some say in how
that capital is spent, and where, and what the
eventual consequences will be for the nation
or area offering its facilities and land and
labor force for the capital infusion.
One look at Africa today and it is obvious
that even the poorest nations, those who
continue their ethnic cleansing (Rwanda
and Burundi are two current examples of a
devastating mass slaughter of tribes people),
still are not willing to cede total autonomy.
As was pointed out in Chapter 2, these
nations are not willing to be bullied into
transforming their culture and tradition
to conform to Western standards. The fact
that concessions, such as Siping is offering
on the internet, or that other nations offerNigeria promised dredging ports for the big
tankers, and, with money to build cement
plants, developed a highway system to
bring the oil from drill site to ports (A
pipeline is still in the discussion stage)nevertheless, the governments will insist
on a favorable concession for royalties. Of
course, depending on the stability of the
government, into whose hands those dollars
or yen or Deutschemarks or euros flow is
still a chancy proposition.
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ibid, p. viii.
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ibid, p. 3.
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Ohmae, Kenichi: The End of the Nation State, New York: The
Free Press, 1995, p. 27
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ibid, p. 28.
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Krauss, p. 119.
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ibid, p. 37.
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Garten, p.xiii.
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Brazil:
Someone once said that Brazil is the
country of the future, and always will be. It
has been plagued by what can only be called
hyperinflation for the past several years,
including one year when it went as high as
2,500%. Its current government has now
brought inflation under some sort of control:
It is somewhere around 15% now. It is the
largest destination for American capital
investment in Latin America, and perhaps
the most important South American trading
partner. The coffee economy is now, at
least, being challenged with other industrial
efforts, including a growing commuter-type
aircraft business, and automobile production.
There are still considerable environmental
problems in the Amazon and the rain forests,
and warfare literally has erupted between
those who want to preserve the area, versus
those who want to tap the natural resources
there.
Argentina:
It has overcome a serious recession
in 1995, and its agricultural economy is
rebounding. There will now be a wait
and see attitude as a new government just
was elected. Argentina, like it or not, is
economically tied to Brazil. Together, they
constitute more than half the GDP of Latin
America.
South Africa:
The nation has moved beyond apartheid.
With a population of some 41 million, South
Africa represents 45% of the GDP of the
entire African continent. It has a modern
infrastructure, and highly sophisticated
industries in finance, communications,
transport, and energy. With the political
climate normalized, the country is open to
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A Review, Projections,
Conclusions.
and
The purpose of this paper is not to redefine the technological advances, or the
advantages of investment in less developed
countries. They are less developed, as was
pointed out, because they were (or are) unable
to harness their natural resources, attract
technicians and sophisticated work force to
manage building an economy; because there
was (and is) an unstable political climate,
because Western nations sought I(and seek)
to impose their morality, ethics, tradition,
and means of doing business on LDCs.
Perhaps one of the problems of properly
infusing LDCs with a supportable and doable means of building their economies
lies in some of the terminology. A native
in Botswana is less interested in what
globalization means, than in finding a job
to feed and house and clothe his family. A
Thai may seek employment with a multinational, but the multi part is unimportant
to him, unless it means an improved system
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Barnet, p. 339
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ibid, p. 340.
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ibid, p. M 1.
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References
Altman, Roger C.: The Fourth World, Los
Angeles TIMES, December 12, 1999
Barnet, Richard J. and John Cavanagh:
Global Dreams: Imperial Corporations
and the New World Order, New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Bender, David (ed.) Trade: Opposing
Opinions, San Diego: Greenhaven
Press, 1991:Essays included by:Greaves,
Bettina Bien: Fair Trade: the Necessary
Foundation forWorld Peace Peterson,
William H.: Free Trade is the Best
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