Globalisation is Good
bgk on Sep 22nd 2003
On Sunday, 21st September 2003, Channel 4 aired Johan Norberg’s Globalisation is Good. It was a short film in which Johan tries to demonstrate that Globalisation is a good thing; convincing me of that would be no small accomplishment!
Still, it’s great that Channel 4 as part of their ThinkTV series keep showing thought provoking films. I have to wonder is the person who scheduled it the same person who decided to show The Salon or BigBrother?!! As a friend pointed out, they’re offering alternative viewing, but for the masses …
Anyway, I decided to write to Johan with a few criticisms of his arguments, I wonder if he’ll reply?
Update 17th Oct — He replied a few days later.
Growth
I’m sure you’ll agree “capitalism” requires growth in the long term? On a planet of finite size, with finite resources this ‘infinite’ growth is not possible. As we slowly rape the earth of her resources and we are left with a shell, what do you say? I say this raping is inevitable because capitalism requires growth in the long term.
Definitions
Globalisation is what we have now. You should not arbitrarily redefine terms for purposes of headline grabbing. (Explanation: Globalisation is not the cute and cuddly system you portray in your film, where developing nations get to trade freely with the western world. It’s the system we have now where they are unable to trade due to tariffs and protectionism!)
Similarly Capitalism is the system we have now. It’s the system where the monopolies and rich-elites have the power whilst the rest of us live in a system of wage slavery to pay taxes to keep the elites in their ivory towers.
Some of the time it would seem you were advocating Adam Smith style market based free-trade on a global scale. Capitalism and Globalisation are not compatible with market economies, at least according to what Smith wrote in “The Wealth of Nations”.
Logic
To say we should do “globalisation” everywhere is a strange sentiment. Since the time of the Europeans travelling around the world “colonising” (aka ripping off, committing genocide, etc.) we’ve been globalising; it’s with this as a background that the western world finds themselves in such good conditions relative to the rest of the world.
To propose we do globalisation (in the historical sense of the word) requires that the current “developing world” nations have someone to rip off.
The past and future
We in the west have an arguably luxurious life, because it has worked for us you think it is the RIGHT system for the rest of the world into the future.
Let’s look back: In the middle ages, the feudal lords and barons and kings also lived a luxurious life and probably thought there was nothing wrong with their system.
I’m not trying to argue that Capitalism and Globalisation haven’t done “good” for the western world, it’s apparent to anyone that they have. However it’s become obvious to me that Capitalism and Globalisation are not human-friendly. Just look at the history of those systems.
It’s na?ve to assume we’ve got the ideal economic system in place at the moment. Maybe what we’ve got at the moment, Cap. + Glob., is the best we humans can practically live with, but I seriously doubt it. If I can envisage a better system based on principals closer to those of Adam Smith, then I am sure there is hope.
Filed in Humanities |
hmm you need more things for the masses here.. c’mon. where are the pictures, ben? where? we need ye candy! or dramatic tales of where your life flashed before yoru eyes because of the carelessness of youth
P.S. you need a spell checker.
Thanks Bill :p. I’ve corrected it now .. !
Haha! I swear this is a rip off of sex and the city! Nice one sir haha!
Since I watched Johan’s film, I’ve been trying prefusely to work out an argument about what he has put forward. I think that what he said is fact and very difficult to argue against. He has placed a smoke screen over our perfect anti-capitalist anti-globalisation views and made us question our beliefs. However Johan has neglected to talk about the whole issue, the real issue is the west’s attitude towards countries such as Taiwan and Vietnam. Johan must be naieve to believe that ruthless T.N.C.’s set up only for reasonably cheap labour with little economic stability. Capitalism revolves around the need for growth and therefore money and resources. To obtain power, afoothold in a country is needed, now is the time for Vietnam to get out before Western imperialism takes over.
Here is the emule link
Globalisation is good
Is an excelent film.