Hey, djane, that was quite a rant! Wow!
But I just can't see how the "system" is to blame for the current low resource prices. I think it is a cyclical market phenomenon, not the product of nefarious design by the developed countries.
You said:
-Based on empirical evidence, the current global economic system is designed so that
the rich get richer, the poor get more and more impoverished. Commodity prices are at
a 22-year low with no end in sight. We want to sell them value-added products and
services, but what will we let them sell us in return?-
But copper was $1.15 not long ago, gold was near $400.00, oil was $19.00, and noone was complaining then about the effect of those nice prices on developing countries. What happened was that those prices caused an increase in SUPPLY--which would alone have pressured the commodity prices. Unfortunately, DEMAND has also been in a downdraft due to the asian flu and slowing economies all over. Supply up, demand down equals "22-year low with no end in sight". It really isn't a case of "what will we let them sell us in return?"
Another rant that might be interesting is: How much LESS impoverished would the developing countries be now if they: 1) had refrained from embracing state-controlled socialism from liberation forward; 2)now had in their treasuries all of the money stolen, diverted and pillaged by their OWN leaders; and 3)had put in place an open and transparent environment for international trade and investment? How much less suffering would their citizens face now? How much less vulnerable to "hot money" would their currencies be now? Let's rant, it's a 3-day weekend!
John
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