To: RON BL who wrote (22419 ) 1/24/2002 10:10:15 AM From: Neocon Respond to Although there is something to it, I think it is more complicated. First, there is genuine ideological acceptance, on the part of many, that we are fat and happy at the expense of the rest of the world. We have exploited the resources of the Third World through unfavorable terms of trade, and ensured that there is no rebellion through military aide to dictators, and occasional direct action. Now, it can fairly easily be shown that this is a crock: those nations which have been most open to trade with the West have prospered, relative to other countries: Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Turkey, to name a few. Similarly, those countries which have been most dependent upon the United States politically have prospered. Nevertheless, many people seriously assume that since business is not altruistic, therefore it must be exploitative, and thus that it must be true that capitalist countries have been "neo- colonialist" powers, in the worst way.
