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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dayuhan who wrote (95732)	4/23/2003 8:15:48 AM
From: gamesmistress	Respond to of 281500

Steven, I don't think it is possible to "create" such an international body, in the same way that the League of Nations and the United Nations were created, and have it work as a pangovernmental authority. It may evolve, over time, but the historical reality is that regions became part of countries by force. I just got a remaindered book on British Kings and Queens - there have been "kings" in Britain for nearly 3000 years, even if they reigned over a small area - and it took hundreds of years to unite even a small principality like Wales. All the countries of the world ceding national interests, meeting the same standards, and playing by the same rules? Never mind the US - China, for example?

To: Dayuhan who wrote (95732)	4/23/2003 12:58:01 PM
From: Brian Sullivan	Respond to of 281500

>The British wanted to sell to the Chinese a commodity >which the Chinese wanted to buy, and which btw the >British themselves bought in large amounts, and the >Mandarins prevented it. The Mandarins prohibited the substance because they believed it was dangerous to their society. The British sold it anyway, because they wanted to make money. Is that so different from the Cali cartel? Actually the Mandarins prohibited the purchasing of almost all trade goods that the British wanted to sell. They only wanted to sell goods to the British in return for gold not for any other trade goods. The British were quite interested in trading for Chinese silk, tea and other "oriental" craftmade goods. But they wanted the Chinese to trade for western made goods rather than just gold. So in one way it was a war to prevent a trade deficit with China. Drugs such as opium weren't consider bad and evil by the West until the 20th century. I'm unclear on whether China considered opium to be "bad or evil" or whether they just wanted to stop the unwanted trade of goods for opium by some of their merchants. Obviously addition started to play a role in this trade.