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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tsigprofit who wrote (8776)	3/23/2004 4:40:03 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 20773

Re: Until recently, First World countries retained their capital, labor, and technology. Foreign investment occurred, but it worked differently from outsourcing. Foreign investment was confined mainly to the First World. Its purpose was to avoid shipping costs, tariffs, and quotas, and thus sell more cheaply in the foreign market. The purpose of foreign investment was not offshore production with cheap foreign labor for the home market. Somehow a similar critique can be made of globalization itself.... Several scholars and economists have pointed to the fact that globalization and international trade were already roaring prior to WWI. That's true but then, what kind of globalization was that? Were European businesses and merchant banks dealing with their African, Asian, or Indian counterparts? Of course not.... Globalization and international trade, however worldwide their purview, were still monocultural and didn't involve native/indigenous partners. French, Belgian and British multinationals have done business in overseas markets, in remote colonies in Africa, Latin America, and Asia... BUT ONLY with fellow Belgians, Brits, and Frenchmen! Foodstuff and commodities traders like Dreyfus, Cargill and Continental Grain imported staple crops from Argentina, Brazil,... in Europe but their South American suppliers were all European landowners/farmers. Belgian firms exported locomotives and railroad and mining gear to Congo... to be used by their Belgian-run subsidiaries. Same story with the French in Algeria, the English in China, India,.... Bottom line: the brave new globalized trade was basically a "family business", worldwide in scope yet in the exclusive grip of European managers and representatives. Contrariwise, today's globalization is quite another ball-game --still worldwide in scope but multicultural in nature... The pie must be shared with the locals. Gus