Thread: Globalism

I want to first put forth that I personally like capitalism. I think it is the best system to provide efficiency and quality. The far-reaching effects of capitalism advance a people to great heights.



However, with every good, there is a dark side. I will give an example to illustrate. In Ghana, there is a large farming business in cocoa. With the onset of globalism, Hershey is able to go into Ghana and create a corporate arm there independent from control of the government of Ghana. Therefore, a corporation can come into a country and take from their resources in a way that subverts the power of the government there. There are many other examples across the globe of corporations treating people as little more than slave labor for cheaper production costs. I want to hear anyone's input to this, and about how we can fix the bad to make way for the good.

[quote name='Morgan' date='25 October 2009 - 06:50 AM' timestamp='1256449802' post='44206']There are many other examples across the globe of corporations treating people as little more than slave labor for cheaper production costs.[/quote]



Generally it's the governments themselves causing this. China is an excellent example.

That is quite possibly true in many cases. I just believe that every sovereignty has the right to decide what to do or not do with their own resources.

[quote name='Morgan' date='25 October 2009 - 06:56 AM' timestamp='1256450160' post='44210']

That is quite possibly true in many cases. I just believe that every sovereignty has the right to decide what to do or not do with their own resources.

[/quote]



Did those countries not willingly enter the free trade agreements?

[quote name='Feslin' date='25 October 2009 - 12:58 AM' timestamp='1256450300' post='44211']

Did those countries not willingly enter the free trade agreements?

[/quote]



Even if it looks like they willingly let them buy up the land for it, WTO would make them anyway. I learned about all this from a professor here who is from Ghana and very passionate about the issue. He despises groups like the World Bank and IMF. I would need to talk with him directly again to acquire some specifics.

http://www.theglobalist.com/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=2392



Fairly good article on globalism.

[quote name='Dr.Knuckles' date='25 October 2009 - 01:48 AM' timestamp='1256453291' post='44245']

Banana republic is the catch all name. Even when it's cocoa.



How are they able to be independant from the government? How does that work?



I know the way it usually works. Western military, usually American or British, lands, brutally murders anyone in the government, churches, unions or media who tries to stop large corporate arm from being independant of the government, replaces government with friendly mass murderer who will take weapons, cash and training so that he can extend a horrific military dictatorship over his own people in exchange for carte blanc for the foreign food / diamond / rubber / oil / whatever exporter.



But that pre-dates globalism.



Was that how it went down there? Or does Ghana actually have a non-puppet government that is just willing to turn a blind eye for the foreign investment cash? Like China.

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Ghana has a fairly developed government comparatively to the rest of western Africa. They however have a large division between the rich and the poor, because Hershey sets up factories there to process the cocoa and pays starvation wages to the people. Meanwhile, the rich make sure the government is unable to do anything about it.



Other resources are being stripped from Ghana as well with Ghana getting none of the benefits from them, including boxite. What will happen is the country will be stripped dry of all usable resources with none of the profits or benefits of said resources going to the people of Ghana.



The downside of all of this will create an Aristocracy where the rich elite contain all of the power. The opinions of the poor will be bought and sold by the stranglehold of those few with all the money. It is beginning to happen here in our own country. I like capitalism, but I believe it has kinks like any other system. We can fix these kinks though and still provide for a free market.

[quote name='nonsqtr' date='25 October 2009 - 05:34 AM' timestamp='1256466883' post='44309']

A banana republic, is one which isn't fully in control of itself, so, what happens is people like the US send their corporate interests over there for cheap labor and then they end up paying off the government and the police and everyone else who needs to play ball. The Ivory Coast entered into some "resource agreements" with foreign countries, with the result that tankers now willy-nilly spill their garbage along the coast, and it's started to make people sick, and it's becoming visible. Turns out there's a lot of these things, these are the types of agreements that governments enter into that rarely see the light of the public eye, they're just kinda quietly put into place and executed, and it depends on some random investigative reporter to come along someday IF you're lucky, and pull a Freedom of Information Act thing or something.

[/quote]





There was a great piece on Ethiopia's coffee farmers on the television network Current. I love that channel. It goes in depth on things that the news never talks about. Mainly a program on there called Vanguard.