[continue]
Critics of globalization bemoan the loss of good manufacturing jobs; the jobs have flown to poor countries. Legrain says that this is not the fault of globalization. He blames technology that is always destroying jobs and building new ones. He insists that protectionism would make things worse. Trade was always good and it is good now. Trade will bring us new jobs.
Critics of globalization claim that poor countries are exploited. When foreign deals are made the rich multinationals make lots of money, and maybe a few rich people in the poor country make money too. But most of the poor suffer. And when the IMF and World Bank set their conditions for helping a third-world country, the poor wind up suffering excessively. Legrain agrees that rich countries should do more for poor countries. However, he insists that business exploitation is separate from globalization.
Critics of globalization rail against the labor practices forced upon foreign factories by American huge corporations. Legrain inisists that American and and other big corporations pay better and have better working conditions than local employers. The problem, according to him, is not globalization but lack of empathy by rich countries. He says:
"Why not lend desperately poor countries a helping hand rather than bashing them with a stick? Rich counties could pay for schools in poor countries that enforce basic labour standards. The ILO has drawn up four core labour standards: the right to set up a free trade union, including the right to strike and bargain collectively; the abolition of forced labor; a ban on the worst forms of child labour; and the elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation."
Critics of globalization also claim that the environment receives short shrift in the big global deals. To which Legrain says:
"Companies' social responsibility is to make profits, not to decide how, or how much, the environment should be protected. It is a duty that they have to their shareholders who have entrusted their savings to them."
Here is where the author's philosophy becomes clear. The responsibility of companies is more than to make profits. They have a responsibility to seek the common good. This is why they were given special dispensations by being allowed to run a company. When figuring profits they should consider the cost of ruining the environment.
Legrain feels that globalization is compatible with protecting the environment
"...so long as national environmental laws are brought up to scratch and countries act together to tackle cross-border problems like global warming. For instance, a carbon tax that forced air freight companies to bear the full environmental cost of importing goods across the world would ensure that only trade whose economic benefits outweighted these environmental costs took place."
This sounds great. But why does not Legrain want to make such agreements part of the globalization agenda?
But what bothers me most about this book is that Legrain does not think that big business is too powerful. He says:
"Clearly, business has an influence on government. But so do trade unions, campaign groups and ordinary voters."
Business has more than "an influence." With their contributions and their lobbying, businesses bribe legislatures to do their bidding. Big business in U.S. has destroyed the "trade unions"; their influence is slight. The strongest "campaign groups" are those funded by big business. The "ordinary voter" is given a choice from those previously picked by big business.
To summarize, Legrain says globalization is good. Many factors, such as loss of jobs, exploitation of poor countries, ruining of the environment, and the maybe-not-so-overweaning power of big corporations are separate problems. I say they are all related. I say further, that we cannot solve these inequities until we rein in the tremendous power of huge multinationals.
Before ending, I want to quote again, this time a thought I am in complete agreement with Legrain:
"Talk about fighting terrorism is fine and dandy, but George Bush could do more good by opening up America's markets to T-shirts from Pakistan and other poor countries."
Amen! Because of statements like this, I strongly recommend you read Open World. You will learn about the many factors involved in globalization and it will help you form a clearer big picture.
