Dear GH,
first of all, the link I provided above was not "ridiculous"; it contained some cogent opinion (at least as cogent as anything here) that popped up at the click of a mouse. I didn't have time for rigorous research but was pleased to find my own views corroborated so spontaneously.

Free trade will finally consume the entire planet

My position is one of frustration and a sense of helplessness in the face of a human world that is impossible to defend, perhaps on every level. I'm sure many people feel the same way. When addressing these manifold ills, I try to think beyond the immediate problem as it presents itself to "me" or "us" (Australia). If capitalism has accomplished one thing, for good or ill, it's globalisation. The whole world is connected economically so that no nation can be an island and all are subject (beneficiaries and victims) to each other's influence. We have to think of the world as one. There are no countries, it's a world system. Think of the different world cultures as suburbs. In this world-community there are stunningly wealthy neighbourhoods as well as utterly destitute ones and everything in between (and the distribution of wealth is as random and unmerited as national boarders), but beyond all these there is vast capital that represents the surplus drawn from all the activity. That surplus capital is the raison d'etra of the whole set-up; humanity is not the object, but the means. Cannot you see that in the global context protectionism/nationalism is akin to narcissism? A curmudgeonly rather than neurotic narcissism, but nevertheless mere grist for the mill. Tony Ryan's constituents are not the romantic battlers that exist only in myth, they're four-wheel driving, boat-toating, beer-guzzling, bellicose (when they've got a skin-full) narcissists and it's Tony's job to maintain the lifestyle to which they've become accustomed (oi oi oi). Free trade will finally consume the planet (or all but). Protectionism is a redundant nostalgia. The capitalists are the new aristocracy and we are their cattle.
Marx was right, the only hope is revolution.

Squeers, I definitely see where you are coming from. The current system is frustrating on so many levels, especially with the big players that we have right now: big business and national governments - I wonder which of the two is more competent.

Also, the fact that we are now in a globalised world makes us, like you said, think and act in a global context, for better or worse.

I do hope that things change, for the better of course, but how would we go about doing this? There are people who want change, but if taking the comments in this discussion as a guide, there are many different ideas as to how to apply that change. Revolution is a word I sort of dislike, especially when it is mixed with the ideas of Marx...it brings up images of the Russian, Cuban, Chinese and Vietnamese revolutions - all of which were accompanied with bloodshed and tyranny. As well as past/current insurgent groups in Nepal, Peru, Malaysia, Cambodia, India, Colombia - granted not all of them are strictly Marxist in their ideologies but bloodshed is always a common factor.

Then again, a revolution can happen slowly and there are even examples of peaceful (as far as I'm aware) revolutions: the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

http://currentglobalperceptions.blogspot.com/

Aye Jorge, there's the rub. Revolution always proceeds by its bad side, but the powers that be will not hand over their wealth and power without a fight. Nor do I see any signs of fight. Things will no doubt have to run their course before meaningful change comes about. Of course there's every chance we'll wreck the planet or kill each other off before the system is "ripe" for change. All the failed revolutions took place, don't forget, in a dominant capitalist world and were thus, I think, doomed to fail. I can't see any reason to be anything but pessimistic about the future. If you're interested, I've also commented (incongruously as the thread is about arts) on these themes here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11265