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The Forum > Article Comments > The lessons of Gandhi > Comments

The lessons of Gandhi : Comments

By Brad Pedersen, published 13/2/2008

The West needs another Gandhi, not only to save us from the terrorists, but also to save us from ourselves.

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Philip

The researchers used over 500 separate surveys, most of which covered thousands of households, not one survey covering a total of 500 households.

Countries that sign up for IMF restructuring policies are invariably in serious economic trouble, usually of their own making. Tough policies are often needed to get them back on an even keel.

The article you linked to was written more than a decade ago, in January 1998, at the height of the Asian economic meltdown. At the time many similar articles appeared claiming the IMF’s policy recommendations were excessively harsh and would cause long-term damage to the people of the countries concerned. That crisis has long passed and all of the worst affected economies have since recovered, most very strongly – due in part to their implementation of some of the policies advocated by the IMF at the height of the crisis. History has proven the IMF largely right, and its critics largely wrong.

Your claim that “voting out free trade advocates will stop global warming” seems naïve to me. Do you have any evidence to support this claim?

Your accusation that “passionate advocates of free trade, liberalization, deregulation, globalisation are almost always those big corrupt companies or their representatives that exploit people through unfair treaties, unfair working conditions” is ridiculous and contemptible.

But even if it were true, it would not absolve you from responsibility for presenting your counter-arguments with sound reasoning and credible evidence. I have seen neither in your posts to date
Posted by Rhian, Friday, 15 February 2008 6:56:01 PM
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Philip Tang

I am beginning to better understand your concerns over globalisation vs the environment and the interesting link below spells out the potential for further desecration of Australia's eco systems with the author addressing the free trade agreement with the US, which I believe was ratified in 2004.

I have only just learnt that 80% of all agricultural products in Australia are grown for export and since agriculture is regarded by scientists as a major GHG emitter, one must question why we, in this arid land (which suffers badly from salinity, drought and poor top soil) have not considered diversifying.

In addition, cloven hooved livestock and crops occupy some 58% of Australia's land mass.

The live animal exports last year saw over 40,000 dead and diseased animals dumped over-board, not forgetting the thousands of tonnes of animal faeces and urine (from millions of Australia's animals, bred specifically for export) also dumped into the ocean.

Many may say "So what? Ocean spans are enormous." However, there is now the dilemma of about 200 "dead zones" in the world's oceans where fish are unable to survive due largely to the nutrients and other pollutants Australia and other nations recklessly and "so what" dumps into the sea.

Sea birds are starving as a result and for that reason and/or another, are dying around the planet in the thousands.

Globalisation may lift the poor out of poverty, however, to what avail when they continue to grow ill from the insidious effects of air pollution, contaminated crops and poisoned water, a result of their "economic progress." This pollution is occurring on a massive scale and the polluters appear happy. Yes, very happy!

The effects of today's CO2 emissions takes decades to become apparent.

If leaders continue to talk but fail to act, the serious impacts on the environment from globalisation, coupled with maniacal consumerism, may eventually lead to "every nation for itself," and then "every man for himself"....and then what?

http://www.ozprospect.org/pubs/FTA.pdf

PS: Boazy you judge me well - there are no "reds" in my domain, I can assure you.
Posted by dickie, Friday, 15 February 2008 9:18:44 PM
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Free-trade deregulation, globalisation makes local economic structures vulnerable to foreign takeovers. Who did the people of that country vote for? The government? or an MNC?, WB or IMF? The Asian-Financial Crisis proves it.

(modus_operandi_of_IMF/WB)

The foreign banks brutally and abruptly turned off the faucet when overproduction of everything from microchips to chemicals, steel and autos caused sales to decline in the region. The local corporations and banks were unable to pay off their loans to foreign banks.

Then the IMF stepped in to promote the U.S. program. First, it demanded that no aid be given to ailing companies and that they be forced into bankruptcy and layoffs. Then it demanded cuts in government spending so that the funds could be used to buy dollars to pay back U.S. banks, causing more layoffs.

Third, the IMF demanded that governments raise interest rates and slow their economies--thus reducing the competition to the multinational corporations in their struggle for markets, and leading to further unemployment. And finally, they demanded economic concessions: expanded rights to buy up local corporations and expanded access to local markets.

Thus, the United States made sure to push the crisis on to the backs of the oppressed countries in Asia and to extract concessions at the same time. Of course, unemployment is the inevitable result of capitalist overproduction, but the U.S./IMF axis has aggravated the current situation in Asia with a vengeance.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/50/index-a.html

Mahathir from Malaysia proved the IMF and WB are wrong. IMF and WB are there to maximise profits

''There was always a case for capital controls in principle during a crisis,'' said Paul Krugman, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who wrote an influential article defending controls in Fortune magazine on the eve of Malaysia's announcement.

Dr. Mahathir says the moves protected Malaysia from the predations of foreign currency traders. Without controls, he says, the traders would have caused wild swings in the currency, which could have decimated the economy and ignited social unrest in this multiracial society. Business people here initially balked, but most now rally around the Prime Minister.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EFDD133AF937A3575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
Posted by Philip Tang, Friday, 15 February 2008 10:49:18 PM
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Philip

I agree with Krugman that exchange controls are sometimes appropriate for developing countries in financial crises. I also agree with his views on protectionism and the anti-globalisation movement.

I encourage you to read this, as Krugman sums up the case for trade liberalisation far more articulatedly than I can

http://hei.unige.ch/~baldwin/ComparativeAdvantageMyths/PraiseCheapLabour_PK.htm
Posted by Rhian, Saturday, 16 February 2008 11:30:06 AM
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The following is a superb documentary which gives solid evidence, both in numbers and visually, about how Indoensia suffered as a result globalisation . It is produced by world famous Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker John Pilger.

“Globalisation : New Rulers of The World” in six parts, available on the youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdgMlXoQMbY

If you’ve the stomach watch "21st century war : Indonesia", where the Muslims massacre the Christians, mistakenly associating them with the West, and its institutions e.g. IMF and WB.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOl2kcqyK1I
Posted by Philip Tang, Sunday, 17 February 2008 1:45:47 AM
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Amazing isn't it. "and Gandhi was shot by a religious fanatic" says it all. It apears to me that the only rational discourse in all this debate on the world situation comes from people who understand that religion is the root cause of most of the problems. This is because of the way religion is structured. All religions including capitalism, have an unshakeable base or belief or they do not work. The sooner the world grows up and leaves this superstitious humbug behind the better.

Please note: If a person believes in a God that is their business and I will be the last to criticize their personal choice. Raise the ugly head of religion and that is a whole different matter.
Posted by Guy V, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 5:48:03 PM
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