Etanistan
26-02-2004, 18:38
The Muppet Show of Etanistan has voted against this proposal for two reasons:
1. The corporation system of purchasing shares seems ill-defined in terms of the goals of the proposal. In a corporation, share holders buy their shares and expect that these shares will increase in value and perhaps offer dividends. What benefit is there to buying shares in this new UN organization? Will the shareholders with the most shares simply get to colonize larger parts of the moon or reap more of the resources from the moon? Or do they simply obtain a more powerful vote on international lunar projects? This resolution is unclear on exactly what the new organization would do or why it is necessary to sell shares in the new organization.
2. While it is unclear exactly WHAT powers are granted to nations who purchase shares, it is clear to us that the corporate shareholder model is ill-fitted to the goals of the resolution. Equating power with economic power is not a move FORWARD in international relations. If the goal of this resolution is to move away from a solar system in which wealthy nations control the fates of less wealthy nations, than the shareholder model is extremely counterproductive. It will merely create a new form of imperialism in which wealthy countries continue to be more powerful.
We urge other UN members to vote against this resolution. While the idea of cooperative space exploration is a favorable one, we would propose a rotating board of member nations so that all nations have a term in power regardless of the wealth of their nations.
- Kermit D. Frog, Minister for Education and Public Relations, Muppet Show of Etanistan
1. The corporation system of purchasing shares seems ill-defined in terms of the goals of the proposal. In a corporation, share holders buy their shares and expect that these shares will increase in value and perhaps offer dividends. What benefit is there to buying shares in this new UN organization? Will the shareholders with the most shares simply get to colonize larger parts of the moon or reap more of the resources from the moon? Or do they simply obtain a more powerful vote on international lunar projects? This resolution is unclear on exactly what the new organization would do or why it is necessary to sell shares in the new organization.
2. While it is unclear exactly WHAT powers are granted to nations who purchase shares, it is clear to us that the corporate shareholder model is ill-fitted to the goals of the resolution. Equating power with economic power is not a move FORWARD in international relations. If the goal of this resolution is to move away from a solar system in which wealthy nations control the fates of less wealthy nations, than the shareholder model is extremely counterproductive. It will merely create a new form of imperialism in which wealthy countries continue to be more powerful.
We urge other UN members to vote against this resolution. While the idea of cooperative space exploration is a favorable one, we would propose a rotating board of member nations so that all nations have a term in power regardless of the wealth of their nations.
- Kermit D. Frog, Minister for Education and Public Relations, Muppet Show of Etanistan