NationStates Jolt Archive

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,392276,00.html
(Max is on the internet :p )

Will Politics die? Big Business has a lot of power over the economy (as does smaller business of course), and if politicians decide things not favourable to it, in a globalised world they'll simply leave. It's a sort of race to the bottom, at the end of which domestic politics is powerless.

Now, some libertarians will now start dancing - but remember that this works both ways: Business will demand corporate welfare, and politicians will have no choice but to provide it. So the result is a world that neither side can really live with.

Is that really going to happen? What can we do about it? And will this all result into a world government, as defense against corporations?

I wasn't aware that politics was still alive.

The only thing that matters to those in positions of influence is power. Some have power by virtue of their governmental positions, others by their positions in a business, others by media, religion, birth etc etc. As one set of power positions declines, the others will rise - it's all cyclial, dependent on society, culture and technology. What's important today will be trivial by comparison to something else in a few hundred years time.

Hopefully, free trade/globalization will bring an end to corporate welfare; however, this would necessitate the development of at least some kind of world government to ensure that the free trade agreements actually had power.

If we can engineer true free trade and globalization, it will be a truly landmark day in the evolution of society. These create real competition on a global scale, shattering the old ideas of economic nationalism and protectionism and increasing global stability both economic and social. Ideas spread faster, and it becomes harder to restrict their flow and evolution. Ultimately, true globalization is the road to the creation of a real world community and economy and serves as our strongest weapon against protectionism, nationalism, and fundamentalism.

Companies wouldn't leave places where the politicians regulate them unless there are places where they can get a better investment, and even then they would have to compete against companies in that region equally so there would be little benefit to abandoning established markets as long as they were profitable.

I hope you guys have a look at that link - it's really a very good article. That Jung guy always writes good stuff like this.

They believe globalization serves companies, not people; that it destroys jobs and the environment, threatens cultural diversity, exploits the Third World, and deepens the divisions within our own societies.

This is so ironic...these people don't realize that it was protectionism that created these problems in the first place. There wasn't a Third World until the developed nations intentionally restricted or even destroyed the economies of these nations so as to maiximize profits.

Societal divisions are created by isolation...the most divided societies are those with the least influx of new ideas and cultures and most protected markets.

bump

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,392276,00.html
(Max is on the internet :p )

Will Politics die? Big Business has a lot of power over the economy (as does smaller business of course), and if politicians decide things not favourable to it, in a globalised world they'll simply leave. It's a sort of race to the bottom, at the end of which domestic politics is powerless.

Now, some libertarians will now start dancing - but remember that this works both ways: Business will demand corporate welfare, and politicians will have no choice but to provide it. So the result is a world that neither side can really live with.

Is that really going to happen? What can we do about it? And will this all result into a world government, as defense against corporations?
Nice plug for Max's novel. Heh!

The article was very interesting, but also rather Eurocentric. I suppose this is to be expected, since it was mostly about Germany.

Globalization is inevitable. The best thing a government can do is devise ways of easing the transition for its citizens.