tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post116380918572873222..comments2023-10-24T04:29:23.693-06:00Comments on Atheist Ethicist: International TradeAlonzo Fyfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-1163920503947042222006-11-19T00:15:00.000-07:002006-11-19T00:15:00.000-07:00I think all that anyone wants from big business is...I think all that anyone wants from big business is accountability and responsibility.<BR/><BR/>These are traditionaly sacrificed in honour of the holy dollar and the bottom line.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and they also treat human beings as infinite resources, which can be used according to their need.<BR/><BR/>I have always found this idea contrary to the "happy face of free market capitalism" which seems to willingly snipe about the dehumanization which can occur in other economic systems such as communism, whilst all the time being blinkered to the same processes occurring within its system.beepbeepitsmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12931640447011071849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-1163873193371342082006-11-18T11:06:00.000-07:002006-11-18T11:06:00.000-07:00What the government should do in your hypothetical...What the government should do in your hypothetical situation is place a limit on the length of time for which such contracts will be binding (i.e. the time for which the government will enforce them). If the traveler has the inalienable right to renegotiate after one year, or even five years, then most of the problems are avoided. The merchant can still get a return on his investment, but once circumstances have changed and the traveler is no longer in quicksand, the merchant and traveler can adjust their relationship to one that suits their new circumstances. Long-term contracts limit the ability of economic actors to respond to changing conditions.<BR/><BR/><BR/>I mainly agree with this post, except for your use of the phrase "destruction of every coastal city on the planet." Whether intentionally or otherwise, I think this phrase is misleading: it creates the false impression that sea level rise due to global warming will be sudden and catastrophic, rather than a gradual process taking place over decades. If sea levels rise steadily at one inch per year, it's possible that some waterfront buildings and other facilities will have to be abandoned, or at least redesigned, but it is unlikely that any greater loss of human life would result, for the simple reason that it is much slower than humans are capable of moving to get out of the way.<BR/><BR/>Now, of course, gradually moving the city to higher ground and abandoning some buildings is a process that has some cost, and there's certainly an argument that that cost should be assessed and applied to those whose activities contributed to global warming (fossil fuel burning and deforestation are the big ones, I think), but it's primarily an economic cost and not a danger that can kill anyone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-1163825493282202152006-11-17T21:51:00.000-07:002006-11-17T21:51:00.000-07:00Two points here: First, I think you overlooked the...Two points here: First, I think you overlooked the reason why businesses go to third world countries to begin with: cheap labor. The more you restrict business's abilities to exploit third world workers, the less willing they'll be to move their operations there to begin with. Those nice worker-friendly regulations probably won't do much good if businesses don't even build factories in their countries. So making trade agreements "nicer" may ultimately defeat their purpose. However, as I am not an expert on international trade, I can't tell you just how much you can regulate without causing firms to just stay in their home countries. If I were to support a free trade agreement, I would certainly support regulation up to that point, but the location of that point is in the end an empirical issue. Perhaps even the limited regulation you suggest would be counter-productive. <BR/><BR/>Second, I think you overlooked the long run (lack of) fairness of free trade. Of course, if you look at things statically (i.e. ignoring economic growth), then free trade benefits all parties (assuming that the things traded are actually good). Sweatshops are better than no sweatshops, because they offer higher wages than the workers could get otherwise. However, in the long run, that static conclusion doesn't really amount to much, if you care about fairness. Free trade could make poor countries better off right now, and yet it could leave them behind in the long run if it doesn't promote their economic growth. And I’m very skeptical that free trade actually does that. After all, most of the wealthiest countries today did not actually get rich by practicing the free trade that they preach. <BR/><BR/>Here’s an analogy that might be helpful: a traveler, stranded in the desert, falls into some quicksand. He’s stuck and he knows he’ll probably die soon without help. A merchant comes along, and sees the traveler in trouble. He offers to save the traveler, but in exchange the traveler will have to be his servant for life for the wage of $1 a day (after all this maximizes the merchant’s utility, and the traveler should accept since any life – positive utility – is better than no life – zero utility). This “free exchange” takes place, and both parties are indeed better off than they were before. The merchant gets some free labor, and the traveler lives. In terms of desire utilitarianism, more desires are being fulfilled in the short run than if the trade did not take place. But clearly, this is unfair in the long run: nearly all the benefits are going to the merchant, and the well being of the traveler stagnates. Perhaps the government could have forced the merchant to give the traveler a better deal, but maybe then the merchant, seeing less opportunity for profit in that case, wouldn’t have even bothered saving the traveler. Maybe instead, the government should just tax the merchant and use the funds the rescue the traveler itself. <BR/><BR/>Of course, it would be a bit of an exaggeration to say that free trade actually works like this, but perhaps not much of an exaggeration in some cases. In an environment where firms compete over workers, working conditions and wages will of course rise. But in an environment where there is a “surplus army of unemployed/underemployed” (such as in Third World countries) firms don’t even need to compete with each other to get labor – they can exploit to their pocketbooks’ content. <BR/><BR/>Additionally, Dr. Anwar Shaikh (among others) has argued that there are some serious, fundamental flaws in free trade theory: <BR/><BR/>http://homepage.newschool.edu/~AShaikh/globalizationmyths.pdf<BR/><BR/>Also, I want to say that I’m not against free trade per se. On an individual level, I want to say that if you want to freely exchange things with other people for your mutual benefit, great. But free trade has negative social consequences that I can’t ignore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com