To:  Hopeful friends of globalization on several mail lists

I must dispose of some trivial old business before taking up the hopeful new 
business of globalization.

The trivial old business is a hangover from a pact I made with the Devil 
about two weeks ago, just before leaving on a pleasant one week vacation in 
the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  In the pact with "Old Scratch," I 
wrote to the owner and members of list Community Way <[log in to unmask]> as 
follows:

"If three more members of list Community Way share your opinion that the 5% 
of GNP deficiency of purchasing power among parenting families in the U.K. 
and the U.S. is not an important obstacle in the way of local community 
development, and will advise me of that opinion, with copies to the CW list, 
I will promptly remove address <[log in to unmask]> from my copy list and 
unsubscribe from list <[log in to unmask]>."

"Old Scratch" found not three, but five Determined Defenders of the Status 
Quo on the CW list who think that a democratic commonwealth can be sustained 
with a 5% of GNP deficiency of purchasing power among its parenting families. 
 These five DDotSQ are all well educated, kind hearted, and patriotic folks 
so the Devil must have made them voice that opinion.  Now I know how John C. 
Turmel must have felt when his posted discussions of the benefits of a 
zero-interest global Local Employment Trading-System (LETS) were blocked on 
list <[log in to unmask]> a few months back.  Perhaps I am old 
fashioned, but I believe with Alexander that we must have one law for Greeks 
and Persians alike, for local and global alike, for rich and poor alike.  
When we see that one law become world wide public policy, we will know that 
globalization is complete.
 
List <[log in to unmask]> has been removed from my copy list and my email to 
<[log in to unmask]>, with "unsubscribe cw" in the body of the message, 
follows this post.

>>>>>>>>>>>>> End pact with the Devil <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>> Begin new business of globalization.<<<<<<<<<<

In a 99-09-17 04:14:08 EDT post to list [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask] 
(Laurent JESOVER) invited our attention to the progressive viewpoint on 
globalization expressed by Pascal Lamy after his confirmation as the European 
Union's Commissioner for trade policy (replacing Sir Leon Brittan) on 15 
September 99.

The full text of Mr. Lamy's statement is posted at URL 
<http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg01/dg1newround.htm> as a link from the Global 
Trade Negotiation's Home Page 
<http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidtrade/trade2.html>.  The following brief 
excerpts from Mr. Lamy's statement convey the keynote of his progressive 
viewpoint on the process of globalization.

Mr. Lamy wrote:

>>
Globalisation: a win-win process

I am convinced that it is necessary for the European Union to
secure - permanently - new markets. New markets mean stronger growth
and more jobs. Globalisation, a key element of which is international
commerce, facilitated by liberalisation of trade and investment, is
not a zero-sum game where some lose what the others gain. It is to my
mind a win-win process, as post-war economic history shows. Europe has
profited from it, and will continue to do so, provided that it
preserves its long-term competitiveness, its capacity for innovation,
and its social-market economy. It is with this in mind that I will
approach the Millennium round, which will start in Seattle at the end
of November.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ snip ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We must also concern ourselves with political interests outside the
Union.

In matters of development, human rights, social and environmental
norms, the European Union holds values of universal relevance. And,
from this point of view, the common commercial policy does not, to my
thinking, boil down just to a "tête-à-tête" with our biggest partner,
the USA, however important the US may be for us and for world peace.
Other continents have the right to speak, other countries are
emerging, regional groupings are being formed. As we seek to promote
trade liberalisation, sustainable development and human rights, we
must practise the multilateralism that we preach. I will try to apply
and win acceptance of these principles by dialogue and negotiation of
multilateral rules with our external partners, who have also their own
vision, interests and values.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ snip ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Debating the threats of globalisation

I am particularly aware of the requirement for debate on trade policy.
I know that part of public opinion in Europe focuses more on the risks
than the benefits of globalisation. Such opinion is concerned about
possible instability, aggression, loss of identity. I do not share
these concerns, but we have to take on board these worries, and seek
to convince our fellow European citizens that the answers lie in the
quality of our own internal policies, and in progress towards
multilateral rules. We must not allow globalisation to become an
alibi, or to be seen as a malign influence. This requires reflection,
dialogue, openness to debate. <<

>>>>>>> End excerpts from statement by Pascal Lamy <<<<<<<

What happens if members of list Community Way believe that a 5% of GNP 
deficiency of purchasing power among parenting families in the U.K. and the 
U.S. will not affect local community development?  Not much! 

What happens if European and Asian trade negotiators at the Millennium Round 
in Seattle believe that a 5% of GNP deficiency of purchasing power among 
parenting families in the U.K. and the U.S. will not affect the world view of 
U.K. and U.S. negotiators?  The status quo will continue, as plotted on 
Figure 1 of the global model at URL 
<http://www.freespeech.org/darves/bert.html>, and all of the world's trade 
negotiators will be assured of well-paid enjoyable work forever.

As <[log in to unmask]> wrote in his 99-09-02 comment on a previous note:

>> "It is going to be very difficult to align European culture with US - which
is why I ask - how to get World reform agreements ?" <<

We could start the reform process with Pascal Lamy's "reflection, dialogue, 
openness to debate," and achieve complete globalization by overcoming our 
"fear of the masses" and by overcoming Europe and Canada's fear of a more 
powerful and prosperous United States.

Kind regards,

WesBurt






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