We have engaged in a lot of central planning in our American economy; only we never called it central planning. On the other hand we never have tried to micro manage our economy like others in the world.
What it all boils down to is an easy question for you to ask down in olde Virginia, "for whose benefit" are these trade deals and financial deals being made?
Tom
"J. Barkley Rosser, Jr." wrote:
> I apologize in advance as this is strictly a
> hit and run appearance.
> Doug, you may remember that the demos in
> India against the WTO were against the threat of
> the WTO doing what the "anti-imperialist" folks
> in Seattle, with all their kind and mushy thoughts
> were demonstrating for.
> Of course the piece in Slate that Carl Remick
> ridiculed so much is exactly correct. Anybody who
> thinks this is just an elitist argument should support
> tariffs by Kansas against Illinois so they can have a
> soybean industry. Illinois has an absolute advantage
> in wheat, corn, and soybeans. But any intelligent
> socialist central planner would have soybeans in
> Illinois, corn in Iowa, and wheat in Kansas, just as
> comparative advantage indicates.
> For those
> who want to either nix or fix, let me note that the
> real threat is free capital mobility, not free trade.
> Nothing to do with WTO at all, sorry. One can
> help out one's own workers with adjustment
> assistance like the Swedes did for decades and
> have free trade and highly progressive internal
> policies, if one can get it together.
> The debate between the nix it of fix it crowd
> is simply one of incoherence. "Fix it" implies
> even more power to imperialistically impose stuff
> on Third World countries not democratically since
> any democratic governance there is going to really
> put the kibbosh on any such moves.
> Of course "nix it" doesn't care since the point is
> to oppose the WTO, period. Hey, we can have Unity!
> (wow!) with neo-fascists and all sorts of other proper
> thinking types.
> Meanwhile back to wanking in the Shenvaleeeee !!!
> Barkley Rosser
> Professor of Economics
> James Madison University
> Harrisonburg, VA 22807 USA
> http://cob.jmu.edu/rosserjb