>But Doug, what do you think of Walden's argument that the
>alternative is not between WTO and bilateral arrangements (which he
>knows very well will indeed lead to a competitive 'race to the
>bottom' to meet US demands), but between WTO and some sort of
>revamped South-South united front?
I'm all for a South-South united front (though as we've already seen, the U.S. picked off 3 or 4 of the weaker members of the G20+). Still, there will still be North-South trade, and North-North trade, and a need for some sort of international body to regulate it. By their history and structure, the Bretton Woods institutions are almost inevitably constituted to reinforce imperial hierarchies; I don't think the same is true of the WTO. Of course, the U.S. will damage or leave any body that is truly multilateral, especially with this gang of idiots in charge.
Doug