Ch. 3: One Economy

1

• Ch. 3 One Economy
• The Case of Coffee (Black Gold film)
• What rules for the global economy? The case of
  NAFTA Ch. 11
• Film excerpt Trading Democracy
• WTO Controversies

2

• Black Gold
• Whats the problem for these Ethiopian coffee
  farmers? Why are they so poor?

What does the film advocate for?
3

• Black Gold The Broader Context
• Neoliberalism and the collapse of the
  International Coffee Agreement
• A highly oligopolistic market (Kraft, Nestle,
  Proctor and Gamble, Sara Lee)
• Oversupply encouraged by World Bank and other
  international institutions as part of export-led
  developmentthe problem of Vietnam
• Trade, not aid....but
• Free trade or fair trade?

4

• One Economy the issue of what rules
• The Case of NAFTA, Ch. 11
• Trading Democracy (excerpts)
• what is the films basic argument about trading
  rules and democracy?
• what does the film suggest about who makes the
  rules?
• how did Chapter 11 become law?

5
Charges against the WTO 1. The WTO places
economic considerations ahead of concerns for the
environment, animal welfare, and even human rights

• The product vs. process issue
• Do free market values trump all other social
  values?
• Where do things stand?

6
Charges against the WTO 2. The WTO erodes
national sovereignty

• The WTO version of the golden straitjacket
• The issue of drug compulsory licensing
• Is sovereignty or the dominance of free trade
  values the issue?

7
Charges against the WTO 3. The WTO is
undemocratic

• Rule by consensus
• Informal workings
• Voting not linked to population size
• Is globalization from below possible?

8
Charges against the WTO 4. The WTO increases
inequality and hurts the poor.

• Why is this a hard thing to determine?
• What is Singers verdict?

9
Question Is the WTO the only main obstacle to
the setting of global environmental and labor
standards?
The complexity of the North-South global division
10
Question Should trade be linked to political
criteria (e.g. democracy, human rights, and
corruption)?
Kathmandu 2006
Wolfowitz under fire