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Globalization And Objectivism

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Selfish

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Because I only had a surface knowledge of economics and 'globalization', i'v always just assumed Objectivists would be 100% for it (free trade and what not). Well, as of right now, i'm in the research phase of writing a 'political commentary' essay on globalization, and I stumbled across this article:

http://globalization.about.com/gi/dynamic/...g%2F121103.html

Although the tone of the article is a tad preachy, I found some of the points and ideas expressed to be really intresting. If corporations are running to set up shop in foreign economies that arn't really free at all (instead being completly manipulated by communist governments), then perhaps it's not a selfish, capitalistic movement after all. Are we bleeding our country dry for the false ideal of 'helping third world countries'? Sorry for the ignorance of this post, i'm looking for any opinions and facts on this issue.

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Are we bleeding our country dry

What is being "bled"?

for the false ideal of 'helping third world countries'?
That is a false ideal for a business. Fortunately, profit is the usual motivation for foreign investment.

Please check your post for bad spelling (and bad premises!) before your next post.

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What i'm asking here is, is globalization really an altrusitic front to support communist/totalitarian regimes.

No, corporations globalize because doing so increases their profits. Workers in foreign countries work these jobs for the same reason. There is nothing altruistic about it.

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to the people who say Outsourcing is bad, I ask them this; is our unemployment rate (that is, the percent of people actively seeking work) higher, lower, or about the same as it was 30 years ago?

the answer is that it's about the same; 5.5%

one would think that with the increase in outsourcing our unemployment rate would be skyrocketting.

I look at the opponents with outsourcing with the same eyes as I look upon luddites. 100 years ago luddites predicted that technology would replace everyone and no one would have jobs except a privilaged elite. 100 years and extreme advances in science and technology later, the people are more privilaged then ever, and the luddites are still around spewing their apolyptic prophesies, but no one really pays them any bother.

so let's weather these cries of outsourcing. They'll be silenced sooner or later

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"Globalization" is an inappropriate "package deal". Break it down into its components and evaluate each element independently. Free trade is one thing. The IMF and World Bank are totally separate issues with opposite consequences, but get lumped in with free trade as part of "globalization".

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"Globalization" is an inappropriate "package deal". Break it down into its components and evaluate each element independently. Free trade is one thing. The IMF and World Bank are totally separate issues with opposite consequences, but get lumped in with free trade as part of "globalization".

This is an excellent point, especially from the point of view of economics. The IMF and World Bank aren't private corporations, they are financial slushfunds set up by governments. Amusingly enough, one of the big people running the IMF for a long time was arch-liberal/Vietnam apologist (after he's already done it) Robert McNamara. No capitalist could support either organization anymore than they could support the Federal Reserve, to act as though capitalism and the IMF are the same is wrong-headed in the extreme. Some corporations are run by idiots who aren't capitalists or rational at all, beyond sensing a way to make money. Thus you'll often find them doing things which hurt their own interests in a very hap-hazzard way, much like irrational and stupid people in the general population.

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This is an excellent point, especially from the point of view of economics. The IMF and World Bank aren't private corporations, they are financial slushfunds set up by governments. Amusingly enough, one of the big people running the IMF for a long time was arch-liberal/Vietnam apologist (after he's already done it) Robert McNamara. No capitalist could support either organization anymore than they could support the Federal Reserve, to act as though capitalism and the IMF are the same is wrong-headed in the extreme. Some corporations are run by idiots who aren't capitalists or rational at all, beyond sensing a way to make money. Thus you'll often find them doing things which hurt their own interests in a very hap-hazzard way, much like irrational and stupid people in the general population.

That's what i'm asking about. I have no doubts about the broad concept of the global economy being developed as a 'free capitalist economy', what I'm asking is, are the powers that be using methods and ideals that are far from free. If anyone can point me to some good sources, that would be really great.

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powers that be

I do believe that is a package deal, which fails to make a distinction between political and economic power. If you have a specific question about the actions of certain governments, corporations, or NGO’s, then ask it.

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