Nero’s Guests

After enjoying a riveting lecture on Anti-Globalization, it does not matter which lecture, for you can Google scholarly articles and find a myriad of authors and subtitles to tickle your fancy, it struck me that there weren't any prescriptions. No solutions. No open discussion of new models and networks. No better way. No understanding. In essence, there isn't any real forethought on Globalization as a growing crisis in the world and how to mold capitalism and regulation together.

Yes, suicidal rates of Indian farmers are up. Yes, water rights are privatized in Latin America. Yes, jobs are moving to other regions of the world. The economies of scale are over. Global Capitalism has won. It should win. It is the only economic system that suits are primal nature. We are naturally competitive and naturally self-interested; these are historical and personal truths. We believe in the ability of the self to self-preserve. Locke, Hobbes, Plato, Aristotle, Montesquieu and numerous ancient historians have come to the same conclusion: man is still motivated by self interest and the need to survive. These are also givens within the free-market capitalist (FMC) model.

The focus now must be on blending FMC with sovereign regulation. A Westphalia model is needed of economic regulation, scaled process of trade and compensation to ingenious groups which have been displaced by the Globalization effect. Indian elites must compensate the disposed farmers before the noose is tightened. American representatives must provide FREE training to displaced workers, for this investment will come back ten fold, a much better return then top down tax rebates and corporate welfare. Latin American governments must not privatize water because there are LIMITS to capitalism. Just as there are limits to our own self interest there must be limits to the beast of FMC. We have a social contract and a relationship with the government. There are thousands of rules and laws which govern our self interest; for we are not as free as freedom might have you believe. Therefore, justice is maintained and the rule of law is legitimate.

This same scenario must be in place for Globalization to succeed. Laws and regulation must guide capitalism. Thus, FMC can move at a pace which does not destroy the lives it is supposed to help. Adam Smith and F.A. Hayek both revealed, even though in Hayek’s case it was a footnote, that regulation is needed in the FMC model. Consequently, solutions lie at the foot of democratically elected governments to see that economic policy is not dictated by corporations but solidified through negotiations with the people of each nation. Time consuming? Yes, but if the arduous work is done in the front end then ALL can prosper, without revolution.