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<DIV><SPAN class=068080719-05042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial>Mueller:</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=068080719-05042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=068080719-05042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>The
point was that Clinton was (unthinkingly) following the neo-liberal orthodoxy
and "inadvertently" destroyed the Haitian small holder rice economy. The
recognition that this had taken place has been around in thoughtful circles for
years (as of course had the impacts of the destruction of a subsistence rice
(small holder) economy with no provision or capacity for its replacement), but
it took a crisis for Clinton to recognize this and my hat off to him for being
big enough to recognize and learn from his mistakes.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=068080719-05042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=068080719-05042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>And of
course, the target for Haiti is not (realistically in the near term) a developed
country standard of living but should be at least significant reductions in
infant mortality, child malnutrition, and adult pauperization all of which
were exacerbated and precipitated by the "free marketeers" let loose by Clinton
and his co-conspirators in the World Bank, the IMF etc.etc.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=068080719-05042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=068080719-05042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial>M</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=068080719-05042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=068080719-05042010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>---------- Forwarded message ----------<BR>From: <B
class=gmail_sendername>Milton L Mueller</B> <SPAN dir=ltr><<A
href="mailto:mueller@syr.edu">mueller@syr.edu</A>></SPAN><BR>Date: Sun, Apr
4, 2010 at 9:41 AM<BR>Subject: RE: [governance] Clinton Admits: "Free" Trade is
Harmful to 3rd<BR>To: "<A
href="mailto:governance@lists.cpsr.org">governance@lists.cpsr.org</A>" <<A
href="mailto:governance@lists.cpsr.org">governance@lists.cpsr.org</A>>,
michael gurstein <<A
href="mailto:gurstein@gmail.com">gurstein@gmail.com</A>><BR><BR><BR>Gurstein:<BR>Clinton
didn't "admit" that free trade was bad for "3rd world countries" he stated that
it was bad for Haitian rice farmers. Which it may well have been - some of them
are not competitive. Farmers have been moved "off the land" in every developing
economy; typically that's part of the development process.<BR><BR>Always missing
from the free trade critics perspective is the harms done to the 70-80% of the
population who pay more for rice because of the trade protectionism. So, how
much more should all those poor people be forced to pay for food so that the
economy can conform to romantic notions of yeoman farmers and
self-sufficiency?<BR><BR>While the emotional impact of this article trades on
the Haiti earthquake disaster, I have trouble understanding how total dependence
on local sources of food production protects you against a local earthquake. I
guess people will use anything to milk such things to support their favored
political agenda.<BR><BR>The idea that a small island economy such as Haiti can
be "self-sufficient" in _anything_ is worth treating critically, if your target
is developed country standards of living. It reminds me of the crappy nonsense
American politicians like to say about making us "self-sufficient in oil." This
plays well in any election even though everyone knows that it's utter nonsense
and will never happen. How about maintaining good relations with other countries
and paying fair prices for things, instead of seeking an artificial "national"
self-sufficiency?<BR><BR>Or maybe we should make the state of New York
self-sufficient in oil, food, etc. and stop trading with the rest of the world.
That'll do our economy a world of good.<BR><BR>To add icing to the cake, ARIN's
Curran agrees with a protectionist trade policy - which would be disastrous if
taken very far - because it suits his very short term and narrow agenda of
justifying ARIN's centralized control of internet resources. Talk about a tail
wagging a dog....<BR><FONT color=#888888><BR>--MM<BR></FONT>
<DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=h5><BR>> -----Original Message-----<BR>> From: John Curran
[mailto:<A href="mailto:jcurran@arin.net">jcurran@arin.net</A>]<BR>> Sent:
Saturday, April 03, 2010 1:02 PM<BR>> To: michael gurstein<BR>> Cc: <A
href="mailto:governance@lists.cpsr.org">governance@lists.cpsr.org</A><BR>>
Subject: Re: [governance] Clinton Admits: "Free" Trade is Harmful to
3rd<BR>><BR>> Interesting article... There are indeed times when a more
"efficient"<BR>> distribution of resources via a free market doesn't actually
create<BR>> a more desirable outcome. Economic models can be good in
theory, but<BR>> also need to be tempered in implementation with
consideration of the<BR>> potential impacts in the real world (and
particularly with respect to<BR>> discontiguous events).<BR>><BR>>
/John<BR>><BR>><BR>> On Apr 2, 2010, at 11:57 AM, michael gurstein
wrote:<BR>><BR>> > This isn't directly about Internet Governance but
rather about overall<BR>> > issues underlying "Global Governance" of which
Internet Governance is<BR>> IMHO a<BR>> > subset hence I think that the
below might be of some interest:<BR>> ><BR>> > <A
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-"
target=_blank>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-</A><BR>>
dyn/content/article/2010/03/20/AR2010032001<BR>> > 329_pf.html<BR>>
><BR>> > Former US president admits trade policies were "a
mistake"<BR>> ><BR>> > During testimony before a US Senate committee
three weeks ago, Clinton<BR>> > admitted that requiring Haiti to lower its
tariffs on rice imports<BR>> made it<BR>> > impossible for Haitian
farmers to compete. The trade policy forced<BR>> farmers<BR>> > off the
land and undercut Haiti's ability to feed itself.<BR>> ><BR>> > "It
may have been good for some of my farmers in Arkansas, but it has<BR>>
not<BR>> > worked. It was a mistake," Clinton - now a UN special envoy to
Haiti -<BR>> told<BR>> > the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on
March 10. "I had to live<BR>> > everyday with the consequences of the loss
of capacity to produce a<BR>> rice<BR>> > crop in Haiti to feed those
people because of what I did; nobody<BR>> else."<BR>> ><BR>> >
Clinton´s apology attracted scant media attention in the US and none<BR>>
in<BR>> > Canada. It was included as part of an Associated Press news
agency<BR>> report<BR>> > that was published by the Washington Post on
March 20. The AP report<BR>> from<BR>> > Haiti´s earthquake-ravaged
capital, Port au Prince, suggests world<BR>> leaders<BR>> > are
reconsidering trade and aid policies that make poor countries<BR>>
dependent<BR>> > on rich ones. It quotes UN aid official John Holmes as
saying that<BR>> poor<BR>> > countries, like Haiti, need to become more
self-sufficient by<BR>> rebuilding<BR>> > their own food production. "A
combination of food aid, but also cheap<BR>> > imports have...resulted in
a lack of investment in Haitian farming,<BR>> and that<BR>> > has to be
reversed," Holmes told AP. "That's a global phenomenon, but<BR>> > Haiti´s
a prime example. I think this is where we should start."<BR>>
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