We as progressives have talked about greed for 35 years. We watched in disgust as right-wingers took up the line from the movie Wall Street, “Greed is good.”
And we watched the worship of money and profits and the semi-deification of greed. Greed has now grown to a level of evil.
Greed is now killing people.
My friend Arieh Lebowitz sent me a very eye-opening article about World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations and the demand of rich countries, including the US, to not allow developing countries like India to subsidize the growing of food to support small farmers so they can produce food for domestic consumption in an internal Food Security Program.
It is disgusting and evil.
Trade negotiators like those in the World Trade Organization and the Trans Pacific Partnership talks meet in secret with corporations away from media scrutiny and average people. They can construct trade rules that advance profits and interests of global capital and global corporations against the interests of the poor and average people.
“18 years of the WTO has been more than enough. What we need is alternatives to free trade and a system that is based on Economic Justice,” said Lidy Nacpil of Jubilee South.
Even from America’s own most crass, nationalistic interests it makes no objective sense to continue to push trade deals that spur and goad the global economic race to the bottom.
We need global and domestic policies designed to to reduce inequality and provide opportunity to the American poor and workers as well as the global poor and workers.
These policy matters ultimately come down to moral questions asked plainly in one of organized labor’s favorite songs,”Which side are you on?” This musical question is one of the most important questions asked by every major religion, ancient wisdom, and philosophy. Quite simply, Which side are you on?
Photo: A scarecrow with words “WTO kills farmers”
Photo taken by Burn
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