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corporate power and greed!"
Thus runs the
refrain of the perpetual-protest set. From
Seattle to
Washington, D.C., from Prague to Davos, and soon to Quebec City,
street-bound "carnivals against capitalism" have become
a political lollapalooza that no deeply caring, shallow-thinking
young person can afford to miss. If you aren't protesting, you just
aren't cool.
Well, for you
politicians and journalists out there, I have an announcement: I'm
in my 20s and I like global capitalism. And here's some more
news: Most people my age agree with me.
Yet you won't
hear much about my views at this weekend's Summit of the Americas
in Quebec City. Instead, you'll see members of my generation trumpeting
their passionate concern for the environment, the world's poor,
Mumia Abu-Jamal, organic farming, and a laundry list of other fashionable
causes.
Honestly, I'm
not sure what planet these kids are living on. They look at the
world and see only exploitation and repression, as if such evils
were the bane of multinational corporations and not the norm throughout
history. In contrast, I see a flowing of human liberty and material
prosperity. I see the move toward economic freedom that has swept
through the Communist and developing worlds over the past decades
for what it is: a recognition on the part of national leaders that
their state-dominated systems have failed — failed in absolute
terms as billions of people remained mired in grinding poverty,
and failed in relative terms by comparison with the prosperous West
and the relatively open and thriving Pacific Rim. Free trade has
not been imposed from the top down; it has emerged from the bottom
up.
Trade is also
a matter of freedom here at home; the freedom to spend your own
money on whatever you wish, regardless of the skin color or the
language of the person from whom you decide to buy; the freedom
to invest your savings where you choose, even if that choice is
on the other side of the planet. We have no more right to tell our
fellow citizens what brand of clothing or car they must buy any
more than we have the right to tell them what they can say or think.
Free trade
has been good for both workers and the environment. By promoting
economic growth, it has enabled less-developed countries to afford
higher environmental standards and has helped create an educated
middle class to support them. A similar story exists with regard
to wages and labor conditions, which are improving in those places
where globalization has taken hold.
The institutions
that govern trade, like the Free Trade Area of the Americas to be
discussed in Quebec City, are no threat to sovereignty or to democracy.
Such agreements are nothing but contractual arrangements between
sovereign nations to mediate trade disputes according to rules agreed
upon by consensus. And despite all the talk of "secret"
negotiations, the Summit of the Americas is more democratic than
the people it drives to apoplexy. After all, the negotiators at
Quebec represent elected governments from across the hemisphere.
Who elected the purple-haired sign-waver on the street in the black
mask? The disruption and damage left in the wake of these protests
are more akin to mob rule than democracy.
Puppet-bearing
students in Quebec City will speak of a "global corporate coup
d'état." But allow me to let you in on a little secret:
Most young people don't hate corporations. In fact, many of us either
work in one, know someone who does, or even own stock in one. Corporations
are nothing more than voluntary associations of people who are trying
to achieve a common business goal. So the "evil, sinister,
greedy corporation" mantra just doesn't jibe with our life
experiences. It's propaganda, and we know it.
Hurtling oneself
against a police barricade in protest of free trade may be fun.
But it's hardly a brave act for spoiled children of affluence —
though ask any protester and you'll inevitably hear a tale of "hardship"
(I had to work and go to school!) — to rail against
the instruments of their own prosperity. Doubtless many of the Quebec
City marchers are genuinely concerned for the world's poor. And
yet, through their opposition to open markets they make themselves
the enemies of the poor.
Hey kids, want
to help make the world a better place? Then grow up: Start a business
or get a job. Want to help the poor? Hire them. "Corporate
greed" has helped far more people than scary puppets ever will.
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