For Global Progress, Focus on Fair Trade

For Global Progress, Focus on Fair Trade, Christian Science Monitor

I thought this was an interesting article on "Fair Trade" by a Chile presidential candidate. I admit I am often suspicious of the "Fair Trade" moniker as a smoke screen for other agendas, but if I read Bachelet correctly, I support the article's conclusions. Specifically, I think it is important for developed nations to open their agricultural markets to free trade.

Bachetlet writes:

Developing countries, with their growing populations and economies, are fast becoming key players in the global trading system. Chile's progress in bilateral trade after the Free Trade Agreement shows that trade that is free and conducted under equitable conditions brings growth. Yet more needs to be done to achieve sustainable development, improve living conditions for the poor, and bring about greater social justice.

From what I have read and seen, radical free trade is the quickest way to achieve the aims of the last sentence. Right now, in China, the government has been relaxing communal ownership laws and allowing for more free enterprise. As average annual incomes exceed about $2,000 a year, citizens can meet their basic needs. They can turn their attention to other issues, like living environments and justice issues, including democratic participation in government. Having tasted prosperity enough to become stabilized, citizens begin to insist on greater measures to protect their new wealth and insist on structures that will enable them to generate more wealth. It may seem counterintuitive, but if you begin with prosperity, then legal issues, social justice, and environmental concerns will be reformed. Until a prosperity "engine" gets in gear, the poor don't care about these issues that "Fair Trade" advocates promote and sometimes even resent their interference.

Anyway, interesting article.