Noam Chomsky: What Is Globalisation?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdYwAXZh0ME TRANSCRIPT [for quotations, confirm audio] SOURCE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdYwAXZh0ME Noam Chomsky:  What Is Globalization? *needs proof-reading -------/\/\/   Noam Chomsky: Actually, the best definition that I know, if I can remember, is by a well-known Canadian development economist, Gerry Helleiner, who tried to summarise it in a little ditty, which went something like this (don't hold me to the exact words).  He said: The poor complain They always do But that's just idle chatter Our system brings rewards to all At least, to all who matter [Laughter] Essentially, that captures it.  OK, I can go home. [Laughter] Whenever I say 'globalisation', I mean in quotes:  now, what's called 'globalisation' is one specific modality of international integration. There's nothing wrong with international integration.  That's a great thing. It's nice to meet people from other countries and all sorts of other things. But there are various forms of possible international integration, and the one that's called 'globalisation' is one particular one. Like, it's not the new international economic order that the South was calling for, and it's not the new global system that they're now calling for; it's a different one. This new one, the one that is called, [is] the official one:  you know, the one that Thomas Friedman writes laudatory books about, and so on. Among its other properties are that a country has to open up their borders to free imports, so they have to accept imports from a highly subsidised US, and Eurpean and Canadian, agribusiness which, of course, instantly wipes out domestic production for domestic needs and that means that poor farmers are starving. One thing they can do is flee to the cities, which has the nice effect that they create a massive labour force which lowers wages, and it means that US and European manufacturers, or by now Japanese and Korean manufacturers, who are putting say assembly plants or whatever abroad, can benefit from cheaper labour and, consequently, wages can go down and, in fact, do go down while the economy booms. Mexico's a dramatic case. But if farmers don't move to urban slums to become an excess labour force and try to produce something, it can't be commodities for the domestic market for food, because they will be wiped out by imported goods. So, once again, they become what's known as a 'rational peasant' in the technical literature. A 'rational peasant' is a peasant who understands that you have to produce for export and you have to seek the maximum profit. OK, so you sort of spell that out, produce for export, stable markets, maximum profit. Well, you get the same answer as before:  cocoa, poppies, and so on. And that's what's happening. So, the globalisation and, in particular, the undermining of the attempts of the South 30 years ago to create a form of globalisation directed toward the interests of the developing word -- that means almost the entire world -- one of the major consequences of this (and it's no big secret, you can read it in standard books of political economy and so on), was to greatly accelerate production of what we call 'drugs'. I mean, not the most lethal drugs.  The most lethal ones are produced in places like North Carolina. But what we call 'lethal drugs' here, peasants have been driven to it.  They have no choices. In part by the choice by the powerful states 30 years ago to institute a particular form of international economic integration --  what's called 'globalisation'  -- in preference to another one. One which would have, for example, as one of its properties among many others, things like stabilisation of primary commodity prices and what we call 'the neoliberal programs', like opening up your borders to imports from subsidised agri-export from northern agribusiness that has the same effect. There's a lot more like this. I mean, a lot of the -- what happens to the 'rational peasants', incidentally, after they've learned their lessons properly, you know, they are kind of like the equivalent of going to Harvard or MIT, or  Chicago Graduate School, and getting a degree in economics, so they become 'rational peasants'. Well, once they've learned the lesson, they're rewarded. They're rewarded with helicopter and gun ships that you and I pay for, with chemical and biological warfare and putting experimental new biological techniques of who knows what effect, by what's called here a 'drug war'. That's the reward for having learned the lessons, after having been essentially forced into a particular kind of production by the way globalisation works out. That's one of its less discussed features. Going back to the declaration of the south:  the poor are complaining as they always do. They're calling for globalisation, for international economic integration, but are calling for a form that will be on the right of development and, in particular, the right of independent development. It means no external compulsion. SOURCE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdYwAXZh0ME -------/\/\/ Gerald Helleiner Professor Emeritus (ie. retired professor - fm. L. ēmerērī, to earn by service - TFD) Department of Economics Distinguished Research Fellow, Munk Centre for International Studies University of Toronto 1991 to 1999, Professor Helleiner: Research Director of:  Group of 24 (ie deveoping countries' caucus at IMF & World Bank) http://www.policyinnovations.org/innovators/people/data/07382 *By 'south', I first assumed Chomsky is referring to South America.  But I think he might be referring to the south of the United States, being (presumably) the centre of American agribusiness and perhaps biotechnology, as well?  So it's this US economic sector that would be seeking globalisation (I think). Biotech Industry North Carolina -- abt. 600 bioscience companies that directly employ over 60,000 -- in addition to, 2,000 additional North Carolina industry support companies     http://directory.ncbiotech.org/ -- many world’s largest biotechnology & pharmaceutical facilities are located in North Carolina -- home to:  Bayer (biggest plasma-based factory in world) -- home to:  Wyeth (largest vaccine facility in world) -- home to:  Baxter (largest intravenous solutions facility); -- home to:  Biogen Idec (largest manufacturing biologics facility) -- 2005:  USA 1,415 biotechnology companies, total revenue:  $50.7 billion -- of these 329 publicly held, total market capitalisation $410 billion -- North Carolina:  $3 billion annual revenue -- aiming to build biotechnology workforce at 125,000 in $24 billion industry by 2023 -- global biotech generates $40 billion in sales & expected to grow to $120 billion -- possibly as at 2007 estimate (undated document) - copyright is at 2007    http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-recent/6255 Biotechnology use of biological substances to engineer or manufacture a product or substance use of living systems and organisms -- ie.  use of microorganisms to perform industrial or manufacturing processes applications:  eg. drugs, synthetic hormones, bulk foodstuffs, bioconversion of organic waste     http://www.thefreedictionary.com/biotechnology Thomas Friedman Thomas Loren Friedman b. Minnesota 1953 resides:   Bethesda, Maryland (with wife & family) Jewish:  5 day per week Hebrew school to Bar Mitzvah St Louis Park High School 1968 Israel visit + following high school summers, at kibbutz (Haifa) high school years feature:  celebration of Israel victory Six-Day-War University of Minnesota - 2 years Brandeis University, Mediterranean studies degree (1975) University of Oxford (St Antony's College) -- at Oxford, earns Master Philosophy in Middle Eastern Studies -- Thomas Friedman attended Oxford as:  Marshall Scholar     Oxford University - Oxford England     world's oldest surviving university     Marshall Scholarship     -- post graduate scholarship (USA) for any university in UK     -- along w. Fulbright Scholarship, only broadly available scholarship for UK study     -- considered prestigious scholarship     -- as at current dates:  to 40 from pool of 1,000 selected     -- scholarship was created by the Parliament of UK     -- on passing of:   Marshall Aid Commemoration Act (1953)     -- 'living gift' to USA re post WWII 'Recovery Plan' aka 'Marshall Plan'     --  living memorial to George Marshall     -- inspired by Rhodes Scholarship     -- as well as academic pursuits, aimed to provide insight into British way of life     -- plus strengthen 'Special Relationship' b/w USA & UK         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Scholarship       George Marshall     George Catlett Marshall, Jr.     USA - 1880-1959     scion of an old Virginia family (ie. descended)     Marshall was a Freemason:  by 1941 Grand Master District of Columbia     WWI mentor:  General John Joseph Pershing     -- Marshall posted to HQ of American Expeditionary Force     -- key planner of American ops re defeat Germans Western Front 1918     -- Perishing known for:  training and teaching modern, mechanized warfare             Marshall:     Chief of Staff USA under x2 USA presidents     Secretary of State  - Harry S. Truman     Secretary of Defence - Harry S. Truman     US Army Chief of Staff - WWII     Chief military adviser -  Franklin D. Roosevelt     -- hailed by Winston Churchill for:     -- leadership of the Allied victory in WWII     -- received Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 for the Marshall Plan     -- but US State Dept. developed most of the Marshall Plan (for 'economic recovery')        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Marshall         -- Thomas Friedman married into Bucksbaum family     wife daughter of:  Matthew Bucksbaum (d. 2013)     2011, Matthew Bucksbaum was worth an estimated US$1.2 billion     Matthew Bucksbaum - co-founder General Growth Properties (w. brothers)     formerly US Air Forces -- a cryptographer, New Guinea     BA Economics University of Iowa     family owned chain of x3 grocery stores     1945 borrow $1.2 million for first shopping centre Iowa - expanded into enclosed malls 1960s     own & manage shopping malls throughout USA     120 regional shopping malls in forty states     Revenue     US $3.02 billion     Net income US $994 million     family business struck financial probs. 2008     *value of family fortune SHRANK by 97% since Dec. 2007     2009 Chapter 11 bankruptcy:  largest real estate bankruptcy since 1980     "Unlike most Chapter 11 bankruptcies, existing General Growth stockholders were not wiped out upon the company's exit from bankruptcy" - creation of new company as spinoff: Howard Hughes Corp.     Hughes Corp assets include:  91km squared Las Vegas 'master-planned community, & other shopping centres.     2011-2012, General Growth spun off 30 mall properties into a public company, Rouse Properties, Inc     What?  So it looks like a bankruptcy that wasn't a bankruptcy?     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Growth_Properties     Thomas Friedman -- career as journalist: -- United Press International (London) after obtaining Masters at Oxford -- dispatched to Beirut -- lived Beirut 1979 to 1981 covering Lebanon Civil War -- 1981 - New York Times - redispatchd to Beirut at start 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon -- covered Sabra & Shatila massacre -- won Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting (shared w. anor from WaPo) -- shared win with David K. Shipler - George Polk Award, foreign reporting -- 1984 - New York Times, Jerusalem Bureau Chief to 1988 -- yet another Pulitzer re coverage:  First Palestinian Intifada -- book:  From Beirut to Jerusalem (1989 US National Book Award for Nonfiction) -- George HW Bush admin,  Secretary of State James Baker - covered by Thomas Friedman -- 1992 - election of Bill Clinton:  Friedman becomes White House correspondent for NYT -- 1994 - more on foreign policy & economics - op-ed page NYT as foreign affairs columnist 1995 -- 2002 Friedman gets Pulitzer Prize for Commentary:     -- his supposed clarity of vision on 'worldwide impact of the terrorist threat' -- 2002 - met Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah & encouraged end of Arab-Israeli conflict -- sought normalisation of Arab-Israeli relations in exchange for return of refugees -- plus end to Israel territorial occupations -- Abdullah proposed:  Arab Peace Initiative at the Beirut Summit -- Freidman strong supporter:  Arab Peace Initiative at the Beirut Summit "Several days later, on September 11, all at once Saudi Arabia was transformed from a critic into an object of criticism. It emerged that 15 Saudis were involved in the terror attacks on the United States." "The following February, to soften the criticism, Abdullah invited columnist Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times to dine with him." "Friedman wrote that he took advantage of the opportunity to tell his host that in one of his recent columns, he had proposed that the 22 members of the Arab League, who were to convene for a summit in Beirut on March 27-28, should offer Israel, in return for its withdrawal to the June 4 lines and the establishment of a Palestinian state, the establishment of full diplomatic and trade relations and the provision of security guarantees." Abdulllah:  "I have drafted a speech along those lines. My thinking was to deliver it before the Arab summit and try to mobilize the entire Arab world behind it. The speech is written, and it is in my desk. But I changed my mind about delivering it when Sharon took the violence, and the oppression, to an unprecedented level." " " ...  prince had authorized [Thomas Friedman] to quote his words. President Bush welcomed the initiative. So did prime minister Ariel Sharon. He sent a message to Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, and to President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, asking them to arrange a meeting between him and senior Saudis, either openly or in secret. At the end of February, Sharon offered to deliver a speech before the Arab League and present his conditions for peace. The Arab leaders rejected the idea on the grounds that it was just a maneuver to win recognition without giving anything in return. " Haaretz - March 6, 2007 http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/what-arab-initiative-1.214741 GLOBALISATION Thomas Friedman -- 2004 visits Bangalore, India + Dalian, China. -- globalisation discussed as far back as 1999 (The Lexus & the Olive Tree) -- writes follow-up analysis:  The World is Flat (2005) -- argues:  countries must sacrifice degree of economic sovereignty to global institutions -- eg. capital markets + multinational corporations -- referred to as the 'golden straitjacket' -- capital markets = financial markets -- buy / sell:  long-term debt or equity-backed securities -- Friedman an advocate of globalisation -- concerned re lack of independence re US energy -- Saudi's described as 'pushers' (oil producers) to consumer 'addicts' -- pro US energy independence -- ensuing petrodollar depletion PLUS growing population of young -- will coerce authoritarian rulers out of Middle East -- Friedman sees this as best way to:  spread stability & modernisation in autocratic & theocratic region -- would supposedly ease world tensions caused by energy demand -- which is worsened by India and China as emerging economies -- opponents of free trade say:  Friedman does not consider purchasing power of domestic labour as key driver in economic output -- Friedman says when low-skill & low-wage jobs are exported to foreign countries -- advanced, higher-skilled jobs will be 'freed up' and made available for those displaced (by outsourcing) -- Friedman views American immigration laws as too restrictive & damaging to economic output CENSORSHIP Friedman called for the U.S. State Department to --  "shine a spotlight on hate speech wherever it appears" -- said the governmental speech-monitoring should go beyond those who actually advocate violence -- ie should censor those Friedman considers 'excuse-makers' for terrorists (apologists) blaming third-party SERBIA During illegal 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia Friedman:  1999: "Like it or not, we are at war with the Serbian nation ... You want 1950? We can do 1950. You want 1389? We can do 1389 too." Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) labelled Freidman's remarks "war-mongering" and "crude race-hatred and war-crime agitation". Norman Solomon 2007, says:  "a tone of sadism could be discerned" in Friedman's article.     Solomon, anti-war campaigner     -- behind 14,000 person e-mail petition to govt of Ecuador     -- urging Ecuador to grant Julian Assange asylum     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Solomon IRAQ Friedman supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq: establishment of a democratic state in the Middle East would force other countries in the region to liberalize and modernize. 2003 - Wall Street Journal article:  re lack of compliance w/ UNSC resolution re Iraq 'WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION' Friedman later rebuked George W. Bush and Tony Blair for "hyping" the evidence Big on the 'converting Iraq to democracy' theme, which reminds me of the Goebbels propaganda swing lyrics: "Listen to the BBC, BBC, BBC, Listen to the BBC, tra-la-la-la, Who's preaching world democracy, democracy, democracy? Who wants to make free people free?" Friedman 2004:  dismisses the justification for war based on Iraq's lack of compliance with UN Resolutions --  "The right reason for this war ... was to oust Saddam's regime and partner with the Iraqi people ..." -- refers to Arab Human Development report -- claiming lack of freedom, women's empowerment & modern eduction cause of Arab ills -- Friedman's right reason for war was:  to partner with Arab moderates in long-term strategy of 'dehumiliation' and 'redignification'  "Listen to the BBC, BBC, BBC, Listen to the BBC, tra-la-la-la, Who's preaching world democracy, democracy, democracy? Who wants to make free people free?" ISRAEL --  according to FAIR, Friedman was explicitly endorsing terrorism by Israel against Lebanese and Palestinians -- Glenn Greenwald and professor Noam Chomsky also accused Friedman of endorsing and encouraging terrorism by Israeli forces -- Belen Fernandez:  Friedman's suggestion Israeli forces unaware re allied Lebanese militias carrying out out Sabra and Shatila massacre while under Israeli guard, contradicts other journalist assessments & observers. -- Belen Fernandez: Friedman most worried about successfully maintaining Israel's Jewish ethnocracy and actively opposing a "one-man, one-vote" system of democracy. -- critics on Israel side as well - eg. re suggestion Israel relinquish territory conquered 1967 -- Friedman wrote congressional ovations re Bibi Netanyahu "bought & paid for by Israel lobby" - sparked criticism.  Friedman suggests a more precise term:  "engineered" by Israel lobby. + more entries [I'm getting bored] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Friedman Arab Human Development Report sponsored by:  United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) platform for 'Arab scholars' Democracy & human rights angle. Education system requires transformation. Report calls for the adoption of time-bound affirmative action - re women contends that this is:  imperative to dismantle structures of centuries of discrimination https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Human_Development_Report UNDP f. 1965 to help the economic and political aspects of underdeveloped countries 2013, UNDP’s budget - approximately 5 billion USD -- offices & staff are on ground in 177 countries --  links and coordinates global and national efforts re 'development priorities' of host countries --  supports national democratic transitions --  improving institutional capacity --  educating & advocating re democratic reforms --  facilitates consensus etc. re existing 'democratic institutions' -- works at the macro level to:     -- reform trade     -- encourage debt relief + foreign investment     -- facilitate benefit from globalisation by the poor -- coordinates efforts b/w governments, NGOs, + outside donors -- reduces risk of armed conflicts or disasters NSA surveillance -- Snowden 2013 -- British & American intel agencies NSA targets include:      -- UNDP     -- UN's children's charity Unicef     -- Médecins Sans Frontières     -- Economic Community of West African States   (ECOWAS) -- some criticism re irregularities in finances in North Korea -- mid-2006:  UNDP halted disarmament programs Uganda re human rights abuses -- in forcible disarmament programs carried out by Uganda People's Defence Force -- UNDP criticised [not clear to me why]    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Development_Programme ---------------------- ---------------------- COMMENT Really disliked the Friedman guy, as I was checking this out. Noam Chomsky's likeable and always interesting. Friedman sounds sort of mixed up and all over the place. Gets criticised by everybody. I'm wondering if this is what all White House correspondents are like: ie in the mould of Friedman? Anyway, that's a bit on what was supposed to be about globalisation ... but I went off on a tangent checking everyone out. I've looked at this in one sitting & I'm over it now.   Need a break. -------/\/\/ *I don't get the biotech revenues and estimates at all.  Numbers isn't my thing.  Don't get the comparison between the North Carolina figures & the world figures. *I thought Friedman's formative years, in terms of education and affinity with the state of Israel, was interesting in terms of his later becoming a correspondent re Middle Eastern affairs.  As in, Friedman would surely have a pro-Israel bias, as a result?   *United Nations Development Program, sound like just another way for Western imperialists to control the rest of the world.