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Almost every developed
country is taking measures
to restrict immigration—
particularly from poor
countries:
The North Africans in
France,
The Turks in Germany etc.
Maybe even Bulgarians in
UK?
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We are in a particularly sensitive position
because the US/Mexico border divides the
richest country in the world from what is still a
Third World country with a huge population
growth.
On the one hand, segments of the US economy
depend on these “illegals”; on the other hand,
they are illegal.
So, the poor countries were not really poor to
start with, but were locked out of the process of
becoming wealthy and modern.
By the middle of
the nineteenth
century, when
the Industrial
Revolution was
at it height,
Europe occupied
almost all of
what are now the
poor countries.
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Well, the US was
fortunate enough, as
we have said, to have
thrown off
domination by the
Europeans, and to
become its own
master at this critical
time in shaping the
world.
The
Industrial
Revolution
THE COLONIAL COUNTRIES WERE
EFFECTIVELY LOCKED OUT OF THE
GREATEST ECONOMIC CHANGE IN
HISTORY, AND BECAME PRODUCERS OF
RAW MATERIALS.
The continent of
Africa was not only
colonized, but
before that was
ravaged by the
slave trade, which
destroyed the
inidigenous
economy, trade and
social structure of
almost the whole
continent.
Goods, people and
capital were all
extracted from
Africa for 300+
years, and so it
was left ruined and
without human and
physical capital. It
has never
recovered from
this. So, Africa is
not intrinsically
poor—it was made
poor.
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The US wants to hold
on to, and even
improve, its life-style
The Rest of the World
wants to live like this
too—but the gap is
widening.
Britain seems to
be doing better
than the rest of
Europe
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The basic policy of the US is that the only way for
countries to improve is through:
Free Trade and Open Markets
“Comparative Advantage” allowing each
country finds its place in the world: its “natural
advantage”
Pursue Regional Free Trade first, as the World
Trade Organization does not have the full
confidence of the Administration.
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Poor countries + population growth =
Crime and instability at home (Latin America
in part)
Pressure on illegal immigration into the parts
of the world that are rich. Since the Developed
World has a static, or declining, aging
population, this need will increase, so there
will be push and pull factor in immigration
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It is not in anyone’s interest for the poor to
remain poor:
Poor people are a weak market
Poor people are a source of political extremism
(hopeless people are that way!)
There is an historical injustice at work here
anyway, so there are moral, equity, compassion
and other emotional arguments
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1.
2.
3.
World seems to be shaking out into 3 zones
Rapidly-advancing East and South Asia (China
became the largest consumer of resources in
2005)
Uncertain, periodic growth with high risk
factor (Brazil, Argentina, Russia (too
dependent on oil prices)
“Hopeless cases” like much of Africa
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What policy should we have to each of these?
Will the rich world unite to protect their
colossal advantage?
Is China a threat?
Should we find a partner to strengthen our
position? (EU, FTAA?) What are the
advantages of doing this?