Crawl Across the Ocean

Thursday, February 10, 2005

When 'Globalization' Goes Bad

If you've ever wondered why people protest against the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF), I recommend reading, 'Globalization and it's Discontents, by Joseph Stiglitz who was chief economist at the World Bank from 1997 to 2000.

In the meantime, I recommend reading this post 'How Economists Kill People' over at Crooked Timber. The quoted passage (from Peter Griffiths) is self-serving but harrowing nonetheless.

Over at Tilting at Windmills, Ian adds his comments on the post at Crooked Timber.

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Want another example of globalization gone awry, this time with a Canadian angle? Check out Pogge's posts on reports that Canada is spearheading efforts to lift the moratorium on 'terminator seeds' (that is, ones which have been 'genetically engineered to produce only infertile seeds which farmers cannot replant.' Doesn't that sound like a great idea?

Update: As POGGE reports, the ban will live on, no thanks to us (the Canadian delegation).

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2 Comments:

  • Wow -- I usually follow crooked timber, but had somehow missed this one. Thanks for the link.

    In an unusual fit of optimism, I don't find the article harrowing at all; indeed, I read it as a story of how one committed, reality-based individual can, with diligence, hard work, and a due disregard for his own career, win out over the idealogues and, however briefly, get a solution implemented that actually helps people.

    By Blogger Jon Dursi, at 6:57 PM  

  • Good point Jonathan, maybe I was just looking at the half-empty side of that story.

    By Blogger Declan, at 9:28 AM  

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