@ILoveEU
Pitääkö paikkansa, että George Soros on yksi amerikkalaisen alt-right ideologian sylkykupeista? Kiinnostavaa kyllä, hän on myös Trumpisti. Vai onko Trump Soroisti? Käytännössä Soros on kantanut huolta ihan samoista asioista kuin Goldsmith.
http://human-nature.com/nibbs/04/soros.html
Global capitalism, the unrestricted movement of capital and the domination of nation states by global financial markets and multinational corporations, is the prevailing feature of our times. As a spin-off from developments in information, communication and telecommunication technologies, global capitalism has become borderless. Armed with the clout of financial resources, global capitalism sets its own rules and regulates itself. Unregulated by sovereign states because of their inability to reach it, global capitalism has become a monster, causing severe damage to human beings and their environments. George Soros is right when he says ‘globalization has been lopsided’ and when he argues that the time to rethink and reshape international institutions to address the current distortions in the international system is long overdue.
There are fewer people in this world who have benefited more from ‘global capitalism’ as it operates now than George Soros. His call for reforms to strengthen multilateral institutions and bring some semblance of sanity into ‘global capitalism’ therefore requires considerable attention.
George Soros on Globalization seeks to highlight the deformities in the global open society and to suggest remedial measures. Soros explains how global capital works and makes some novel suggestions for corrective actions. The book consists of an introduction, four chapters, a conclusion, (‘Toward a Global Open Society’) and an appendix (‘Special Drawing Rights Proposal ‘). It is speckled with ideas, which, if adopted, will not only strengthen the international financial institutions (IFIs) but will also bring some relief to the wretched people on this earth.
In his introductory chapter, ‘The Deficiencies of Global Capitalism’, Soros defines globalization, which he equates with ‘global capitalism’, as ‘the development of global financial markets, the growth of trans-national corporations, and their increasing domination over national economies. He also describes the ‘penetration of market values into areas where they do not traditionally belong’ as one result of this growth. Soros traces the development of global capitalism from the reconstruction of war-torn Europe in the post World War II and the establishment of the Bretton Woods institutions to its apotheosis during the Thatcher/Reagan administrations in the1980s, which was further magnified by the downfall of the ‘Soviet empire.’ Soros agrees with the critics of globalization that because countries compete to attract capital, they are unable to control it, especially when they happen to be poor and small. As a result some regulatory measures must be incorporated into the global governance system. He disagrees with the market fundamentalists when they argue that the ability of the state to interfere in the economy must be reduced and that the allocation of resources is best left to the market mechanism because any interference with that mechanism reduces efficiency. To Soros, because capital has always been eager to avoid taxation and regulations and international capital is difficult to tax and regulate, there is a need for the international system to develop effective means to control capital, especially short term foreign capital. He writes, ‘Even the creation and maintenance of markets requires political action. This point is well understood by market fundamentalists. What is less well recognized is that the globalization of markets without strengthening of our international political and social arrangements has led to a lopsided social development’ (p.7) He is more emphatic when he further writes ‘we need stronger international institutions not weaker ones’ (p.11).
Soros is clear in arguing for more investment in social development. He wants nations and entrepreneurs to be environmentally responsible. Considering the motives and history of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, Soros is also an advocate of a strong regulatory role for the state. He is also a ardent believer in international cooperation through multi- and bilateral development institutions, who believes that if these did not exist they would have to be created. But he is unyielding in arguing that the private sector is better at wealth creation than the state and that globalization offers a degree of individual freedom that no individual state can ensure. Using his own organisations as an example he believes private sector foundations are more cost effective. Some of Soros’ observations of the deficiencies of the global system are confirmed by Joseph E. Stiglitz in his
Globalization and Its Discontents:
· Many people are being hurt by globalization without being supported by a social safety net; many others have been marginalized by global markets;
· Misallocation of resources between private goods and public goods - markets are good at creating wealth but are not designed to take care of social needs; the heedless pursuit of profit can hurt the environment and conflict with other values.
· Global financial markets are crisis prone; they tend to hit the developing economies much harder;
· It is dangerous to place excessive reliance on market mechanisms.
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Näistä asioista ihan samaa mieltä.
Mutta muutamista asioista olen eri mieltä kuin ilmeisesti teikäläinen?
- Mielestäni ei ole tarpeen, että Suomessa tarvitsee myydä vain Suomessa tai Euroopassa ommeltuja T-paitoja. On fiksua, että T-paidat ommellaan Aasiassa, keskitytään me arvokkaampiin juttuihin.
- On fiksumpaa syödä Afrikassa kasvatettuja banaaneja kuin Euroopassa kasvatettuja jne.
- Vaatimus siitä, että suomalaiset tuotteet pitäisi valmistaa USA:ssa on protektionismia. Otetaan joitain esimerkkejä:
- Suomalaiset metsäkoneet (Suomessa tehdään suurin osa kaikista maailman metsäkoneista). Ei siinä olisi mitään järkeä, että suomalaisten valmistajien pitäisi valmistaa ne kussakin markkinassa.
- Suomi toimittaa loistoristeilijöitä USA:an. Pitäisikö niitäkin varten perustaa telakat Yhdysvaltoihin?
- Suomalainen bensa. Pitäisikö Nesteen perustaa öljynjalostamo Usaan?
- Angry birds. Saadaanko USA:ssa myydä vain USA:ssa kehitettyjä kännykkäpelejä?
Ja, en näe, että Trump olisi tehnyt mitään muuta USA:n hyväksi kuin koettanut harjoittaa protektionismia. Protektionismi vain vahingoittaa sitä harjoittavan maan taloutta.
Trump olisi voinut kehittää keskiluokan asemaa monin eri tavoin - Trump olisi voinut panostaa osaamiseen ja koulutukseen ja terveydenoitoon, Trump olisi voinut panostaa infrastruktuuriin. Näitä asioita hän lupasi kampanjassaan kyllä, mutta mitään ei ole toteutunut. Ainoa kova pyrkimys on ollut jenkkien rikkaimpien rikastuttaminen verohelpotuksilla.
Vahvasti vaikuttaa siltä, että Trumpin lupaukset olivat vain populistisia heittoja. Ja se on sääli. Jenkit asettivat toivonsa häneen.
Kokonaan toinen asia on, että Trump vahingoittaa ja heikentää Yhdysvaltoja sisäisesti ja ulkoisesti. Ja on vielä mahdollisesti jollain tavalla kytköksissä venäläisiinkin.