The Snails of Kew Gardens

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that the world should slow down sometimes. Somethings are progressing faster than we can really understand them. And then others seem like they have been stalling for far too long without much benefit from that "stability". In the broadest sense, the way we see the word politically is experiencing such a lag.

Ever since the concept of a government having control over land emerged, there have been an increasing amount of actions that undermine that dynamic. The U.N. being the most significant since it creates a kind of world forum, a place where consensus, rather than conflict, can take place. In anarchy's stead, it strives for peace. One does not simply go to war with another for no legitimate reason (to employ a popular meme). That is, in theory.

In the last decade, this has accelerated intensely because of globalization. NAFTA, the Eurozone as well as hundreds of other, smaller agreements were formed mostly for economic reasons (often pressured into existence by the WTO). Kant, who once espoused trade as the only way to achieve world peace, is grinning from beyond the grave. So it seems like this whole notion of a country's sovereignty being of utmost importance can take a bit of a backseat when trade comes into play. This is a general tendency in politics as of late to become more detached from ideology and closer to economics. Many governments have shifted their focus to the economy. Whether it's only because of the recent financial crisis remains to be seen.

Surely all this peace and trade isn't something I'm going to criticize? Well, it's a bit of a silly question for those who read this: of course I'm going to be critical of it. But what is so wrong about peace and trade? Well, peace is hard to argue with. But it is a bought peace. The trade agreements a lot of countries find themselves in allow large, foreign companies to effectively control a large resource in a country and exploit it cheaply. This does create jobs and wealth. However, the jobs often pay little, involve health hazards since their standards may not be high and contribute more to polluting the environment because of weak regulation. This is all very good for business, but not so good for people in the long run. And what country wants to turn itself into a polluted nation of wage-slaves with diminishing resources sold for pocket change? Just about everyone with primary resources it seems. Often, countries will agree to such conditions to get loans from the World Bank or the IMF to pay off their debt...oh and that has interest on it, which is often the only thing that ends up being paid. This is in large part why the nations that are doing well now are doing well, and nations that are not are stuck.

For more info on these topics, I'd look up terms like realpolitik and neoliberalism.

There are of course other trends running counter to the anarchist view of the world, promoting a different ideal than the one currently coming into existence with the help of the World Bank, the IMF and others. Those can offer some eye-opening points of view on a variety of issues and are sure to (if they haven't already) make an appearance under some form in these posts.