Wot about the workers

A recent editorial in the Globe and Mail offers a revealing peek inside the minds of corporate globalists. Commenting on the anti-China sentiment currently rampant in the U.S. Congress over perceived trade slights, the Globe suggests, "Beijing could take a lot of pressure off simply by letting the Chinese yuan float upward, making Chinese goods slightly more expensive for foreigners. Privatizing more of its state-run industries, cracking down on product piracy and easing rules on foreign investment would also help persuade Washington that it is playing fair."

Nary a mention about China allowing its working people freedom of association so they could collectively bargain for wages and benefits, thereby creating a level playing field for workers in the United States and other free countries. Labour in China is essentially coerced, giving the country a huge advantage in international trade, keeping the prices of its products down and thereby contributing substantially to the balance of trade deficit that is so worrying American congressmen.

But cheap labour is highly advantageous to multinational corporations, and they are what globalization as we know it is all about. So we should not be surprised when their media arm refuses to see a trade subsidy in the exploitation of workers.