What can America reflect upon to improve its (and other nations's) lot?
America is clearly the only superpower at present on the planet. As such it is admired, looked upon, envied... It also has a lot of influence through control of financial flows, military weight, control of distribution channels, technological innovation... It is easy to feel proud and important. At the same time such an attitude can lead one to belief of security (like fires in buildings or car accidents: 'Oh, no. That cannot happen to me...'). It can also lead to a form of arrogance which irritates other parties.
Consider the following sensitive areas. From the closest allies to the farthest:
- Just north of the border there is a sensitive issue: cultural industries. America believes culture to be tradable like any other good. Canadian and French-speaking Quebeckers do not. In particular when a small population wants to protect and promote its language, it will legitimately resort to mechanisms other than pure liberalism; this is even more legitimate when one considers how American cultural industries are giants thatn have significant control over distribution.
- Europe's populations are massively sensitive to their food chain. Genetically-modified foods and organisms are a novelty, unproven and can pose certain risks that will take time to discover. Taking a prudent approach, although politically a hot potato, cannot be judged on economic merits and transaction costs alone.
- South Africa decided to produce its own generic drugs to combat AIDS. Why? Simply beacause a patent process gives the creators a monopoly on distribution (note: monopolies are paradoxical in liberal market economies) and thus pricing. When the pharmaceuticals re-coup their R&D expenses in 6 months, but have 19 & 1/2 years of monopoly pricing in front of them, legality and legitimacy are clearly out of phase. Negating populations the possibility of a cure is negating life.
- The G8 summit set aside funds to allow poor nations to buy expensive drugs. It did not address the patent issue. Taxpayers are going to pay for such monopolies. Pundits will counter that poor nations did not object in Genova. Ahem... When you are poor, you do not bite the hand that feeds you, especially as it is giving you a hand-out.
- Nonetheless, poor nations did vent frustrations at the Durban summit. A summit that got little media attention. This is only a hypothesis, but maybe the strong words used there were stated because there were no hand-outs to be had; do they choose their moments to complain?
- America also has an awkward policy in the Middle East. An editorial in the Financial Times stated on 2001-09-12: "Mr Bush should also review his policy towards the Middle East. No direct link has been established between Tuesday's bombings and the militant Palestinians carrying out similar attacks against Israeli civilians. But the administration's hands-off approach and its tolerance of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hard line has encouraged extremists across the region looking for any excuse to demonise Americans." When Israel denies water to Palestinians in the Gaza strip, but delivers it to settlements in the same area that was apparently ceded in the Peace accords, when a road is plowed in a farmer's field to connect two settlements, a subtle policy of slowly denying life is being practiced.
The yuppy Israel, the innovative, western-oriented, open society is an admirable example. Pradoxically it - and not the yeshiva Israel - is the target of suicide bombers. But when one has little to lose...
America, having brokered the Peace deal should have policed it in a fairer and more rigourous manner. Its actions certainly appeared to be camped on one side of the fence.
The reference point is not Pearl Harbour. It is not the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is not the Berlin Wall. It is the Marshall Plan, the race to the moon.. and a bit more.
America must state above all that it wants a better future for its children. And that it wants a better future for Palestinian and other children. Actions should match the words. This is a long-term effort: minimum 10-20 years...
America must also wield a stick at the same time. Yes, go after the present perpetrators with proof in hand and exact punishment. And its complacency should not end there. No sense in sticking our heads in the sand. There are greater risks at hand: nuclear fuels are being transacted by underground organisations and regularly found transported through the streets of Europe. The rest is easy to imagine. Yes, a common task force with the ex-soviet regimes and others that will seriously tighten the controls on nuclear fuels and chemical weaponry is most desireable.
Measuring everything through the WTO must also evolve; there are other imperatives in life.
Carrot and stick; understanding and vigilance. America is big enough to succeed.
