The Non-Ranting Approach Works Best
Alex Singleton of the Globalisation Institute is well above average value for money (whoever is paying him is fully getting their money’s worth). Take his typical quiet, non-ranting, contribution to a debate with Christian Aid and David Woodward (New Economics Foundation):
“Those countries that have become more integrated into the global economy, in other words that have liberalised their trading regimes, have got richer, while those which have remained protectionist, followed state central planning or engaged in civil wars, have stayed poor. As Adam Smith so rightly put it: “Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.”
China and India have been liberalising - in China’s case it’s been pursuing the largest liberalisation the world has ever seen. Its share of world trade rose from 1.9% in 1990 to 7.3% in 2005. Meanwhile, Africa has remained deeply protectionist - in a world where virtually everyone else has been quickly liberalising. Africa’s share of world trade declined from 3.5% in 1970 to 1.5% in 1999.
So what can we conclude from this?”
Comment:
The quiet deployment of global facts is the best antidote to the anti-growth rants of the well off in the West who claim to believe in their high quality web sites that making the affluent developed countries less affluent will somehow make the poorest in Africa better off.
That Alex Singleton turns up to debate with them is a measure of his commitment to combating their ideas with better ideas, plus the facts.
Visit The Globalisation Institute at: http://www.globalisationinstitute.org/blog/environment/environment-and-development-20060601701/
Bookmark it too. It’s worth reading regularly.
“Those countries that have become more integrated into the global economy, in other words that have liberalised their trading regimes, have got richer, while those which have remained protectionist, followed state central planning or engaged in civil wars, have stayed poor. As Adam Smith so rightly put it: “Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest being brought about by the natural course of things.”
China and India have been liberalising - in China’s case it’s been pursuing the largest liberalisation the world has ever seen. Its share of world trade rose from 1.9% in 1990 to 7.3% in 2005. Meanwhile, Africa has remained deeply protectionist - in a world where virtually everyone else has been quickly liberalising. Africa’s share of world trade declined from 3.5% in 1970 to 1.5% in 1999.
So what can we conclude from this?”
Comment:
The quiet deployment of global facts is the best antidote to the anti-growth rants of the well off in the West who claim to believe in their high quality web sites that making the affluent developed countries less affluent will somehow make the poorest in Africa better off.
That Alex Singleton turns up to debate with them is a measure of his commitment to combating their ideas with better ideas, plus the facts.
Visit The Globalisation Institute at: http://www.globalisationinstitute.org/blog/environment/environment-and-development-20060601701/
Bookmark it too. It’s worth reading regularly.
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