This meetup will address the topic of globalization as well as some of the anti-globalization movement's arguments about the harms caused by exploitative trade deals & predatory foreign investment. We'll try to sort out the rational critiques of "neoliberal" (i.e. free market) policies from the irrational conspiracy theories.
We'll start by addressing the debates about the effects of "globalization", i.e. the process of industrialization of states in the "developing world" through foreign investment (often directed by the World Bank & IMF) and their integration into the world market. We'll look at whether or not globalization helped lift billions of people out of extreme poverty over the last 30 years as its advocates claim. We'll also look at the debate over whether or not "sweatshops" (low-wage manufacturing with lax safety regs) are a necessary step in the process of industrialization. We'll also briefly consider if free trade or protectionism works better.
In the second section, we'll look at Naomi Klein's book "Shock Doctrine: Rise of Disaster Capitalism", particularly her claims that Milton Friedman collaborated with Pinochet's brutal regime in Chile, that Margaret Thatcher used the Falkland Islands War to distract the British public so she could institute "neoliberal" economic policies, that the Tiananmen Square protests in China were motivated not by a desire for democracy but by opposition to "neoliberal" reforms, and that the 2003 Iraq invasion was motivated by the neocons' desire to create a "neoliberal utopia" in the Middle East. Note: For a chapter summary & list of resources for Klein's book, go here: http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/resources/chapter-resources
In the third section, we'll address some suspicious claims from John Perkins' book "Confessions of an Economic Hitman", such as the claim that his position of Chief Economist at the engineering firm Chas T. Main in the 1970s was a cover provided by the NSA, that the NSA & CIA intentionally used "economic hitmen" to convince the IMF & World Bank to exploit developing countries through "debt trap diplomacy", and that the CIA's "jackals" assassinated leaders like Ecuador's Jaime Roldós Aguilera & Panama's Omar Torrijos who got in their way. Note: For a brief summary of Perkins' book, go here: https://www.wanttoknow.info/johnperkinseconomichitman
In the final section, we'll take a look at the idea of a "North American Union" and some related rumors (e.g. Amero currency, NAFTA Superhighway) which are perennial concerns among some right-wing conspiracy theorists. We'll try to distinguish the wilder rumors from the grains of truth represented by real projects like the Trans-Texas Corridor and the Security & Prosperity Partnership (SPP). Wikipedia provides a useful overview: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Union
