Why globalize instead of increasing import taxes? I hear the anti-globalists claim:
Local manufacturing is undermined! We lose jobs! We lose military independence or even dominance!
These people trust nobody and probably have more wealth than anybody else! The war against communism is over, though I agree you need to stay ahead of despotic figures in the arms race. I'd rather subsidize such sectors. The counter arguments run:
We've got greater choice, lower prices, almost zero communism, 9bn customers and friends in the global community!
- Retaliation: Foreign nations immediately raised their own tariffs in response.
- Trade Collapse: Global trade plummeted by approximately 66% between 1929 and 1934.
- Economic Depression: Rather than protecting local jobs, the move worsened the Great Depression, with US unemployment peaking at nearly 25% in 1933.
The depression era was caused by the Gold Standard; a system where banks exchange gold in order to balance currency markets, nowadays replaced with exchange of stocks and securities.
Since the industrial revolution, the world has become increasingly mutually dependent, in fact federated. Leading us away from conflict and towards peace. Very few countries are capable of being self sustaining without sacrificing most of the goods today we take for granted, whilst consumer choice is increased and cost reduced, businesses may eventually reach 9bn customers with even Chinese metropolitan salaries approaching 50% of those enjoyed in the US.
The US is currently panicking as China takes the lead, unlike the rest of us who are quite familiar with budget deficits! In fact 75% of the world's countries are wrestling with budget deficits, whilst China's export economy has grown 53% since 2013. However this shouldn't surprise us in an increasingly globalized world.
I am aware that if it weren't for debt economy occurring to some extent in most nations, many people would have died on battle fields. As before the abolishen of the Gold Standard, wars were fought primarily for resources and territory. Today our debts are accounted in the balance of payments between nations, wealthier nations accrueing ownership of poorer nations currency; quite nobly stablizing their economies and granting a thriftier lifestyle to those endebted. It serves these philanthropic nations no benefit in calling in such debts, as this deters their flourishing market.
But how should we feel good about ourselves Platonically?
If only we could see nations as a collection of weighted performance metrics, instead of just a budget plus or minus! Using these to balance currency markets for cosier financial relations. Such metrics might include:
- Number per capita of PhD p.a.
- Quality of life
- Migrant population
- CO2,
- Area of arable land and days available for crops,
- Size of tourist economy
The list would go on to include potentially hundres of metrics. Many nations would realize they're performing very well and indeed do deserve economic stimulus.
Would those countries on the right of the distribution, for example those at one deviation and above, efficient and productive, be granted consultancy to those on the left? Would this be legislative or recommendation? Would these countries form some kind of economic steering group in an emerging electoral UN?
No nation has any interest in sovereign ownership of another. The businesses and real estate another nation owns tend to become less preferred and maintained.
One solution might allow a Q.E. credit to be created on the basis of relative performance metrics. Agreed by world banks, such credits would allow a percentage of the import deficit with another nation to be franced in that nations currency, rewarding the exporter the liquidity they deserve, eventually balancing economies. If two nations are comparable they are already likely to be well balanced.
Through a similar mechanism, perhaps the slate could be wiped clean if the debt stretches back more than one century? Hence it's really about improving recent performance and not long term burden.
We need a blockchained global currency market, with auditors in major banks and global institutions. Debt economy should be acceptable, though we must be open about where we are in the bell curve of each countries performance.
Yes! - most of us are spending more funds than we have generated, that won't change! Instead we become open about it. We move closer to a zero sum economy, more managable economic stability and less inflation.
Who am I kidding? It's a world of sharks and alligators. None the less, financial success is the only dynamic that sanctifies the right in political office, they must be proven; currency must be real and block-chained. The block-chain PoC test is over.
