Here we go again: PN vs 3.14

[Trond Andresen <Trond.Andresen@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Brent Mc Clintock says in a reply to me:

	I am a New Zealander who very much retains an empathy for the
	risks facing small, open economies who has happened to be
	transplanted by fate to the American Midwest. I've seen at
	close hand what free markets can do to a once social democratic
	country like New Zealand.

We agree.

	Perhaps I take a more cosmopolitan approach because of the
	personal cross-cultural experiences I've had and because of the
	intellectual influence of people like Myrdal who happened to
	come from a small Scandinavian economy too.

Now, this is not fair. It is perfectly possible for a PN to be just as
"cosmopolitan" as a PI. We also like traveling worldwide, making
friends in other parts of the world, support a liberal immigration
policy, delight in culture and music from other countries. We support
globalization in the sense of communication, culture, friendship,
multiracialism, computer networks.

But we make a clear distinction between this and the much-hyped up
"globalization" of the multinationals, which has nothing to do with
true cosmopolitanism, but means coercion from afar, exploitation,
corruption, ecologic degradation, commercial satellite junk culture,
manipulation and propaganda through the papers and TV channels of
Murdoch et al.

We believe that increased cooperation for mutual and world advantage
between sovereign countries is the road to follow. Having an open
economy is perfectly possible without rescinding national
self-determination to the MNC's and their servants, the increasing
horde of political, academic and bureaucratic jet set sycophants with
their endless travelling and conferencing.

It is possible to _prove_, through a system-theoretic argument, that
democracy becomes _impossible_ when the right to important decisions
are transferred from small and medium-sized countries to bodies of the
EU, NAFTA, IMF, GATT type, not to mention a "World Government".

To qote Ljubisa Rajic, editor of the dissident newspaper "Republica" in
Beograd, a guy who really has seen the dark side of nationalism but
does not fall into the globalization-hype trap because of this:

"I understand and support the resistance against EU in Norway. True
democracy is when you can approach the prime minister in the street (no
security guards, no limousine) and ask why the hell the government is
doing this and not that.."


Cheers,

-------------------------------------
Trond Andresen	(Trond.Andresen@xxxxxxxxxxx)
Department of Engineering Cybernetics
The Norwegian Institute of Technology
N-7034 Trondheim, NORWAY

phone +47 73 59 43 58
fax   +47 73 59 43 99