Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Keeping focus after the WTO

["J. Barkley Rosser, Jr." <rosserjb@xxxxxxx>]

Michael,
     You're right, of course.  Not sure whether it is
my cynicism or my frustration.  I think I expressed
earlier that when confronted with actual youthful
idealism on all this I kept my mouth shut and nodded,
even if I didn't go ahead and wave any pom-poms.
       I will note that Doug had gotten all hot and
bothered earlier about my bringing up the Kyoto
Accords.  Part of what lay behind that was indeed the
failed effort that I participated in to actually try and
get something going on that.  That still seems to me to be a
much bigger issue.  I have already expressed too many
times by now, why I am cynical.  For all the apparent
idealism (and I know that much of it is very genuine)
somehow it is only issues that do not harm the economic
interests of the demonstraters that get demonstrated about.
Some of us old farts know about objective conditions and
how those can subtly work even on idealistic minds.  And,
of course, those delegates at the conference certainly are
aware of such things, even if many of the idealistic
demonstraters were not.  Oh well....
Barkley Rosser
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thursday, December 09, 1999 5:01 PM
>Subject: [PEN-L:14573] Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Keeping focus after the WTO


>I think that Barkley is getting a bit emotional about free-trade.  I
>hope that Doug does not rise to his pom-pom flame bait, which was out of
>line.
>
>He's absolutely right that the U.S. has been wrong in the anti-dumping
>students.  Many of the critics of the WTO undoubtedly are acting out of
>self interest.
>
>However, what struck me about the Seattle experience was the commitment
>that people showed that had nothing to do with self interest.  Some may
>not be as informed as we imagine ourselves to be about all of the
>intricacies of the institution.  So what?  The Seattle police probably
>proved themselves to be far better instructors about the nature of the
>system than any of us here have been.
>
>"J. Barkley Rosser, Jr." wrote:
>
>>         So there, Doug.  What have you done about this
>> one lately, yourself?  Too busy waving pom poms for
>> hypocrites in Seattle?
>
>--
>
>Michael Perelman
>Economics Department
>California State University
>michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Chico, CA 95929
>530-898-5321
>fax 530-898-5901
>
>