Economic democracy : the political struggle of the twenty-first century / J.W. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, J. W., 1930-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Free enterprise--History.

Free enterprise.

History.

Free trade--History.

Free trade.

Capitalism--History.

Capitalism.

Democracy--History.

Democracy.

International economic relations--History.

International economic relations.

Physical Description:

xii, 380 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Armonk, N.Y. : M.E.Sharpe, [2000]

Summary:

The author contends that economic democracy is the economic system the U.S. purports to have, but has thus far failed to achieve because it, like all the economic powers that have gone before, seeks to control the economies of weaker nations. It is the shocking lack of economic democracy, and the efforts of so many to achieve it, that fuels today's conflicts and will fuel those of the 21st century.

To show how and why, this comprehensive work provides a detailed analysis of the history of numerous aspects of the development of the Neo-Mercantilist world economy; the geopolitical systems put in place by the developed world to manage and perpetuate that economy; and the numerous proposals and modeling plans that have been offered over the years for the achievement of economic democracy.

Contents:

Part I. External Trade: World Trade Structured for Security of Powerful Nations Entails Insecurity for Weak Nations

1 The Secret of Free Enterprise Capital Accumulation 23

2 The Violent Accumulation of Capital Is Firmly Rooted in History: Establishing the Underlying Principles of Twentieth-Century "Free Trade" 33

3 Imposing a Belief System Under Which the Unwitting Willingly Hand Their Wealth to the Cunning 41

4 The Defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo Eliminated France as a Major Threat to British Trade 51

5 World Wars, Trade Wars: Battles Over Who Decides the Rules of Unequal Trade 57

6 The World Breaking Free Frightened the Security Councils of Every Western Nation 63

7 Suppressing the Former Colonial World's Break for Economic Freedom 94

8 Creating Enemies for the Masses: The Inquisitions of the Middle Ages Were, and the Inquisitions of Today Still Are, to Prevent Democratic Choice 114

9 Suppressing the Freedom of Others under the Flag of Freedom: Twentieth-century Inquisitions 125

Part II. External Trade: Capital Destroying Capital

10 The IMF/World Bank/GATT/NAFTA/WTO/MAI/Military Colossus: The Enforcers of Structural Adjustments and Unequal Trades 143

11 The IMF/World Bank/GATT/NAFTA/WTO/MAI/Military Colossus: Emerging Corporate Mercantilism 150

12 IMF/World Bank/GATT/NAFTA/WTO/MAI Structural Adjustments: Impoverishing Labor and Eventually Capital 158

13 Unequal Trades in Agriculture 166

14 Developing World Loans, Capital Flight, Debt Traps, and Forgiveness of Unjust Debt 174

15 Multiplier Factor: Accumulating Capital Through Capitalizing Values of Externally Produced Wealth 181

16 Japan's Post-World War II Defensive Economic Warfare Plan 188

17 Japanese/Chinese/Southeast Asian Post-World War II Development: An Accident of History and a Crisis for Western Imperial Centers of Capital 192

18 Capital Destroying Capital 195

19 A New Hope for the World 201

Part III. External Trade: Sharing Technology With the World Through Cooperative Capitalism: The Route to World Peace and Prosperity

20 The Earth's Capacity to Sustain Developed Economies 207

21 The Political Structure of Sustainable World Development 213

22 Sustainable World Development: Equal Free Trade as Opposed to Unequal Free Trade 221

23 Sharing Technology with the World Through Cooperative Capitalism: A Grand Strategy for World Peace and Prosperity 235

Part IV. Internal Trade: Economic Rights for All People Through Elimination of Subtle Monopolies

24 Subtly Monopolizing Land 245

25 Subtly Monopolizing Society's Tools (Technology) Through Stock Markets and Patents 265

26 Subtly Monopolizing Money 290

27 Subtly Monopolizing Information 314

28 Media to Empower the Powerless 337

Conclusion: A Grand Strategy for Cooperative Capitalism in the Twenty-first Century 343.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 349-366) and index.

ISBN:

076560468X

OCLC:

41482170