After all the hoopla about China and permanent normal trade relations (PNTR), it looks like the battle is finally over. However, unprecedented bipartisanship and coalition building have left many of us puzzled. Dick Gephardt and Pat Buchanan, George W. and Bill Clinton? So what's going on? Here's the debate as they frame it: build trade and dismantle socialism in China or punish China and they will change. So are we negotiating trade relations, or is this another cold war relic?
Both sides would have you believe that at the center of their concern is the fate of the average American. On the anti-PNTR side we have the likes of Pat Buchanan and other Republicans who get in front of crowds of union workers and tell them that they are concerned about the rights of workers, and yet they fight for paycheck deception laws and right to work laws which stifle the rights of labor to organize. Unfortunately, labor has joined ranks with them and in falling prey to protectionism has focused many of its resources on the defeat of PNTR. Like the failed "buy American" campaigns, they are losing site of who the real enemies are. By taking the focus off of the corporations, we are letting them get away with the largest violations of freedom, democracy and liberty.
On the other side we have the business roundtable and their allies in Congress. While they claim that trade with China will benefit the American people and boost our economy, they are really concerned with boosting their own profits. Free-trade advocates ranging from Clinton to Tom DeLay push the idea that trade is beneficial to all -- but all of whom? The major beneficiaries of these trade deals have been multi-national corporations. When they were cheering after PNTR passed in the House, it was because a lot of business leaders were about to get even richer -- not because American or Chinese workers were going to have better working conditions or increased pay.
The whole discussion around trade with China has been centered on their government's abuses of human rights and the environment, but few have discussed the root of these problems. Human exploitation is not one of the central themes of socialism; it is however a basic principle of capitalism. China and other socialist countries are not involved in global trade because they agree with it; they do it because with the collapse of the Soviet Union they have no other choice. Human rights abuses, environmental destruction, and political repression are wrong, and no one is arguing that. But these problems exist in Mexico, in Brazil, in the Philippines, and after the Africa trade bill (AGOA) we can be sure to find them in African countries as well. The countries listed above have been touted as economic "miracles" but the changes have meant sub-human living conditions, slave wages, environmental abuses, and political repression; the same criticisms that we have weighed against China. What will China's participation, which is already substantial, in the global economy mean? It will mean they will become the newest players in our version of global monopoly. But this is real life -- not some flimsy board game -- and we aren't dealing with plastic hotels and fake paper money. This is, after all, a global economy meant to benefit multi-billion dollar corporations whose bottom lines are profits, not people. Workplace safety and environmental standards take a back seat to profit and stockholders.
For those of use who are truly concerned about human rights and the environment, shouldn't our fight be with the multi-billion dollar corporations which are reaping a profit at the cost of our environment and the humanity of these workers? Instead of debating PNTR we should be arguing about U.S. membership in the WTO. Instead of arguing for a protectionist agenda we should be working towards international solidarity with all workers and fight for our rights side by side. Let's ask our politicians why our government has only adopted two of the eight core labor standards of the International Labor Organization. Let's ask why enforceable labor and environmental standards have not been made part of our treaty agreements.
Unfortunately, this entire discussion has taken place without ever addressing the real problem. The struggle is not against one country or one government. Rather it is and should be a struggle against one system -- global capitalism.
