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Indeed we don't have countries any more, we have markets. Most global corporations don't break down their numbers by country any more, we are all part of the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region. Profits are reported where taxes are the lowest, production is located where labour costs are lowest, and products are sold where they can command the highest prices.
And the thing is, nation states not big enough to dominate a market on their own haven't yet devised a strategy to combat this. Nationalism is the inchoate response, but it merely compounds the problem. The EU is the best solution we have, and even it has failed miserably. For all his incompetence, Hollande has delayed this process almost as well as any: France is still a functioning social democracy. As the UK is about to find out if it votes for Brexit, the alternative is even worse.
There is only one long term global solution, and that is for global political institutions to wrest control from global corporations, and that isn't even on any political agenda yet. For the foreseeable future we will live on democratic islands in a rising corporate sea. France, for now, is still one of the hold-outs. A returning Sarkozy wouldn't make that any better. Index of Frank's Diaries
by Frank Schnittger - Jun 17 24 comments
by John Redmond - Jun 17 16 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jun 13 51 comments
by gmoke - Jun 15 5 comments
by DoDo - Jun 12 23 comments
by DoDo - Jun 5 68 comments
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by John Redmond - Jun 1716 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jun 1724 comments
by gmoke - Jun 155 comments
by Frank Schnittger - Jun 1351 comments
by DoDo - Jun 1223 comments
by Democrats Ramshield - Jun 104 comments
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by John Redmond - May 3037 comments
by DoDo - May 2911 comments
by Frank Schnittger - May 2620 comments
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by gmoke - May 23
by gmoke - May 1518 comments