From: dale@dale.CAM.ORG (Dale Wharton)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.theory
Subject: Trilateralism (book review)
Date: 29 Dec 92 14:25:35 GMT
Organization: private


                      T R I L A T E R A L I S M

edited by Holly Sklar (1949-   ), "The Trilateral Commission and Elite
Planning for World Management," 604 pp, bibliography, index. Montreal:
Black Rose Books 1980, $20               --Dale Wharton, December 1992

BROAD human interests are being served best in economic terms where
free market forces are able to transcend national boundaries."  Thus
spake David Trismegistus (David thrice-greatest Rockefeller:  scion of
the house of Exxon, chair of Chase Manhattan Bank, comptroller of
birthright billions in the trusts of kinfolk by the dozen).
     So saying, to extend those economic terms (and maybe augment
family values?) David begot the Trilateral Commission (TC) in 1973.
Today its three sides--Western Europe, North America (USA and Canada),
and Japan--put forward about 310 members: "distinguished citizens with
a variety of leadership responsibilities...."  Of the last four US
presidents-elect, three--Clinton, Bush, and Carter--are TC alumni.  (A
recent roll of North American membership follows the review.)
     In this reader 23 authors interpret origins, methods, and effects
of the TC. They cast a whole new light on the American Century.  After
prolog and overview (including a 40-page who's who) the book breaks
into eight sections.  They focus on the tradition of corporate
planning, the period after world war 2, TC's domestic imprint, placid
governability or democracy (choose one), keeping the third world safe
for business, economic nationalists v global corporations, challenges
from within, and prospects. Separate chapters trace the TC's principal
antecedents: the Council on Foreign Relations (at times more powerful
than the Congress) and the Bilderberg Group (heard of it?  It arranges
policy decisions in private, offering them for national governments to
ratify). The book's cover pictures planet Earth with bar code affixed.

EVENTS of 1973 unnerved some members of the US Establishment.  The
executive branch of their government almost broke:  Vice President
Agnew felt obliged to resign, the Paris Vietnam Conference formalized
the rout of US forces, Watergate began to drip on President Nixon.
     The "Nixon shocks" of 1971 had ended an era that began in 1944 at
Bretton Woods NH--a golden age when goods, services, and money flowed
unobstructed among nations.  John Connally, Nixon's Secretary of the
Treasury, electrified monetary systems by quitting the gold standard
overnight.  Then the US upset international trade by flouting GATT and
raising a tariff against US imports.  This active unilateralism by
western/newmoney/cowboy/prussians left eastern/oldmoney/yankee/traders
cold and nervous (would trade wars ensue?). To cap it, two legislators
--Vance Hartke and James Burke--did more than whimper that liberal
trade practices amounted to exporting American jobs.  (It seemed to
matter to them that the US faced its first trade deficit since 1893.)
They sponsored bills in Congress to limit imports and to lift a tax
exemption on US global corporations.  This was a job for Superdave!
     Rockefeller liked a suggestion of Zbigniew Brzezinski (they both
vacationed in Seal Harbor ME).  Zbig taught at Columbia at the time.
His idea was to strengthen ties among developed nations (except
socialists, of course) with a series of tripartite studies.
Participants would be the Brookings Institution, Japanese Economic
Research Center, and European Community Institute of University
Studies.  In July 1972, 17 men--Brahmins, largely--gathered at
Rockefeller's Pocantico Hills estate in suburban New York.  They
sketched the outlines of the TC.  It would recruit from the usual
channels of civil power (banks, corporations, governments) and
influence (media, law firms, foundations, universities, thinktanks).
A labour component would help control popular isolationism and reduce
the distance separating Trilats from the masses of ordinary folk.
     The task of the first economic summit conference--Rambouillet
1975--was to put TC recommendations into effect, to implement policy
at the highest level.  What did (and do) they talk about?  Ever the
same:  domestic economic policy, monetary arrangements, trade, energy,
and north-south relations.  G7 economic summits became a Directoire to
which individual nation-states are largely subordinate.  (According to
a guest on CBC Newsworld, on 11 August 1992, 15 central banks
intervened in currency markets to control a selloff of US dollars.)
     To the TC, efforts at economic sovereignty and self-sufficiency
are throwbacks--quaint obsolete customs that obstruct progress.  It
favours an international division of labour.  How to explain the
subtle interdependence of the industrial north with the third world?
In 1991 business observer Doug Henwood tried: "...each member of the
Triad has gathered under itself a handful of poor countries to act as
sweatshops, plantations, and mines: the US has Latin America; the EC,
Eastern and Southern Europe and Africa; and Japan, Southeast Asia."

ITS SPIRIT radiates from the pages of TC documents:  "The public and
leaders of most countries continue to live in a mental universe which
no longer exists--a world of separate nations--and have...difficulties
thinking in...global perspectives...."  Foreign affairs generally seem
beyond the grasp of the public and elective officials.  Take the US
Senate, as responsible a democratic legislature as one is likely to
find.  Did it not demonstrate opacity in rejecting first the League of
Nations in 1920 and then the International Trade Organization in 1949?
     "The effective operation of a democratic political system usually
requires some measure of apathy and noninvolvement on the part of some
individuals and groups." "...secrecy and deception...are...inescapable
attributes of...government."  "The vulnerability of democratic
government in the United States comes...from the internal dynamics of
democracy itself in a highly educated, mobilized, and participant
society."   The crisis caused by an "excess of democracy" in the 1960s
shows the wisdom of, for example, privatizing public entreprise and
deregulating industry.  How can one expect competence from hoi polloi?
     Reports of the TC annual meetings carry statements from task
forces, addresses, etc, some jocular in tone. Paul Volcker, past chair
of the US Federal Reserve Board, says yes, he opposes regional trading
blocs, but for the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement he can rise above
principle.  Kazuo Chiba, past ambassador to the UK, chides the US for
its war dances at GATT talks and worries aloud that "...Americans and
Europeans will get together [there] and stab us in the back."
     "...maintaining the benefits of a global economy will require
even more effort (after 1990) than in the past."   World without end!

=================================================  end review  =======

                        The Trilateral Commission

Founded in 1973, this private, nongovernment organization considers a
wide range of subjects--the global economy, policy coordination,
governability, etc.  The roster of October 6, 1992 names 311 members
from the three sides:
                        Japan          81
                        North America  94 *
                        Europe        136

"Europe" comprises Germany 23, England 21, Italy 20, France 18, Spain
15, Belgium 11, Netherlands 8, Ireland 6, Denmark 5, Portugal 4,
Norway 3, Austria 1, and Luxembourg 1.

*  North American members (Canada 14, USA 80) may move among business,
government, and academic posts.  These tables identify only one
interest and affiliation for each member.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                        C A N A D A
BLACK  Conrad M         Media     Chair/CEO, Hollinger Inc
BOSLEY  John            Politics  Member, House of Commons
BOUEY  Gerald K         Finance   Past governor, Bank of Canada
COHEN  Marshall A       Industry  Pres/CEO, The Molson Companies Ltd
DEANS  Ian              Labour    Public Service Staff Relations Board
DOBELL  Peter C         Politics  Parlmntry Centre for Foreign Affairs
DROUIN  Marie-Josee     Ideas     Exec dir, Hudson Institute of Canada
EYTON  J Trevor         Industry  President/CEO, Brascan Ltd
FORTIER  L Yves         Law       Partner, Ogilvy Renault
GOTLIEB  Allan E        Politics  Chair, Burson-Marsteller
HENNIGAR  David J       Industry  Chair, Crownx Inc
MACLAREN  Roy           Politics  Member, House of Commons
SOUTHERN  Ronald D      Industry  Chair/CEO, ATCO Ltd
TURNER  William I M Jr  Finance   Chair/CEO, Exsultate Inc

Former members in public service
MURRAY  Lowell          Government leader in the Senate
WINEGARD  William C     Minister of State for Science and Technology
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                        U S A
ALLAIRE  Paul A         Industry  Chair/CEO, Xerox Corp
ALLISON  Graham         Ideas     Faculty, Harvard University
ANDREAS  Dwayne O       Food      Chair/CEO, Archer Daniels Midland Co
ARASKOG  Rand V         Industry  Chair/CEO, ITT Corp
BERGSTEN  C Fred        Ideas     Dir, Inst for International Economcs
BRADEMAS  John          Ideas     Past president, New York University
BROWN  Harold           Ideas     Chair, Jhns Hpkins Foreign Plcy Inst
BRZEZINSKI  Zbigniew    Ideas     Faculty, Johns Hopkins University
BURKE  James E          Industry  Past CEO, Johnson & Johnson
CALLOWAY  D Wayne       Food      Chair/CEO, PepsiCo
CARLUCCI  Frank C       Finance   Vice Chair, The Carlyle Group
CHAFEE  John H          Politics  Senator from Rhode Island
CLINTON  Bill           Politics  Governor of Arkansas
COHEN  William S        Politics  Senator from Maine
COLEMAN  William T Jr   Law       Partner, O'Melveny & Myers
CORRIGAN  E Gerald      Finance   Pres, Federal Reserve Bank of NY
CROWE  William J Jr     Politics  Past chair, Joint Chiefs of Staff
CURTIS  Gerald L        Ideas     Faculty, Columbia University
DEUTCH  John M          Ideas     Faculty, MIT
EINHORN  Jessica P      Finance   Vice president, World Bank
FEINSTEIN  Dianne       Politics  Past mayor, San Franciso CA
FELDSTEIN  Martin S     Ideas     Faculty, Harvard University
FOLEY  Thomas S         Politics  Speaker, House of Representatives
FRIEDMAN  Stephen       Finance   Partner, Goldman, Sachs & Co
GARDNER  Richard N      Ideas     Faculty, Columbia University
GERGEN  David           Media     Ed-at-large, US News & World Report
GERSTNER  Louis V Jr    Food      Chair/CEO, RJR Nabisco Holding Corp
GOLDSCHMIDT  Neil       Politics  Past secy, Dept of Transportation
GORMAN  Joseph T        Industry  Chair/CEO, TRW Inc
GRAHAM  Katherine       Media     Chair, The Washington Post Co
GREENBERG  Maurice R    Industry  Chair/CEO, Americn Interntnl Grp Inc
GUTFREUND  John H       Finance   Past chair, Salomon Inc
HAAS  Robert D          Industry  Chair/CEO, Levi Strauss & Co
HAMILTON  Lee H         Politics  Member, House of Representatives
HORMATS  Robert D       Finance   Vice chair, Goldman Sachs Internatnl
HOUGHTON  James R       Industry  Chair/CEO, Corning Inc
JOHNSON  Samuel C       Industry  Chair/CEO, S C Johnson & Son Inc
JOHNSON  W Thomas       Media     President, CNN
JORDAN  Vernon C        Law       Partner, Akin, Gump, Strauss, &c
KEOUGH  Donald R        Food      President/CEO, The Coca-Cola Co
KISSINGER  Henry A      Ideas     Chair, Kissinger Associates Inc
LABRECQUE  Thomas G     Finance   Chair/CEO, The Chase Manhattan Bank
LEACH  Jim              Politics  Member, House of Representatives
LEWIS  Flora            Media     Columnist, The New York Times--Paris
LORD  Winston           Politics  Past ambassador to China
MACMILLAN  Whitney      Food      Chair/CEO, Cargill Inc
MAZUR  Jay              Labour    Pres, Internatnl Ladies' Garment W U
MCNAMARA  Robert S      Finance   Past president, World Bank
MURRAY  Allen E         Industry  Chair/CEO, Mobil Corp
KEOHANE  Nannerl O      Ideas     President, Wellesley College
NYE  Joseph S Jr        Ideas     Faculty, Harvard University
OKSENBERG  Michel       Ideas     President, East-West Center--Hawaii
OWEN  Henry             Ideas     Fellow, Brookings Institution
PUTNAM  Robert D        Ideas     Faculty, Harvard University
RANGEL  Charles B       Politics  Member, House of Representatives
RAYMOND  Lee R          Industry  President, Exxon Corp
RIDGWAY  Rozanne        Politics  Past ambassador to German Dem Rpblc
ROBB  Charles S         Politics  Senator from Virginia
ROCKEFELLER  David      Ideas     Founder, The Trilateral Commission
ROCKEFELLER  John D IV  Politics  Senator from West Virginia
ROSOVSKY  Henry         Ideas     Faculty, Harvard University
ROTH  William V Jr      Politics  Senator from Delaware
RUCKELSHAUS  William D  Industry  Chair/CEO, Browning-Ferris Indstries
SHALALA  Donna E        Ideas     Chancellor, University of Wisconsin
SHANKER  Albert         Labour    Pres, American Federatn of Teachers
SCHULTZ  George P       Ideas     Fellow, Hoover Institution
SMITH  Gerard C         Politics  Past ambas-at-large/nonproliferation
SPERO  Joan Edelman     Finance   Exec VP, American Express Co
STERN  Paula            Politics  President, The Stern Group
STOCKMAN  David         Finance   Partner, The Blackstone Group
TALBOTT  Strobe         Media     Editor-at-large, Time
TARNOFF  Peter          Politics  Pres, Council on Foreign Relations
THUROW  Lester C        Ideas     Faculty, MIT
TUNG  Ko-Yung           Law       Global Prctce Grp, O'Melveny & Myers
VOLCKER  Paul A         Ideas     Faculty, Princeton University
WATTS  Glenn E          Labour    Past pres, Communcatns Wrkrs America
WENDT  Henry            Industry  Chair, SmithKline Beecham
WHITMAN  Marina v N     Ideas     Faculty, University of Michigan
WILLIAMS  Karen Hastie  Law       Partner, Crowell & Moring
WINTERS  Robert C       Finance   Chair, Prudential Insurance Co

Former members in public service
BUSH  George H W        President of the United States
DARMAN  Richard C       Director, Office of Management and Budget
EAGLEBURGER  Lawrence S Acting Secretary of State
GREENSPAN  Alan         Chair, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve Sys
HILLS  Carla A          Trade representative
RICE  Donald B          Secretary of the Air Force
SCOWCROFT  Brent        Asst to the Pres for National Security Affairs

                              --Transcribed and edited by Dale Wharton
Newsgroups: talk.politics.theory