It is the global statistics, however, that make one shudder. For the years 1950 to 1973, the average annual compound growth rate of per capita GDP was 2.90 percent. Neo-classical monetarist economics, which is the cornerstone of a globalized system, has been a disaster for the world and especially for its poorest people. And now the big powers want to extend WTO jurisdiction to health care and education because big corporations want to take over these areas. Health care and education are too important to be put in the hands of foreign corporations for whom profits are more important than a healthy, well-educated populace looking for equality of opportunity.
Agriculture is another area for concern.
A few large companies want to control world food supplies. Unfortunately, they have the support of the United States and some other governments. It is profoundly important, both strategically and from a humanitarian standpoint, that this trend be stopped and some semblance of self-sufficiency in food be maintained in nation states. While the time clock moves inexorably ahead, the globalization clock must be turned back. The WTO should be stripped of its dictatorial powers.