[Sussex] Long live the revolution!

[Geoff Teale]

Matt wrote:
-----------
> Ok, I have to launch in here!

Just as I was gonna hold back ;)

> Agreed, the EU is corrupt.

That's a sweeping statement, but it is about as valid as me saying the
labour party is corrupt.  The simple truth is that within any organisation
where there are several positions of power there will be some people who are
corrupt.  My biggest problem with the EU is that the majority of the
positions of power within the organisation are not elected positions.  That
undermimes the democratic principles we're supposed to be governed by.

I think the biggest arguement in it's favour is that as an economic and
military entity the EU could represent a power big enough to moderate the
USA without creating the problems the old USSR did.  The EU is fundementally
against barriers to entry and tariffs in international trade - the USA on
the other hand feels that these things are good for the USA, but that
everyone else should not have them (sounds like their weapons policy).

As the majority of European nations are far more liberal (or even socialist)
than either the UK or USA (Austria being the only European nation I can
think of that is more right wing than the UK) it would be fair to say that a
democratically elected European government would take a less reactionary
stance on international affairs than the current US administration.

Of course this are only small factors - the power in the world right now is
slowly shifting towards new empires.  In the age of globalisation we have
some mega-corporations who can indirectly effect internation policy to
further their needs.  The tools of these corporations are the institutes of
world financial power - the World Bank, OPEC, the World Trade Organisation
and the International Monetary Fund.  These are all unelected bodies who
have the power to directly control policy on countries around the world in
order to fill the pockets of the directors and shareholders of large
corporations.  Some examples:

1/
In 1999 the IMF instructed Mexico that if it did not reverse it's decision
to raise taxes that it would be cut off and forced to repay it's national
debt immediately.  

The tax money wasto be used to fund social reforms that would lead to the
rehousing of several million Mexicans who currently live in shaty towns.

This action was as a direct result of lobbying from the Coca Cola
corporation.  Mexican's spend more of their income on Cola than any other
nation on earth (there are even villages in southern Mexico who were so
taking in by Coke and Pepsi's competing advertising that they have been
locked in bloody feuds with each over their preference for several years
with many people dying on a yearly basis for drinking the wrong brand).  

Studies showed that the level of Cola consumption fluctates with almost
direct relation to taxation and levels of employment.  So, in order that a
few or the wealthiest people on the planet can have a few dollars more
several million Mexicans (some of whome are amongst the poorest in the
world) will continue to live in shanty towns without running water (or
sewerage).

2/
A cheerier example.  For many years China (whose culture does not support
the idea of copyright or patenting) was a hot bed for software piracy.  It
was noted that in the late 1990s that nearly 100% of the Chinese governments
Windows and Office installations were pirated.  As China tries to reform its
society, slowly, but surely toward an open market economy it became clear
that in order to trade with the rest of the world the country would have to
become a member of the ring of cronies known as the World Trade
Organisation.  Seeing this as an opportunity for a massive pay day
Microsoft, Oracle, Sun and Adobe all succesfully lobbied the World Trade
Organisation.  The WTO told China that it could not join the WTO until it
could show that it's government had made all of its machines legal and that
it was actively taking action to reduce piracy amongst private computer
users.  

The Chinese government held breif conversation with Microsoft and Oracle
about the cost of licensing some millions of desktop and servers.
Predictably enought they were not impressed - furthermore they worked out
that it would cost them far less to develop and support their own state
LINUX distribution than it would to carry on uusing Microsoft products.  

Thus Red Flag LINUX was born.  China fulfilled the WTO's conditions  ( by
moving all systems to GPL licensed technology and marketing Red Flag LINUX
as _the_ standard platform for business in China ) and Microsoft got a hefty
kick in the cajones! 

All this was only possible because LINUX existed - had this been any other
issue China would have had no choice but to comply :(  

As a footnote, it is noteable that China is now producing it's own range of
CPU's so that it doesn't need to rely on Intel, etc.  These chips are fairly
basic right now (equivalent to P1's) but they are improving rapidly (they've
effectively gone from  8088 to P1 200 MMX in 6 months!) and could be a force
fairly soon.  

I tell you.. China is the place to watch right now, and it's a country where
Free Software already won the battle.


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