Ah, globalization. It seems that the bitter taste of outsourcing isn’t the only byproduct of globalization that some countries find hard to swallow. Andrew Leonard comments in How The World Works that the military led Thai government, which recently took control during a gentle coup, is now attacking foreign intellectual property rights and capital investment within Thailand:
“In November, Thailand's Ministry of Public Health announced its approval of a compulsory license allowing the Governmental Pharmaceutical Organization to break the patent on the AIDS retroviral drug, Efavirenz. Then this week, the news broke that the government would issue two more licenses for two more drugs, one for treating AIDS and one for treating heart disease.At the same time, the Ministry of Finance has engaged in a series of moves aimed at restricting the flow of investor capital, in part to bolster the value of the Thai baht, and in part to limit the ability of foreigners to control Thai companies through proxies.”
These developments are on the heels of Hugo Chavez’s announcement that the United States ambassador to Venezuela, William Brownfield, may get the boot for comments demanding “fair compensation” for the private owners of a telephone company slated for nationalization by Chavez’s government.
Is every one scared of globalization? America is concerned that developing countries could chip away at our economic strength by outsourcing and shifting manufacturing plants, while those same countries have a similar fear that a completely porous economic border will let them be financially bullied by the US and others.
Right now, world leaders are treating globalization like a restaurant menu, trying to pick an al la carte selection of the most economically tasty treats. We’ll see how this goes. Currently oil rich states, such as Venzuela, have a short term advantage, the world still needs their product. How long they may be able to effectively dangle that carrot is up for some debate.
Other countries, such as Thailand, who didn’t win the natural resource lottery may be in for a surprise. Annoying and isolating themselves from the rest of the world may mean that come dinner time, no one saved a place for them at the table.
-SWL