Multinational Corporations: In the Business of Transforming the World
For several years now, talk of globalization has assumed a prominent place in the media. No matter where one looks, it seems, there is either a multinational corporation looking to expand into some new market, or a citizens' rights group seeking to prevent it from doing just that. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Intellectual Property Rights, the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) proposal, and many other programs have been proposed or adopted that aim to extend the reach of big business. Large international firms make the claim that such agreements are essential to the smooth functioning of the modern economy. The world of finance, of investment, of manufacturing, and of sales, say these conglomerates, is global in extent. The Internet, satellite communications, container ships, and cheap air travel have combined to make doing business a planet-wide affair. A corporation can be headquartered in one nation, run manufacturing operations in another, operate a call center in still another part of the world, and ship its products conveniently and inexpensively to wherever its consumers might be. Resources too, are obtained from every region of the Earth; rushed to the sites of factories thousands of mile
Thus, the world of the multinational corporation is beneficial to a few, and damaging to many. The elimination of multiple and conflicting regulations and jurisdictions makes commerce easier. With modern technologies such as the Internet, satellite communications, and high speed transportation networks, multinational corporations can use their vast financial resources to invest all over the world, developing new and existing industries and resources, employing the cheapest labor, taking advantage of the least effective and least enforced labor and environmental laws, and making money simply by manipulating money. Programs and agreements on the order of NAFTA, the MAI, and the World Trade Organization's recent Intellectual Property Agreement, mean big profits for big corporations, but hardship for the billions of individuals with whom they share the planet Earth. Economic growth and technological advancement certainly provide many benefits to humankind, but profit should never be an end in itself. Multinationals must learn to live with the citizens they serve. [T]he economical advantages of commerce are surpassed in importance by those of its effects, which are intellectual and moral. It is hardly possible to overrate the value, in the present low state of human improvement, of placing human beings in contact with persons dissimilar to themselves, and with modes of thought and action unlike those with which they are familiar. Commerce is now, what war once was, the principal source of this contact. ... There is no nation which does not need to borrow from others, not merely particular arts or practices, but essential points of character in which its own type is inferior. Further reinforcing the multinational corporations' dreams of global reach and expansion, are the recent agreements regarding intellectual property rights. Copyrights and trademarks, long recognized as essential to fostering creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit, were once only national in scope. By granting an author, or inventor, exclusive rights to his or her creation for a limited period of time, these devices ensured that others would not profit by their work, and so encouraged still other individuals to contribute to the economy through their own creative energies. For many years now, these agreements have been extended to groups of countries, so protecting proprietary works in large, multinational markets. However, in more recent times, corporations have increasingly claimed the lion's share of these patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Whether through purchase of existing rights, or through operation of large-scale research facilities, this corporate control has sparked a movement that threatens to lock out those creative individuals who do not have a direct stake in the world of the multinationals. The effect of NAFTA, and of globalization in general, has thus been to the detriment of many American workers. The solid, lifelong jobs once available to so many have now largely disappeared. Workers must also cope with skyrocketing healthcare costs, and the difficulties of financial constraints in retirement. s away. Consumer goods, the finished materials of heavy industry, and even agricultural products serve the wants and needs of literally hundreds of millions - and potentially billions - of individuals. The global economy lives on growth; thrives on continual expansion, and in order to accomplish these goals, the multinational corporations must have free and unfettered access to all the resources, all the markets, and all the men, women, and children, on the planet. Consumerism - the universal empire! As well, certain governments are more restrictive than others when it comes to offering opportunities for investment and development. Some nations have laws banning full ownership of corporate assets, land, factories, and so forth, by foreign nationals. Clearly, such restrictions hinder movement of capital and resource
Some common words found in the essay are:
Organization WTO, Investment MAI, Stuart Mill, Trade Organization, American Canadian, Border America, Executives IBM, Henry Ford, MNE MNEs, Buckley Ghauri, multinational corporations, intellectual property, property rights, free movement, american canadian, joint ventures, world trade, intellectual property rights, doing business, american free trade, patents trademarks, financial resources invest, manufacturing jobs, north american free, internet satellite communications,
Approximate Word count = 2836
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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