A combined effort in 1994 can help us out of the current slump, and crown the year with success. On that note, the /V/team extends its best wishes for the New Year. *
International Viewpoint #252 January 1994 .
"GATT has nothing to do with free trade, but rather the liberalisation of trade within certain parameters [..] It is wrong to say that liberalisation is going to make the poor rich as a result of the opportunities offered to them."
It was no lover of protectionism that made these remarks at the end of last November, but Peter
Sutherland, the director general of GATT, the very one responsible for steering the so-called Uruguay round through its final stages. In the event, the round was concluded on December 14
EDITORIAL cannot hide the obvious — the dominant feature remains the current state of crisis of the world economy, initiated in the 1970s, characterised by persistently inadequate conditions for capital valorisation, and by an unresolved question: who will pay the consequences?
In the area of services, an area which offers the best chances for the internal development of a country and for access to the world market, principles such as "intellectual property" have been firmly entrenched. This is nothing more than a measure of exploitation imposed on the poorest countries in fields such as medicine and the manufacture of computers.
The benefits of the agricultural agreement are ambiguous to say the least. At the same time that poor countries are asked to eliminate subsidies and protectionist measures, and to substitute crops for internal consumption with those meant for export, malnutrition and famine keep on growing.
Spoonfed on Ricardo's old liberal theory on international trade, the major imperialist powers conducted the negotiations of the decrepit GATT institution in their own inimitable style. This was a hypocritical spectacle in which three large regional blocs, each with their own conductors, shared out the world market amongst themselves - while the great majority of countries, where four fifths of the world population live, participated as silent guests, with no right to speak.
Indeed, they have had to pay their way into a show run largely at their expense. *
New Year's subscription appeal amidst a mass media propaganda blitz and an array
AT the beginning of 1994, we here at International Viewpoint are forced to take a close look at our current situation and at our future. Our magazine does not pretend to be of chauvinist excesses that the best monthly magazine of political, social and economic analysis in the world. For were grotesque to say the that, we would have to have far greater resources than the measely sums currently at least.
our disposal. We can neither pay people to make expert contributions nor use the talents of specialists among our friends and supporters as much as we would like. In times of economic crisis, paid work takes priority for people who have bills to pay at the
ALFONSO MORO
Nevertheless, we have been able to maintain - with a slimmed down production team - a constant flow of contributions from friends and supporters that make us the
HE lords of international best international Marxist monthly magazine of news and analysis. We are not satiscapital have waged a holy fied with ritual incantations in response to world events, and we try to give food for crusade these last seven thought to our readers, many of whom do not necessarily share our point of view but years - since 1986, when are interested in our reading of world events.
the Uruguay round of negotiations
Alas, the survival of /V is once again endangered. 1994 is the year that will make or began — for the dismantling of cusbreak us. Clearly, our Achille's heel, as for all the activist press, is finances. One year toms regulations and the elimination of ago, we were forced to go from fortnightly to monthly publication, and this has enabled non-tariff barriers to the circulation of us to reduce ours costs significantly. But we have to increase revenues before the end merchandise, all in the name of "free of this year or face either reducing the magazine's frequency once again or ceasing trade".
Free trade? We've never been fur-
Altogether we need 1,200 new subscriptions for our English and French monthlies ther from it. The USA, Japan and the combined. This is why we are making this appeal in our pages directly to readers
world's population is involved in only a miserable 0.9% of world trade. Could
We also send out an appeal to readers who work in institutions with libraries (universities, research institutes, governmental and intemational institutions) to get these instithings be any more blatant?
To be sure, the last seven years have given rise to real disagreements between the major imperialist powers. In fact, the final product is more of a compromise than an agreement. But this end of the month.
publication outright.
3