Such a dense topic, the politics of international trade and investment -- I feel like I want to follow up on sixteen different things from yesterday's post. But, other fora, including the Daily Beast, and the Washington think tank Third Way, are addressing this hot topic, and doing it well. So forgive me if I indulge in my usual abstruse, airy ruminations. Start with this, the human...imperative, let's say (as opposed to right, which is too concrete, and legal and implies enforceability) of free trade and investment:
While prudence and discretion dictate that I not discuss my circumstances extensively, I can say that I'm in a position to make certain demographic observations about cross-border trade and investment in one of the most robust international commercial relationships in the world. And right away, let's note -- this is a decidedly demographic enterprise. Yes, of course, goods cross borders, in massive, almost incomprehensible quantities. That's a large part of what trade is (trade in services being the other part). But in conjunction with and in addition to goods, people cross borders. Many of them, true enough, work for large corporations, and are moving from one financial services office to another, without a critical quotient of risk, excitement, or personal meaning involved. But many of them, so many, surprisingly many, are individuals, single men and women, brothers or sisters, families. These are people who arrive with, if not quite a song in their hearts, at least a little start-up capital, and something like the conviction that their best selves will be expressed in (or at least enabled by) a restaurant in a warm climate, a factory where technical workers are well-trained, a sales office where markets for their product are expanding. Etc. Their vision and willingness to take risk, it's...it's...Vitality! Dynamism! The fullness of human intercourse!
Biff! Bang! Pow!
Look, I'm not an idiot. I know I'm pushing this conception to its limits, perhaps beyond. Nor am I insensitive to the reality of crass exploitation in the world of international business. Or to the seismic rearrangement of the U.S. economy over the past 40+ years of globalization. After all, I spent years -- years -- after law school and a Fulbright fellowship, with no hope whatever of even the most paltry, entry-level professional job. I understand better than I'd like to how devastating an experience it is not to be needed, to feel like a superfluous person. And I understand as well how many people in the U.S. (to say nothing of Spain, or Greece, or, by the way, Africa) have gone through and are still going through that experience. I get it.
But arguing that the solution to this difficulty is to abolish free international trade and investment is like arguing that we must address communicable diseases by legislating against physical contact. While it may seem to offer immediate protections, it is both impossible, and ultimately undesirable. We are humans, and we have to touch each other. And commerce, international trade and investment, is how we touch each other now.
Maybe that's grandiose, but I'm convinced there's something to it. Right now, there's a line around the block of men and women looking to cross a border to start or expand a hotel, a grocery store, a bio-tech firm. And when they do, they'll bring with them not only their cash, but their skills, intuitions, memories, personalities, stories. They've got to be as free to do so as we can possibly make them.
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