Flaming Flag 6 | Anarchy Rethought | Clinton's puppy: MAI

      Being a contributing writer/editor/publisher/etc. of Flaming Flag, I find it important to point out the flaws in our flagship issue, anarchy. First of all, I will admit that in theory, anarchy is the ideal society. Everyone getting along on co-ops and helping each other out sounds great. But, we must not only examine the end result, we must carefully think out the possibility of making the switch. We need to make it from here to there - now to then.
      Now, our society is filled with problems, including greed, oppression, starvation, violence, sexism, racism, homophobia, exploitation, etc. The goal of a perfect anarchist society would require none of these problems to exist. In fact, it would require the simple notion of these problems to be nonexistent. Otherwise, someone would revive them and spread the problems all across the world once again. To eliminate ideas in people's minds is extremely difficult when you are working with a population of around six billion. We could either kill everyone and start from scratch or attempt to convert everyone to a new wing of thought. That is literally impossible. We would face many barriers to changing people's minds. First of all, there is the religious sections of our society. We would have to eliminate all notions of religion. We would then have to burn every book that goes against the ideals of a peaceful anarchist society. There would be no government to punish people for their actions. If someone had the idea to get a gun or turn someone into a slave, he or she would do it. Humans are inherently greedy. There's no way around it.
      Diablito suggests having militias that would take care of criminal offenders. However, it can be argued and proven that a militia is a form of control or more specifically, a governmental presence. That is not anarchy.
      Let's face it folks, anarchy is perfect in theory, but in our society, it is nearly impossible. So what is the alternative to what we have now? There are many possible solutions that include ideas from anarchism as well as other schools of thought. We must continue to fight injustice and search for a new system to live under without excluding any ideas.

“'That government is best which governs not at all;' and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have... But to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it.”
- Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience”

Clinton's Favorite Puppy: MAI Treaty

By Peg Leg Cat

      The press recently took a break from mourning the late Princess Diana, and flickered newspapers and TVs with the glory of Clinton's new puppy and the scandal of his sex life. While the media wonders whether Clinton will be impeached, they still neglect to notice Clinton's favorite new pet - the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). Clinton has been secretly negotiating the MAI for two years with 27 of the richest nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The negotiations were made in secret until February 1997. Now, Clinton has been trying to pass "fast-track" to allow the MAI to pass unaffected. The MAI could reek havoc on the global economy.
      The MAI is a pact that will allow multinational investors to freely move their investments around the world. At the same time the power of governments to regulate investors will be strictly limited. Laws that protect the environment and laborers could easily be banned with the MAI. The MAI's limits on currency and market regulations could spell problems for global economies like what recently happened to the Asian economy. A nation's plans for social and economic development could be severely hampered by the MAI agreement. We could see the elimination of guaranteed loans to small businesses, stock market safeguard laws, and real estate laws that restrict foreign investment.
      World Trade Organization Director General Renato Ruggerio has called the MAI "the constitution of a single global economy." Under this new "constitution," power will be shifted to huge multinational corporations. Foreign corporations will have the same rights and benefits as domestic companies. Corporations will be able to overpower national, state, and local governments. The MAI spells danger to small companies, laborers, and the environment. Laws protecting all three could be eliminated at the whim of corporations who claim the laws "restrict free trade."
      With the elimination of Most Favored Nation status, as the MAI plans to do, countries will not be able to restrict trade with brutal dictatorships such as Suharto's in Indonesia. This will benefit corporations seeking near-free labor and benefit the harsh dictatorships of human rights violators world wide. The New World Order will more officially be of huge corporate entities. The MAI is a serious threat to democracy and justice. It is not something to be ignored.
      We must do something now to stop the MAI from going into effect. Contact your congressperson and urge him or her to oppose Fast Track and the MAI. Join us in the opposition to injustice.

For more information:

Read about the MAI in the Feb-Mar '98 Monitor, available at the Peace Nook.

Read Tony Clarke's new book: MAI: The Multilateral Agreement on Investment and the Threat to Canadian Sovereignty.

Look on the internet at:
    http://www.corpwatch.org
    http://rtknet.org/preamble
    http://www.islandnet.com/plethora
    http://www.citizen.org/gtw
    http://world.std.com/~dadams/MAI

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