Questioning Free Trade and Liberalization
Nowadays, pressure is mounting for developing countries to adopt ""good policies"" to foster their economic development. These policies include the liberalization of trade, finance, and investment. These ideas are imposed on developing countries by the developed nations using strong and external bilateral and multilateral pressure. The argument is that these policies are good for developing countries because they are how developed nations became rich. The nature of economic liberalization has been facilitated by the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank play an important role. The World Trade Organization (WTO), a development of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, was set up in order to reduce tariffs in international trade and to eliminate all other measures that prevent free trade. Contrary to conventional wisdom, history shows that rich countries did not develop on the basis of the policies ...