Workers, trade unions and politicians in old Europe mourned each factory moving east. But, as a European Commission official explains off the record, such shifts were fully expected: offshoring "was the whole idea of enlargement". The process, though wrenching to some, made the European Union as a whole more competitive and spread the benefits of global trade to every corner of Europe.
So far, so familiar. But things have moved on in Samorin. Even though new investment and jobs are still arriving in Slovakia, and proximity still counts, this river town has already lost a factory to offshoring. Samsonite closed its plant in 2006, shedding all 350 staff and shifting production to China.
Whoops! It looks like the race to the bottom predicted by critics of cult globalism turned out to really be a race to bottom. The dreamy shopping spree used to sell it was not such a good idea after all and... that was the whole point. The confessional impulse is no less strong in white collar criminals, enjoying the luxury of a honest moment of chat, than in run-of-the-mill gangsters, enjoying a boast or two about their cleverness. It adds a certain frisson to get away with it under the guise of democratically enforced public policy. But not enough of a thrill to formally go on record. The merit class is well-trained in reticence.
That article brought to mind the cruise missile liberals' post facto realization that Clinton's decent, humanitarian intervention policy in Eastern Europe was a fight over that natural resource known as "people". Truly the tree of neoliberalism must occasionally be watered with the blood of any laborers whose leaders display an unfortunate recalcitrance to hand over the goods. And now that Bad King Bush is heading out the door, in his graceless and stumble-tongued way, the coronation of Good King Obama, of the silver tongue and telegenic style, is eagerly awaited by people who find that he “embodies the America of today and tomorrow.” I'll go out on a limb and bet that President-to-be Obama makes a visit to Camp Bondsteel in his first year in office.
Comments (7)
Barack and Condi--the dream team
Posted by Jay Taber | June 6, 2008 6:21 PM
Posted on June 6, 2008 18:21
Clinton's intervention in Yugoslavia also paved the way for NATO to invade Afghanistan.
Posted by Nicholas Hart | June 6, 2008 9:16 PM
Posted on June 6, 2008 21:16
nato on the march
thrills us all
the last drive east
der ostkrieg
yielded some golden nuggets
transferable ???
yup
13 million forced laborers
in place
yup in dream mode anyway
a tad extractive and rusticated
lots of mines and wells
and golden fields of swaying grains
a core goals
slavs as helots
vast pioneeeeeeer proprietary pondarosas
Posted by op | June 7, 2008 7:50 AM
Posted on June 7, 2008 07:50
the other players lick their chops
at the thought
of this raw black rube
taking the big seat
at the poker table
the air pirate oughta play
this global acclaim up
big time
hanoi johnny
" they see him comin to the table
with his long hands and clean french cuffs
and they're puttin
those
'thats all gonna be mine'
eyes
on our stack of chips "
Posted by op | June 7, 2008 8:11 AM
Posted on June 7, 2008 08:11
"the other players lick their chops
at the thought
of this raw black rube
taking the big seat
at the poker table"
Most likely, yes. I think the other players are anticipating some free strike-breaking, labor enforcement action from him. He's got the lawyerly gloss and eloquence to make it palatable to liberal pundits and opinion leaders.
Posted by Al Schumann | June 7, 2008 8:23 AM
Posted on June 7, 2008 08:23
Is this just a slightly more detailed version of the legendary "It's a feature, not a bug" speech so beloved by computer pitchmen/women ?
If so, I approve. But it needs some "ironic" stock illos of office drones from the late 1970s to kind of jazz it up, so we can reach the kids, y'know ?
Where the HELL is Flugennock ?
Posted by ms_xeno | June 7, 2008 2:24 PM
Posted on June 7, 2008 14:24
He's on the lam. It seems he took delivery of a truckload of art supplies, which had been charged to the DNC's public relations budget.
Posted by Al Schumann | June 7, 2008 3:25 PM
Posted on June 7, 2008 15:25