Blog Group 4

      I think one of the issues as to why the world is not able to fully be immersed in globalization because we are still living in the era of "The Other". Being in the other means that our human nature tries to find connections with other people that we have not met before or we do not know much about their culture. If that culture does not connect to our own culture, we see it as other. For example, in the reading, Todorov reading Columbus finds beauty and was in awe of the Natives, but when he realized that he was different from them he did not see them as humans but as others.    When a state sees another state as an "other" it does not create a community in which globalization can be achieved. Today, with immigration I feel that our state treats people who are undocumented as an "other". Since we do this we do not find the time to hear undocumented citizens out and understand their story. I think as a state we create a narrative ...

In class we learned that not everyone likes trade because it produces losers, but what would happen is we did not have trade? I feel that as an American I would not have access to a lot of products because of trade. I think trade is important because it creates relationships through an exchange of goods. I think that if there are losers in trade then other states need to help the losers win. That means if Canada has more of an opportunity cost, like the keg and pizza example explained in class, Then the U.S. should assist Canada and lessen that opportunity cost. In turn, Canada does not end up losing but it ends up creating a relationship with the U.S. so they can mutually help each other through trade. I also think about states that do not have access to certain goods or people take advantage of the goods that is a part of that land. There can be a good that the people of that land receive that can help produce jobs. Maybe it computers in a country who does not have access to inter...

Since Trump has been in office, he hasn’t been shy in voicing his disdain for NAFTA, and constantly gives threats to leave. Trump and his advisors advocate leaving NAFTA because a departure from the agreement is thought to be accompanied with a reduced trade deficit with Mexico. However, I strongly believe that the United States should stay in NAFTA as the benefit of being apart of the agreement heavily outweighs the pros of leaving. It is said that if the United States leaves the trade agreement, the deficit between the U.S and Mexico will be cut. This is wrong however based on the rules that America agreed to when joining the World Trade Organization. Trump has said that he wants to raise tariffs on mexican imports after he leaves NAFTA. However, if the U.S leaves, they have to abide by rules set by the WTO. So by the United States raising tariffs on mexican imports, they will have to equally raise tariffs on all other non free trade agreement countries as well, which may damage t...

Daniel Abebe’s opinion in the New York Times debate on the International Criminal Court is telling of the weaknesses of both the I.C.C. as well as international law and its enforcement as a whole. Abebe raises questions about the potency of the massive funding delegated to the I.C.C., as the results could be said to not add up to the spending. The court has called 36 indictments, but had 6 acquittals and only two convictions, leading some to speculate on the courts effectiveness. One could make an effective argument that the courts actions against human rights abusers send a strong message of condemnation of such offenses by the whole international community. While this is a cogent point, I argue that the I.C.C. and the institution of international law itself is flawed and ineffective, which can be seen in the actions of the I.C.C. itself.             A main criticism of international law is that it is effective only when dea...

Why NAFTA isn't “The worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever” Jared Rostkowski On September 25th 2016 during the first presidential debate of 2016, then Presidential candidate Donald Trump described the North American Free Trade Agreement as “The worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever.” NAFTA is the trade agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, which eliminated tariffs between the three countries. Trump has continued to voice his displeasure with the trade deal, mostly with Mexico. Anyway, NAFTA is not the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, in fact, it is actually a trade deal that the 3 countries benefit greatly from the trade deal, and we should not pull out of it anytime soon.  So what does Trump dislike about the deal. His main displeasure comes with the fact that many companies from the U.S. are moving manufacturing to Mexico, to take advantage of Mexico’s cheap labor. Trump argued that companies like For...

The World Trade Organization main goal is free trade and focuses on lowering trade barriers around the world. The WTO went into effect in 1948 with twenty-three signatures and the trade aspect has increased dramatically over the years. Since the 1950s world trade has grown over twenty-seven fold in volume. Through this expansion of trade, the competition between nations increased as well. Countries are therefore focused on the economic benefits from the World Trade Organization and often undermine the environmental concerns that are directly related with trade. On the the WTO website it clearly states “there is no specific agreement dealing with the environment”, as a result, the WTO should adopt environmental standards for countries to soon follow. The many countries involved in the WTO focus on practice that allow them to produce the most amount of goods in the quickest amount of time, rather than focusing on sustainable practices. This can be seen in the Mexico tuna case where ...