Anti Anti-Globalization

[aggienaut]

I was at a party the other day and this girl was rambling on about her anti-globalization views. Since its rather tactless to get into arguments at parties, I didn't argue with her as much as I would have liked, and so now I'm going to vent about it here.

Basically she was going on about how "if everyone lived in a locally self-sustaining community, everyone would be happier and healthier and there'd be less pollution." Without backing this up with any economic or scientific basis.

What I gently pointed out is that currently everything is produced as efficiently as possible, through economies-of-scale and at locations where it is most efficiently produced via comparative advantage (and thus the "globalized" economy). If one were to depart from either the large scale production or production-where-most-efficient, production would obviously be much less efficient; meaning less would be produced; meaning there'd be more scarcity; meaning everyone can buy less and therefore everyone takes a few steps down the poverty ladder.

Additionally she kept harkening back to the "good old days" when most communities were self sufficient. I pointed out that back then there were a lot fewer people and everyone had a lot more space -- there was generally something like 240 acres available to support each person, now you're living large if your "footprint" is 15. The world simply could not support the current population living at less efficient means.

Thats when she admitted "well, in my vision there'd be fewer people." This of course made several listeners ask "how?" Then she said, and I'm pretty sure she was serious "well, I think some people need to be sterilized." I could then sit back and watch as her formerly sympathetic listeners all went "wait wha?"

Comments

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

I would have been very wary of eating anything she brought to the party after hearing that.....

Seriously, how come I miss all the best parties? I could have had some fun with that fruitbat.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

We ate some delicious lasagna, but it was made by a girl whose philosophy is based on Ayn Rand.

[sonofabish.livejournal.com]

Were the brownies made by Nihilists, just 'cause they tend to not give a shit and dump in all the chocolate.

[drcuriosity]

Ah, but does Randian lasagna have any more inherent moral value than any other kind of lasagna?

[witless-nerd.livejournal.com]

Woot, eugenics.

Personally I do agree somewhat with the sentiment that there are perhaps too many people on earth, but aside from random sterilization there isn't much a way to control or change this, even major disease will be quickly recovered from in a few generations.

As for globalization, it is a good thing while it lasts to have such peace between people, but I hope that the places themselves remain unique such that we have a diversity of places, for the sake of better biology, health, happiness, even to simply improve the richness of human civilization.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Yeah I'll readily admit that globalization erodes cultural diversity.. but cultural diversity unfortunately just can't justify itself as overriding poverty-reducing and health-improving economics. Though I might be in favour of a tax on really annoying commercials.

[yami.livejournal.com]

Its such a fine line between hippy and... fascist(!?)

I have always consdered "globalization" to be the natural progression of our resources, technology and the peaceful intermingling of everybody all over the Earth. The silk road was open for centuries, earlier than modern historians had first believed. Stumbling upon ancient ruined Buddhist temples in Thailand offering paintings depicting a certain halo-headed Jew right next to their beloved Buddhistavas. Globalizing markets could potentially integrate the world into a single self sustaining cell much like she was describing only without the need for her Orwellian sterilization plan.

The only trick however is to get to this globalization while still allowing cultures and nations to remain sovereign and without the guidance of our current totalitarian imperalists warmongering government. Politicians give globalization a bad name.

Whose Totalitarian Imperialist Warmongering Government Would You Prefer?

[vakratunda.livejournal.com]

The Chinese?


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Whose Totalitarian Imperialist Warmongering Government Would You Prefer?

[yami.livejournal.com]

I only bow before fuzzy mittens, thank you very much.

Jesus

[vakratunda.livejournal.com]

I'll be under the bed if anyone wants me.

Anyone *without* tentacles.


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Re: Jesus

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, Jesus:



(taken from this awesome entry)

[nocturneprime.livejournal.com]

The problem is that capitalism works. No other economic system in the history of humanity has been able to reliably produce goods to sustain a population as large as exists today.

[witless-nerd.livejournal.com]

This is a bit tautological, I mean, population has been on a constant rise so thus (if we assume the world is wholly capitalist), then it will always be true for whatever the system we choose is, unless the population somehow starts dropping.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

And to think Marx kept writing about the "historical inevitability" of the fall of capitalism and rise of communism, what ho!


And as we try to squeeze more and more life out of the finite resources of the planet we have to work harder and harder ... cave-men actually only had to work about three hours a day total for food production, tool & shelter maintenance, etc etc.

[y0ur-c0nscience.livejournal.com]

anti-globalization makes me laugh. I am sure those 3rd world african countries will do so well without outside help, right? I mean, even if many countries manage to produce a self-sufficient economy, more than likely the quality of exported goods and the amount will not be enough to put it up to par with the countries that have effectively been trading and producing for centuries.

People like that need to get out and TRAVEL so they can see how the rest of the world lives.

By saying in her vision there would be less people sounds like she was struggling to still stand her ground. I am sure 'sterilization' would probably go against anything she believed on a humanitarian sort of level. If that were the case, would she have a defined test of how to choose who gets sterilizaed? What about the gray areas? Seems most people don't really look into their views - they just choose something that makes them look good or cool and stick with it even if the opposition has a thesis or thought that ruins the entire idea in which they stand.

Ok, maybe I am a *tad* bit bias and cannot stand the normally shallow views of anything remotley similar to hippies. Don't get me wrong, I like that people can have views and such, but most just jump on the idea bandwagon and never look in depth at their devoted side and can rarely hold a counter-arguement. I hate when I know more about the view I oppose than the fanatic who stands for it.

Though, if they know their side well, I respect them. I just dislike bitchy little people who want to bitch about something they know next to nothing about yet boast about for self-glorification purposes...and, in this case, she seems to be one of them.

People like that need bitchslapped with a large floppy donkey dick. The test for this is as follows: X < 87 = Y, where X is the target's IQ as opposed to room temperature and Y is the length of which the donkey's unit should be that does the bitchslapping. Anyone in question for this should also be bitchslapped with the floppy donkey penis for safe measure and to cover all gray areas.

[vakratunda.livejournal.com]

How do you keep the donkey dick floppy after the first couple of slaps? It's still attached to the donkey, right?


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[y0ur-c0nscience.livejournal.com]

Yes. I could give you some BS that the donkey is a hypothetical being with a unit used for smacking people who's IQs are below room temperature, but its not. It's just THAT long that I have to wear special gloves and have the donkey within 100 meters of the victim. I run up to them and slap them silly, then run off and hide while they try to process the phenomenon that just occured. It has a little thing to roll it up with, even.

Even if it were disconnected, there are more than enough people to slap with it to keep it floppy. As long as the floppy donkey dick is kept in motion, rigor mortis won't set in for this special occaision.

May I ask why you have a random period at the bottom of your comments? It intrigues me.

[vakratunda.livejournal.com]

Thank you, that makes perfect sense.

You may indeed ask why I have a random period at the bottom of my comments.


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Ganesha does not like my seaweed.

[y0ur-c0nscience.livejournal.com]

HAHA someone who is a competative smartass on my level, it seems.

Why do you have a period at the bottom of your comments?

I mean, I understand the important of periods. Miss just one or two and BAM! Babies.

[vakratunda.livejournal.com]

It shows where the bottom is, of course.

There is no secret or hidden meaning. Period.


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[y0ur-c0nscience.livejournal.com]

Ha, a pun. Fair enough, I do believe.

[vakratunda.livejournal.com]

Hey, at least she's honest.

I normally cut to the chase with those folks, by asking them which three billion people they intend to kill.

It's never white people. Africa and India are too crowded, there's so many people in China!

By the way, under the global system we are far from being overpopulated. California could potentially feed the entire World.




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[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Although in her vision, California's farmers would go bankcrupt with noone to sell their crops to. Good times.

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

You really passed up an important point when you neglected to mention that this party occurred within a gated, very exclusive, wealthy, private neighborhood.

[dictator666.livejournal.com]

It's this very reason that I get bored talking to people spouting ideologies that they've learnt out of a magazine.

Even worse talking to politicians as I've discovered that even the intelligent seeming ones are still very thick.