Trade Is War: The West's War Against the World

by Yash Tandon

Globalization has reduced many aspects of modern life to little more than commodities controlled by multinational corporations. Everything, from land and water to health and human rights, is today intimately linked to the issue of free trade. Conventional wisdom presents this development as benign, the sole path to progress.

Yash Tandon, drawing on decades of on-the-ground experience as a high level negotiator in bodies such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), here challenges this prevailing orthodoxy. He insists that, for the vast majority of people, and especially those in the poorer regions of the world, free trade not only hinders development – it visits relentless waves of violence and impoverishment on their lives.

Trade Is War shows how the WTO and the Economic Partnership Agreements like the EU-Africa EPA and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are camouflaged in a rhetoric that hides their primary function as the servants of global business. Their actions are inflaming a crisis that extends beyond the realm of the economic, creating hot wars for markets and resources, fought between proxies in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and now even in Europe.

In these pages Tandon suggests an alternative vision to this devastation, one based on self-sustaining, non-violent communities engaging in trade based on the real value of goods and services and the introduction of alternative currencies.

Genres: Economics, Politics

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2015

Reviews

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yes, it would make sense. Because what governments call ”free trade” is anything but free. To make things more complicated both opposing parties are dealing with the same abuse: ”our” control, versus ”their” control. They want the same thing, but because they both play a zero sum game against the general population, one side is bound to lose and the general public is set with the bill. The ”west” wants anything but free trade. Free trade will help the people and loosen the control. So it's about dealing with the western control. The Second World, the Warshaw Pact, wants the same thing: control and pushing their own product. People like Tandon feel they are the native kings and they have a divine right to make the life of the people miserable just because of the place they were born in.

So I have written both sides, yet enumerated three. It's because the Warshaw Pact is not on the list, which makes me speculate that a loser like Tandon would affiliate with the Second World in order to get a piece of the pie, meaning the value generated by the hard working people of his country.

So, Free Trade is a good thing. It means people can deal in what they need in exchange for what other people need. It should not be a zero sum game. The zero sum game is the game of the robbers and rapists: how can Tandon put into his bank account the money of his co-nationals, if somebody else is robbing them? In the case of Free Trade each party goes back home with more value than what they have given.

Also, the text is relative. For a governmental gang affiliated with the ”West”, it's the Second World that wages war against the World, world meaning their petty perception of a certain landmass.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book no complaints. Adds depth to a worldview many of us probably share. The author is clearly a very passionate guy who has been super involved in everything he talks about. If you ever see this on the street, I highly recommend to you take it home!

[Pijus · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6 "The institutions of global governance, includig the WTO and the WIPO, are creations of an asymmetrical world dominated by the early industrializers of the imperial North. They have no interest in helping the South to industrialize and compete against them in the exploitation of the world's diminishing natural resources. Attempts by the countries of the South to challenge this system have provoked aggressive action by the industrialized west, in ways that can justly be described as acts of war"

[Ernest · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it interesting to have a non-western perspective on trade issues and the WTO. Every side has its biases so its good to read from a variety of authors. Yash Tandon builds the narrative for his argument beautifully with historical excerpts and his empirical accounts.

[M.A USman Jr · Rating 3 out of 5]

It answers questions as it brings others. If you want hear a point of view about why the The richest countries in resources represent the least economy growth or development.
How countries suffer by their own well?

[Onyango Makagutu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.
Well written and eye opening.
The war against capitalism and imperialism shall be won someday

[Samid · Rating 2 out of 5]

no