We are just at the beginning of the process of globalization, and yet we are already having a hard time supplying the world with the necessary raw materials. We are backsliding on environmental and worker's rights protection, in an effort to compete in a world, which has a rapidly growing supply of qualified and capable global labor force, for the right to produce, and consume. The response to these grave new challenges, coming from our political and intellectual elites, has been quite disappointing thus far. On the right, we have the staunch worshipers of the uncorrupted market. They want to do away with the social safety net, and environmental protection, in an effort to create a competitive economy, able to hold on to investment. They like to pretend that global resources are infinite; and environmental degradation will never cause us suffering. They also neglect the negative effects that dismantling the social safety net, has on a post-agrarian society's stability and cohesion. On the left, they like to pretend, that the increased costs to doing business, thanks to our efforts to be compassionate and good global citizens, will not cause us to suffer brutal reprisals. Profit maximizing firms cannot be expected to accept voluntarily, a higher cost of doing business. There is no question that we have to protect the environment, people, and deal with resource scarcity. The market however is more inclined to push us into a global race to the bottom. The only solution is to change the environment that the market operates in, and collective human goodwill will not suffice. A standardized global trade tariff, designed to discourage environmental and human abuse and encourage efficiency, is the only way we can deal with the current challenge. The only alternative is failure, and it will be painful. | Sustainable Trade by Zoltan Ban, Paperback | Indigo Chapters