I am surreptitiously smiling inside today as Bolivia has told the big multi-nationals that they are going to nationalise their gas industry. The President of Bolivia, Mr Morales said the gas fields were "just the beginning, because tomorrow it will be the mines, the forest resources and the land".
While France protects in the name of economic patriotism, Bolivia takes control of its assets. Do you think we have got our policy wrong when so many British companies are falling prey to foreign companies? I do....
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It's nationalism and isolationism, it reduces international trade, reduces competition, reduces consumer choice, denies many of the economic benefits from the past 200 years, and discourages international solidarity. Whatever the short-term benefits, in the long-run it makes people poorer for the benefit of self-interested dinosaurs like Chirac.
Sure, British companies are bought up, but British companies also buy others up, and even if the company is notionally British, (a) the directors and shareholders could come from all parts, and (b) why should they put country first?
International cooperation, free trade, and specialisation are the way to go. Tariffs and restrictions should only be used in exceptional circumstances - it used to be the Conservatives who supported them.
Thanks for your comment. Capitalism is one of the most destructive forces on the planet. Yet, the failure of communism to tackle inequality and human greed, seeks to remind us that a socialist alternative is far from ideal. I make no apologies for the fact that I am not a supporter of free trade, for the markets will only ever provide a service when profits can be made.
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