Issue IV - International | March 31 2010

   Often times when one listens to or reads the arguments of those who make it their job to “overthrow the capitalist system,” one will come across the notion that many of the ills of the status quo (which is invariably labeled as “capitalism”) are due in large part to certain institutions which, it is insinuated, are inherent to a capitalist system. Usually such insinuations are peculiar, as, more often than not, the exact opposite is true. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are two institutions which often take the brunt of the “anti-capitalist” storm, but do they really deserve such treatment?

   We as Americans are blessed with the most prosperous nation in the history of the world. Our prosperity affects everyone at every level of society. We can send metal tubes filled with sophisticated machinery to visit and return from a laboratory in perpetual freefall over the earth. We have the knowledge and tools to eradicate plagues that once exterminated entire populations of humans. And even more important, any person in the United States can go to a local deli or supermarket and pick up the ingredients for nearly any meal they want to have that night, regardless of season or their proximity to where that ingredient was produced.

A couple weeks ago the New York Times ran an article entitled, “China Uses Rules on Global Trade to Its Advantage.” At first glance one might assume such actions by the Chinese to be grossly unfair. American politicians and academics argue that China’s devaluation of its currency does not allow other countries a fair opportunity in the global trade arena. Is this really the case? Or is China simply using its economic might in the same way that both Britain and the United States have in the past?

MONROVIA— Hoping to stimulate its flat-lining economy, President Ellen Sirleaf of Liberia announced last week the construction of a transcontinental zip-line that would span from the coastal capital of Monrovia to the bustling shores of America. 150 highly-motivated workers commenced construction of the project Monday morning in front of a cheering crowd of starving yet optimistic Liberian citizens. After 15 minutes of trying to tie a rope to the top of a tall tree, the laborers gave up and went home. “This doesn’t make any sense,” muttered lead engineer Ndudi Akoiwala, looking down at the blueprints he had scribbled on his napkin a few days ago.