Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum

Free trade.
Free people freely trading?
Well…no.
Free trade means I am free
to come to your place,
foul your air and water,
denude your forests
and enslave your children.
Free trade is only free for me.
And you? Well you will have to pay.
My blemish free genetically modified
potatoes will come to your market
from across an ocean or two
cheaper than the ones you grow
five miles down the road.
Will you starve then?
I don’t know…you can always eat
your potatoes.
This is progress, don’t you know.
I have come
to improve your life.
You may experience discomfort now,
but believe you me,
in the long-run you will be grateful
for these fruits of liberty.
The  richer I get the better off you’ll be,
trickle-down you see.
I’ll have more to give to charity.
I will save the starving babies I see on tv.
with my $1.93 per month.
You know, since you can’t sell those potatoes,
maybe you can sell me your son,
one less mouth to feed.
I will watch over him,
see he doesn’t get lazy with too much sleep,
or fat with too much food.
I will protect him from your hot climate,
see that he works inside.
And while we’re at it, how about your farm?
I can graze cattle on it for my billions of burgers,
Yum yum yum.
Well yes your fields will become desert,
But what do you care?
And you’ll never taste a burger,
but it wouldn’t agree with you.
Rich food isn’t good for you.
For you a new adventure just begun.
You can go to the big city,
see the sights
take life easy,
live off what I throw away,
this way nothing is wasted.
Why you can even build your custom-home
right there on the garbage heap,
food for the picking
and the rent is cheap.
See how free trade works to free you?
From your livelihood, your children,
your land, your life?
It wasn’t much of one anyway.
You could say I am putting you out of your misery,
hastening nature’s work.
I will free the world this way,
the hero everywhere I go.
What is good for me is good for the world.
Now you may not know it,
but it’s all for the best,
and since I have all the fire power
it’s useless to protest.
So relax. Enjoy this New World Order.
Look at it as early retirement.
The air and sun will do you good.
Free trade. You are liberated from everything,
literally,
in return for my prosperity.