On Sat, 20 Apr 2002 00:37:28 +1200, Bill Rosenberg wrote: > >It's difficult to say what profit figures would >show. The ability of TNCs to transfer their >profits from one country another for tax, >political or internal reasons must make the >profit attributed to their operations in any one >country arbitrary to a degree.
It is absolutely necessary to dispense with the idea that imperialism is identical to multinationals seeking out countries where labor is cheap and profits are high. Imperialism is operative even when there is not a single US corporation or subsidiary on foreign soil. Take the petroleum industry, for example, an essential piece in the jigsaw puzzle of imperialism. Saudi Arabian and Venezuelan oil wells are owned by the government, but are forced to deal with Anglo-American corporations that market the finished product. With pliant governments, the US can continue to bleed these countries dry even if it is not operating on foreign soil. This is also true of agro-export. For example, Colombia capitalists own all of the plantations but are forced to deal with much bigger and more powerful US marketing operations that buy and process the raw beans. In general, third world cartels for products like coffee beans, etc. are at a much bigger disadvantage than oil exporters, who can at least cause shocks to the world system if they cut back on production. Higher coffee prices might cause grumbling at Starbucks, but they won't bring the advanced countries' economy crashing down. Finally, many maquilas are typically not owned directly by US corporations or subsidiaries. Nike would prefer to line up local subcontractors who it can then blame for abuses to the work-force. This, of course, is not to say that North American auto production in places like Mexico is driven by the need to compete with Korea and Japan. There is a drive to the bottom. However, to fully understand the operations of imperialism, you have to look at the full constellation of class relations not just multinational behavior. -- Louis Proyect, [EMAIL PROTECTED] on 04/19/2002 Marxism list: http://www.marxmail.org
