To Get the FTAA Accepted as Something It Is Not:
The Federal Liberals' Impossible Dream

by Sandra L. Smith

Some dreams are possible, some are not. The dream of the peoples of the world to empower
themselves is a possible dream. They fought for universal suffrage so as to realize this dream.
Even though universal suffrage has been waylaid by the system of "representative democracy,"
which brings political parties to power, not the people, its inherent drive is to empower the
people. It is unstoppable.

On the other hand, there are some dreams which are either not possible or mere illusions to fool
the gullible. They serve to stop the people from engaging in the kind of actions which will realize
their real dreams.

The "American Dream" is one such example. Realizable by a very select few, it is the success
story of the millionaire few presented to the impoverished many. In essence it is a brutal dictate: Toe the line and you too can strike it rich. Otherwise you deserve to fail.

Now Jean Chretien and George W. Bush are telling us that the Free Trade Area of the Americas
will guarantee prosperity for the oppressed nations of the Americas and for the working class and peoples of the United States and Canada. When they met in Washington on February 7, George
W. Bush is quoted as saying, "Free trade in the hemisphere will benefit Canada and will benefit
the United States. We have a great opportunity to spread prosperity throughout." He said he
wants to make free trade a key priority of his administration. He used the meeting, the news
agencies report, "to urge Mr. Chretien to help him convince Congress to grant him fast-track
authority to negotiate trade agreements."

On his part, Jean Chretien, who came to power in 1993 on a platform of renegotiating free trade,
is now its most vocal proponent. Ignoring all contrary evidence, he claims that it is the guarantee of prosperity not just for the rich but for all. He cites statistics in a self-serving manner, quoting those which have led to the enrichment of the rich while totally ignoring the evidence which testifies to the devastation of the oppressed nations and exploited workers which free trade brings in its wake. Faced with that evidence, he denies that free trade is the exacerbating factor while imperialism is the cause. The imperialists are now suggesting that the cause lies in "corruption," the lack of "efficient management" of the economy, failure to have "human rights," and so on.

A "discourse" is reported amongst the rich and powerful which claims that neo-liberal
globalization is not to be blamed for the devastation of Africa, Asia and Latin America but
"corruption" and "bad government." In the case of Africa, "tribal conflicts" and an alleged inherent
penchant of the African people for internecine warfare and "backwardness" are to be blamed. In
the case of Latin America, the liberation forces are blamed for "drug-trafficking" and so on.
According to the argument, the nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America where in bad shape
before "free trade," therefore "free trade is not to blame."

These sophistic arguments are so pathetic they are easy to refute. But they do reveal the base
level to which the champions of neo-liberal free trade are willing to push society. The rich and
powerful are parading their ignorance and their belief that the entire world is as ignorant as they are. What they always leave out of their calculations is that the world which is not favoured by what they are doing is far larger than the world that is.

The dream of the majority of the world's people for freedom, progress and peace by ridding
themselves of imperialist enslavement and oppression is a realizable dream. Every day, millions upon millions of people dream this dream and work out how to turn it into reality.

For the likes of Jean Chretien and the government of Canada to think that 19th century arguments
about the need for "the civilized world to teach the savages responsible government" are
acceptable in the 21st century is incredible. Nonetheless, they are using precisely this logic to "justify" making "good government" and "civilized values" the raison d'être of the FTAA. To get the FTAA accepted as something it is not is Jean Chretien's "impossible dream."