by Paul

I often laud those on the extreme left. Being a libertarian personally, I get the opportunity to see the daily left/right slugfest from a somewhat impartial stance. And in all honesty...Its fun as all hell. But I do indeed applaud many extreme leftists, as your hearts are in the right place. But, what you have in heart you lack in political depth.

The problem with idealism, is its inability to see the big picture regarding many of the "evils" which you so righteously protest. My favorite example is globalism. The hippies camped out at the WTO meetings in Seattle a few years back feared American encroachment on foreign markets primarily because they saw it as a means of forcing more little girls across the 3rd world to stich nike shoes for 25 cents a day.

Yes, I'll concede, exploitation is bad, but what is unfortunately overlooked is the absolute necessity for many of these nations to be brought up to speed. Granted the wages are low, but foreign investment is crucial for areas such as Singapore or Taiwan. Without it, they would probably resemble North Korea.

There is a long road ahead, but Gloabalism is indeed the cure for many of the 3rd world's ills. Hong Kong, a tiny island with no resources to speak of, has a higher per capita GDP than most other nations on its continent. This is simply due to their embrace of Globalism, and nearly unrestrained capitalist economy.

Even if from a distance things seem unfair, just remember that no nation can be turned around over night. And what little wages some make in the 3rd world are still better than having no opportunities at all.