Alex Tabarrok hits on a profound point:
Blogging about the convention, William Saletan hits on a profound point. It’s not just Democrats, however, the framing of “us” and “them” is perennial and it’s the expansion of “us” that is at the heart of our civilization.
Obama, like other speakers at this convention, complains about “companies shipping jobs overseas” and workers “losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that’s moving to Mexico.” At the same time, Obama holds himself out as a symbol of a diverse, welcoming America. How can Democrats be the party of diversity at home but xenophobia abroad, the party that loves Mexican-Americans but hates Maytag plants in Mexico, the party that thinks Obama’s mom deserves a job more than Obama’s dad does? I understand the politics of it. But what about the morals?
(Emphasis added, sort of — see title of Tabarrok’s post.)
Unfortunately Obama (and Kerry with his “Benedict Arnold firms” nonsense) are far outclassed in the hypocrisy department by Bush & co.’s complete misundertanding (I can’t think of an appropriately harsh word at the moment, so misunderstanding will have to do) of freedom, and just about everything else.
I have to agree….I’m not a fan of nationalism either and Tabarrok makes an outstanding arguement. I read an extremely thought-provoking article yesterday on the issue of outsourcing. It’s along the same lines concerning nationalism and presents an argument that is in favor of using foreign workers and global collaboration. It’s a good supplemental reading to this entry if anyone is interested. Personally, I don’t fault anyone for choosing to use only American workers..it’s thier choice, but I have to disagree when they condemn someone else for choosing to use foreign workers instead. Liberty is about choice…personal or business.
Re-Evaluating Outsourcing
My buddy the “Radical Wacko” just posted a link to an article relating to outsourcing jobs overseas. I have to admit, I have been strongly opposed to the idea of companies shipping jobs outside the U.S., but this article has made me seriously re…
The global race to the bottom of the pack is not a plesant alternative either.
The problem with loss of jobs to plants in Mexico isn’t necessarily about nationism. To anybody paying attention, it’s actually about the issue of corporations abusing every loophole and law they can to lower their overhead and make more money. One way of doing this is to divest themselves of their workforces here and in countries with more advanced labor laws, and to move that workforce to countries like Mexico or Indonesia where they can get away with paying the workers cents an hour with no benefits.
Any rational person against moving US plants to foreign soil is against it for the reasons above, and many others which could be cited if you’ve got the time. I don’t, however, so please, just look it up.
Whether or not that was Obama’s point, I don’t know, but just don’t pigeon hole the whole of the issue as an issue of nationism or something absurd like that.
[…] I Hate Nationalism oh really? The 2004 me could express agreement with someone else who had expressed agreement with someone else who expressed an opinion on the Internet and call it profound. How trite. Expanding concepts of “us” is a thing of popular culture since the 1960s and surely for centuries and perhaps millennia prior; I am merely ignorant of the specifics. How trite! […]