What if US, Canada, and Mexico were only countries in the world-how would international trade work?

[terisan]

I mean the only countries and the only people --everything else just ocean..

I think if we figured that out we might have a better perspective on the global economy.

Among these three countries we seem to have everything we need.

[Oregone]

1. Much the same

Cheap labor and cheap goods would come from Mexico (killing their environment), while cheap energy and lumber comes from Canada (killing their environment). In the meantime, the environmentalists and pro-labor factions in the US can look proudly upon their unscathed and Utopian country, until the money and jobs runs out. That bleak enough for you?

The bottom line is that Americans desire an unsustainable existence, but they also possess a dignified arrogance that they shouldn't suffer to have it. Trade, and more so, "free trade", solves this NIMBY paradox, but there is a financial toll to pay for it. And in this decade, that toll is revealing itself.

[terisan]

2. I think we could have citizens more involved in planning an economy that worked.

for all 3 countries.

Our focus is too scattered in the world economy as it exists today.

[Oregone]

4. I don't think that is human nature....

Where is our energy going to come from? Not from us. Where are our building materials going to come from? Not from us. We can't do these things that will hurt OUR environment where our children will live in. Where will our cheap goods come from? Not from us (we demand fair wages). Where will we send our trash and "recyclables"? Not to us, let someone else sear their skin off removing electrical components.

Where is the place this stuff will come from that we need; where is the place that will be destroyed for us? Who gives a damn as long as we have Utopia.

That's just the truth.

BTW, if you think focusing on these 3 would create some world community feeling, I think you are wrong. People living 1 hour from the border of Canada and Mexico are often clueless to what is happening there. Out of sight, out of mind.

[terisan]

8. I think democracy might have a better chance where it is possible for people

to have the opportunity for more face-to-face contact.

I do not underestimate the tendency for people to pull apart in separate groups and hate each other (part of the history of the world) but I think we have the ability to acknowledge that danger and compensate for it.

Among these 3 countries we do have just about every natural resource.

The trick, of curse, is to have a sense of community across cultures-Canada and US are probably more likely to have that sense than either does with Mexico as yet.

[Oregone]

10. "Democracy" is just a guise to pacify the masses and exploit them (or use them to exploit others)

...all at the benefit of the upper echelon.

What you are forgetting is that there is an upper-upper-class. No trade system will come forth that will not benefit them disproportionally to the rest. Currently, all the masses are getting screwed globally, and the richest in all countries are profiting grossly. The trade systems are designed to do this, and are functioning perfectly. No world that you can imagine will have a different underlying motive behind the system. We can only imagine a system where the people on the bottom could perhaps benefit the most (but still a fraction of how the rich benefit), but in the end, its just imagination.

[terisan]

11. So you see our situation as hopeless?

[Oregone]

12. Somewhat, yes.

You can still have happiness, a family, hobbies, etc. As a person, most of the time you are born an indentured servant in a system you can only hope to change, but never will. If you get swallowed up pursuing that system, it may chew you up or change you to its benefit. Perhaps thats why you should stick to those things that make you happy.

The largest problem I see is the economic disaster, which I have a feeling is hopeless in terms of adverting. We will learn to survive and adapt in a new harsher world, for those of us that survive. Despite it perhaps being darker, you will still find comfort in family, etc.

The reality is that the lower classes in the US can live in bondage, and still find happiness in their lives (though there is much pain and frustration even here). Sometimes when you can look the situation in the face and see the reality of what it is, and what you are, it is one step toward virtual emancipation. Maybe when the slave learns they are a slave, they see the fallacy of "success" and the 'American Dream'. By doing so, they can divert their energy and loyalty elsewhere.

[terisan]

9. I think it is easier to work things out peacefully and equitably when there is a lot of

opportunity for face-to-face contact.

I do not underestimate the tendency for people to pull apart in separate groups and hate each other (part of the history of the world) but I think we have the ability to acknowledge that danger and compensate for it.

Among these 3 countries we do have just about every natural resource.

The trick, of course, is to have a sense of community across cultures-Canada and US are probably more likely to have that sense than either does with Mexico as yet.

[Hello_Kitty]

3. It would work the way the top 1% with most of the money decided it would work.

Just like it is now.

[terisan]

6. I think we would have a better chance of changing that with just 3 countries

The reduced population means we have more liklihood of knowing other people in the system. It is easier to shine the spotlight on the bad actors and to get together with the good ones to make changes. The smaller geographic area means ease of travel and increased ability to know the geography, natural resources, problems, and opportunities.

[B o d i]

5. A world without cheap Chinese goods or Opec oil? I can hardly picture it, but it's fun to try.

No Wal-Mart, no Hummers, no melamine laced food like substances... hmmm....

[terisan]

7. True we could focus on standards and implementation of the same. nt