Labor and an Emerging Supranational Corporate Agenda

Abstract

The recent works of Lester Thurow and Robert Reich offer differing perspectives on how globalization of the economy effects the decline of employment in our large cities. This essay examines these perspectives. Both authors associate deindustrialization with increased global competition. Thurow emphasizes competition among blocs of nations. To Reich the competition is among workers, based on their ability to do the kind of work that is valued in a global, integrated economy. This essay argues that neither position presents an adequate picture of the direction in which the global economy is moving, and as a result, the remedies proposed by the two authors are likewise limited. What is missing is an understanding of the historical process that has been facilitating the mobility of capital and natural resources. The view of the author is more consistent with the Moody and McGinn book. This view is that supranational corporations have a policy agenda, facilitated by global institutions, that aims to cheapen production costs to meet a global economic crisis.