* Portrait: Mario Hugo * As the world's preeminent globalization buff, Jagdish Bhagwati doesn't toe standard party lines. The Columbia University economist, 74, who has advised everyone from the Indian government to the World Trade Organization, is a rare nonpartisan in a field dominated by ideologues. A registered Democrat who is willing to face down the anti-free-trade wing of his own party, Bhagwati is also comfortable arguing against what he sees as the compassion-free laissez-faire attitude exhibited by many of his fellow globalization advocates. Below, Bhagwati explains why everything you thought you knew about free trade is wrong.
1. The world isn't flat.
Thomas Friedman's metaphor aside, we don't live in a 2-D world in which all countries compete for the same jobs. For instance, China may never be as innovative as the US, which has a stable venture-capital model and an entrepreneurial culture that promotes creativity. Globalization helps nations discover their unique strengths.
__2. Free trade is green. __
Trade foes argue that it spurs the creation of cheap goods at the planet's expense. Bhagwati points out that undemocratic countries are often the worst environmental offenders. Since globalization promotes democracy, it should make the world more green, not less.
3. Nafta ain't free.
Agreements like Nafta are for free trade among members but increased protection against nonmembers, Bhagwati says. Ultimately, such protectionism divides the world into exclusive trading zones, a return to the tit-for-tat alliances of the 1930s.
4. But intellectual property should be.
Many globalization fans freak out when they see Indian patients buying generic drugs. But draconian copyright laws are protectionism in another form. The creation of knowledge often requires using previous knowledge, he says. Globalization isn't just about the free flow of labor and capital, but of ideas, too.
Jagdish Bhagwati is a Professor of Economics at Columbia University.
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