In the beginning of our discussion about globalization, we talked about the origins of the IMF and how the US lent money to developing countries that a few years later could't possible pay it back. As we know, it is currently impossible for these countries to pay back on their loans, which translates into the world power structure. (The central countries own the debt of the peripheral countries who owe on the debt.)
The rise of China's power and influence, gained in part by buying US debt and loaning money to the US, is a major theme in the media today. To me, it seems like essentially the same transaction- China is lending money to a country that they know won't be able to it pay back. I might be going out on a limb and oversimplifiying a huge issue, but it seems frighteningly similar to me.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/us/politics/10outsource.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
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