s
9 hil Be the same time income levels of the
Sos ron 1956 to 1971) for the
Fa « Of the population declined
54 of « to 3.6. while the top 20% holds
ie the wealth. Unemployment and
multincnplovment continue to rise while
4; Jationals tighten their grip on the
Mppines’ economy.

ow FeO of multinational capital in-
has aay Profit outflow in Latin America
tin aning directly in terms of devas-
8 malnutrition. In nations like Brazil
tion ie, — ‘Where income distribu-
ment is € worst, and where unempliy-
to the pe it8 — most children born in-
of the Poorest families (the ‘bottom’ 40%
irreparar ene are born with lifelong
a ak le brain damage. And it seems
Oday lat we are doing with development
such - structuring the labor force of
(Dudle pees well into the 21st century.”
7 seers. as quoted by Ronald E.

M :
: ees In The Multinational Corpora-

ay ss of multinationals have
echnolo 'sh claims about the advances in
rought a _and general development
tions. y . MNs to less industrialized na-
ing ae the technology sent to develop-
etic Tes is grossly over valued. Latin
more ea for example. pay 30° to 50°
Est Gu the same technology as does
trolled bean: Productive facilities con-
ten alres‘ic. Ns in developing nations of-
Cady existed and were acquired by
often maces Corporations. Production
‘tional ; Dok been increased by multina-
investment but merely consolidat-

ed ji : 2
~~ 'nto labor intensive. enterprises that

WORLD MAGAZINE

are not unionized and frequently engage
in the subjection of female workers to un-
equal wage rates. This pattern is typical
for electronics plants throughout Asia and
Mexico. A particularly pernicious prac-
tice of MNs in Latin America is the trap-
ping of local currencies and their use in
financing investments of the corporations
in the ‘‘host’’ underdeveloped countries.
From 1957 to 1965, 78% of U.S. corporate
investments in Latin America were fi-
nanced not from U.S. savings, but from
Latin American savings controlled by

American MNs. This practice has the ~

serious consequence of decreasing the
savings of the underdeveloped country,
increasing shortages of foreign exchange.
and stunting the growth of nationally-
owned industry.

Underpricing of exports by as much as
50% from subsidiaries in underdeveloped
countries to parent companies is another
crippling practice which results in losses
of tax revenues for ‘host’ countries and

‘in considerable widening of profits for the

parent multinational. Perhaps the most
graphic illustration of the contemptuously
oppressive policies of multinationals in
less industrialized nations is the astro-
nomical overpricing of drugs to those
countries. For some drugs overpricing
can average 8.200'«! Profits for drug firms
operating in Latin America range from a-
low of 56°: to an average of 100% toa high
of 962°. .
The predominantly non-white nations
of Africa. Asia and Latin America have
been the prey of racism in the most pre-
cise meaning of the term. es
The multinationals depend heavily
upon racism to convince the people of

developed countries to condone the ex-
ploitation of less developed nations. The
corporations and the governments which
support them ciltivate racism in order
to divide the people of developed and less
developed lands and to maneuver labor
in advanced countries into acting against
its own basic needs.

The social and economic interests of
ordinary citizens of developed nations are
increasingly connected to the wage stand-
ards and working conditions in other sec-
tions of the world — industrialized and
underindustrialized. As the immiseration
of underdeveloped nations is deepened by
the policies of Mns, the insecurity and
vulnerability of labor in industrialized na-
tions increase. Racism rationalizes and
reinforces the conditions of neo-colonial-
ism which, in turn, undermines the stand-.
ards of all working people. Thus, the strug-
gle against racism is aimed at achieving
the clarity of all peoples victimized by cor-
porate power as to where their real in-
terests are located. The worldwide peace
movement should publicize the record of
global corporations as a means of giving ©
concrete expression to the relationships
between racism, neo-colonialism and in-
terests of all people.

Every effort must be made to build
global coalitions against the global mon-
opolies, to restrict their exploitation of
world resources in every effective way. to
support the struggle for the elevation of
living standards in every part of the world.
Unity and cooperation in international
effort to harmonize wage scales and to
spread unionization is imperatively need-
ed to curb the multinationals. Therefore
protectionist legislation affecting im-
ports (Such as the Burke-Hartke bill in the
United States) is contrary to the need for
effective struggle because it pits Workers
in various parts of the world against each
other. while leaving the corporate profit
structure intact. Multinationals can man-
euver around protectionist tariff laws bv
shifting marketing to unprotected areas.
and by retaliating against protectionist
legislation from within its own diverse
units of production and marketing. thus
creating a loss of employment in one sec-
tor to compensate for losses of business in
another.

Granting that rapid elevation and equal-
ization of living standards are the most
effective ways to fight multinationals, it
must then be recognized that the most ef-
fective means of redistributing wealth
and protecting the standards of all people
is through nationalization of industries
and resources. Movements toward so-
cialization of productive facilities. banks
and marketing outlets dramatically alter
the maldistribution of wealth and accel-
erate the process of eliminating low wage
and income areas which depress the stand-
ards of all labor. The multinational phen-
omenon makes it clearer than ever that
socialist movements are a key source for
ending worldwide inequalities and oper-
ate in the interests of diverse sectors of
labor. regardless of ideology and national
background. The overthrow of the Popu-
lar Unity government of Chile was a blow ©
against the people of Chile in the first
place, but also a setback for all laboring
people and their allies. This reality should
be clearly expressed by the worldwide
peace movement.

Finally. the struggle for peace is in-
extricably bound up with the movement
against global monopolies. While propon-
ents of multinationals rhapsodize about
an era of “universal harmony”’ to be
ushered in by the global corporate man-

agers, the reverse is true.

Multinationals have demonstrated
that the sovereignty of nation-states and
the self-determination of peoples is con-
tradictory to the NM quest for maximum
profits. This is especially apparent when

social revolutions threaten the holdings _

of the global corporations. While whining
about ‘hard tasks to be performed’’ and
“high risks to be run”’ by multinationals,
one advocate of the corporations admits
that the most disquieting problems for
multinational managers are ‘unstable
governments and politically immature
populations’” — again, patronizing lan-
guage to describe hostile governments
and populations determined to defend
their own resources.

The intervention of corporations in
violently crushing movements to control
native resources is well known — from.
United Fruit in Guatemala to ITT_in Chile,
and need not be explored here. The multi-
nationals themselves, as we have seen,
possess awesome power to directly inflict
injury upon world peace. However, the
most immediate threat to peace is located
in the inseparable relationship between
industrial states and their own multina-
tionals. Again, the®United States, the
largest of the multinational powers.
graphically serves to clarify this point.
One observer, commenting upon how the
United States State Department acts as
an agent for U.S. multinationals—such as
pressuring the Congo to grant a refinery
license to Standard Oil of New Jersey—ad-
ded that “in recent years, Nixon has prac-
tically turned the State Department over
to the oil companies... The oil majors
take this assistance for granted... to such
an extent that sometimes officials... com-
plain when the State Department doesn't
hop to their bidding fast enough.’’ ( Rob-
ert Sherrill, The Multinationals Deploy
to Rule, in the Nation). Revelations that
the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and
representatives of the State Department
met routinely with representatives of ITT
to explore the overthrow of the Chilean
government provides a not uncommon in-
sight into the extent and danger involved
in the relationship between powerful gov-
ernments and powerful corporations.

While multinationals have reportedly
adopted a ‘low profile” in the light of ad-
verse publicity, a report by the United
States Tariff Commission noted that the
multinational leaders are powerful and
arrogant — and should a situation arise
where major nations felt compelled to
move against MNs to the extent that cor-
porations could not bear potential losses.
the monopolies would flex their muscles
“to prevent the conflict.’’ This cryptic
language suggests that multinationals.
manipulating their governments and the
military machines therein. do indded con-

- stitute a major threat to peace. But the
power of the corporations is increasingly
matched by the strength of united. world-
wide forces for peace and progress.
Every opportunity must be taken to unite
people to check and reverse the global
corporate structure. .

World peace forces should continue to
explore the threat to peace posed by mul-
tinational corporations. They should en-
courage international labor efforts to
equalize living standards. They should
support nationalization movements where-
ever they occur as a fundamental means
.to achieve self-determination. justice and
peace. The ideology of racism should be

fought as a cornerstone of neo-colonial-—

ism and as a mechanism to divide the
world's people. Interracial. international
cooperation of all laboring people and
their allies should be advanced for the
benefit of all humanity.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE —FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 1974 —PAGE 7

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