Money can cross borders pretty easily these days, but the rules and their application are inconsistent or misguided and so we get uneven or suboptimal results. Think differing tax outcomes, or ownership or difficulties in monitoring.
Goods can cross borders pretty easily these days too, notwithstanding what’s going on in the US recently, or the economic coercion other countries wield for their own purposes. My observations of various international trade agreements and disputes suggest to me that there’s a lot of politics and quid pro quo involved, rather than the agreement of common rules and effective methods to resolve disputes.
If we want free movement of people then we need global rules to keep it fair. Preferably rules that put the folks’ needs first. Otherwise it becomes a “I’m stronger than you, so I win” situation, which is pretty much how things work now. Rules are needed to settle who gets what rights and obligations so that we have a common framework to live together. And we need a decent system for determining those rules. And a just method of enforcing those rights and obligations. And an effective method for settling disputes. And an effective method for identifying when the rules don’t work and changing them. I don’t think that exists anywhere right now.
So, I’m not hopeful that removal of barriers to people crossing borders would be successful any time soon. There’s just so much societal glue that needs to be in place first. We’re just not very good at getting that agreed, set up and sustainable.
Money can cross borders pretty easily these days, but the rules and their application are inconsistent or misguided and so we get uneven or suboptimal results. Think differing tax outcomes, or ownership or difficulties in monitoring.
Goods can cross borders pretty easily these days too, notwithstanding what’s going on in the US recently, or the economic coercion other countries wield for their own purposes. My observations of various international trade agreements and disputes suggest to me that there’s a lot of politics and quid pro quo involved, rather than the agreement of common rules and effective methods to resolve disputes.
If we want free movement of people then we need global rules to keep it fair. Preferably rules that put the folks’ needs first. Otherwise it becomes a “I’m stronger than you, so I win” situation, which is pretty much how things work now. Rules are needed to settle who gets what rights and obligations so that we have a common framework to live together. And we need a decent system for determining those rules. And a just method of enforcing those rights and obligations. And an effective method for settling disputes. And an effective method for identifying when the rules don’t work and changing them. I don’t think that exists anywhere right now.
So, I’m not hopeful that removal of barriers to people crossing borders would be successful any time soon. There’s just so much societal glue that needs to be in place first. We’re just not very good at getting that agreed, set up and sustainable.