232/YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE!
And in the 'dragon' countries themselves? Are we headed for a
programmed escalation of 'inter-ethnic' conflicts?
India and Pakistan Spared Thanks to Protectionism
In its 1997 report, the IMF celebrated globalisation. 'The governors
agreed that globalisation has contributed to global prosperity' (1997
Annual Report). It once again warned those governments that might
seek to control capital flows and partially protect their economies.
'The threat of marginalisation increasingly hangs over those who
resist globalisation' (ibid.).
This assertion has also been refuted by real life. India and Pakistan,
the two giants of South Asia, have not yet been seriously affected by
the financial storm in Southeast Asia. Pakistan and India are experi
encing serious economic problems (Pakistan devotes 40 per cent of
public spending to servicing its external debt), but the relative
slowness with which they have embraced globalisation has protected
them from the speculative domino effect. Far from 'marginalising'
them, the maintenance of protective barriers and controls on capital
flows, as well as the slow pace of privatisation, have shielded them
from the constant attempts at destabilisation that they must face.
Japan and the United States
The Japanese crisis has been so serious that the country's
government and capitalists have been unable to implement measures
that might stabilise the East and Southeast Asian situation. Rather,
the US - with the IMF in tow - have taken control of the situation.
When demanding that Japan clean up its financial house, the IMF
has had a difficult time concealing a certain arrogance towards the
Japanese authorities (for example, Michel Camdessus's press
conference of 18 December 1997). Thanks to a strong dollar, US
multinationals are better placed than the Japanese to buy up
companies in a region hitherto dominated by Japanese capital. US
multinationals are also looking to boost their hitherto weak presence
in Japan.
Japanese capitalists have one way of putting pressure on the
American authorities - they hold one-third of all US Treasury Bonds.
If they were to decide to sell a part of these holdings to provide some
liquidity for their financial system and to buy up companies in the