Greatest Challenge Facing the Leading Actors in International Political Economy Today

It seems to me that there are many challenges facing the leading actors in the international political economy in the twenty-first century. Moreover, it seems that most of these challenges are political. I think the most predominant challenge is environmentalism, primarily anti-growth policies driven by environmentalists.

In the twenty-first century, environmentalist policy has been the driving force behind unnecessary restrictions on GDP growth in both developed and developing countries. Until recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) had in place a ban on DDT. Its use was discouraged in Africa, where it served as the most effective anti-mosquito, anti-malaria pesticide. As a result millions of people, especially children have died from mosquito-carried diseases.

The environmentalist agenda, to protect nature at any cost, becomes the most detrimental element in a successful international political economy. For example, many proposals for cap and trade will increase the cost of energy and restrict the use of some of the most efficient fuels available. Instead, these proposals promote the use of far more expensive alternatives that require government subsidies in order to compete in the market. Regardless of the adverse effects environmental policy has on global economies, it is still an unproven theory that human CO2 emissions are the root cause of climate change in the first place.

The Waxman-Markey energy bill, set to be debated in the Senate later this year, could potentially be the catalyst for environmentalism’s war against a growing international political economy. It is here we find the cap and trade legislation that will suffocate business by raising the price of CO2-intensive goods and services such as gasoline, electricity and many more industrial products. The GDP would take a huge hit and job loss would soar. Above all, this bill would place environmental issues under complete federal governmental control, including the carbon permit process. And as we all know, more governmental control equals bad business.

On a global scale, these same environmental policies are not being adopted by our fellow leading actors in international political economy. China and India have decided not to participate in global-warming control, thus allowing for tariffs on goods coming from these countries. Similarly, China and India might impose tariffs on our exports as well. This would inevitably hurt U.S. business and ultimately allow Washington greater power over the performance of our economy on both the domestic and global scale.

We have seen similar policy fail in the EU, where emission reductions were set much too high and the price of pollution permits has fluctuated wildly. We have also seen a similar bill defeated in Australia. Perhaps there is something to be said for the growing concern surrounding environmental policy and the international economy.