5.12.11

2011 World Politics question #14

Because of the classroom simulation these past few days we've been focusing a lot on trade, but we should not forget the complexity of encounter we were discussing before this. The relatively or comparatively easy thing about trade and investment is that everyone is presumptively the same, in the sense of having the same basic interests: producing more efficiently, and profiting more absolutely. I cannot help but wonder what Todorov would think of this presumptive uniformity, however, and that inclines me to ask: why does Todorov dedicate his book to an anonymous Mayan woman devoured by dogs? Does her story, and the overall story that Todorov tells, have any relevance for a world in which interest groups strike deals in which everyone benefits, at least economically?