Mike Moore; "A WORLD WITHOUT WALLS"

Mike Moore, A World Without Walls. Freedom Development, Free Trade and Global Governance (Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pp. 292) has a picture on the dust jacket of an effigy of a fierce Mike Moore decorating a protest march. The effigy bears a sign WTO. MICHAEL MOORE STARVES THE POOR. Does "Michael" instead of "Mike" indicate hostility? "WTO" is correct, since he was Director General of the World Trade Organization from 1999 to 2002. The accusation, however, is entirely unjustified, since. born in poverty, he is a lifetime socialist with a deep concern for the poor. His career has been remarkable. He rose in the New Zealand government to become Prime Minister. His books include A Brief History of the Future, Children of the Poor, Fighting for New Zealand, and The Added Value Economy. Among his many honors, he is a member of the Privy Council.

He took over the WTO just before the Seattle fiasco, but he was also responsible for the Dona success.. In the introduction to his book, "The making of an Internationalist", he tells the story of his life. Then come three parts. "The Bigger Pictureá" discusses trade in general. "From Seattle to Doha" is an account of the two conferences. The title of Part Three, "Citizens, corporates and a new deal for global governance." suggests he is avoiding that fighting word "corporations". "Corporates"refers to chapter 14, "Corporate Social Responsibility". He names some corporations such as Coca Cola, Enron, and WorldCom, but he does not discuss them in detail.. There are good bibliographical notes for each chapter.This is a scholarly and thoughtful book. The protestors at Seattle look like uneducated louts. In future, protesters who disrupt WTO proceedings and are hauled in court should be condemned to reading this book. They would come out wiser and better informed.

We know so little about New Zealand. Jagdish Bhagwati said " New Zealand has two great voices: Kiri Te Kanawa and and Mike Moore". The former is a half-Maori opera singer who has been a great success in London and has been named a Dame of the British Empire. I have never heard Mike Moore sing, but I can hear him thinking.