Recently, the UN passed a landmark treaty on biopiracy. If you've never heard of it, son't worry, you are not alone. And while you may have not heard of the term, you've probabably heard of the concept. It has been a nuisence for developing economies worldwide. And likely since Colonialism for most people indigeneous people have experienced some for of biopiracy.
Biopiracy is when corporations and companies steal indigenous science, medicine and plantlife, distill it into a packaged product and then patent it so that they lock the market and claim all profits. There are actually some pretty wild scenarios where typically Western scientific and research companies "discover" indigenous cures and intellectual property, and then seeks to patent it for proprietary sale.
In a real way, it sounds a lot like those Colonial explorers who claim they discovered America, New Caledonia and Papau New Guinea among others. And so it begs the question: If by definition, laying claim to a culture's indigenous knowledge is piracy, then surely showing up to someone's country unannounced, laying claim to it and calling it, say "Rhodesia" is also piracy.
Seems like international organizations are slowly catching up to what truly looks like justice in recent years. And while it is good news, I'm not sure how binding the UN Biopiracy treaty will be. Especially if a UN member nation has not or will not ratify it. For the nations that commit the most biopiracy, even if they choose not to participate, at least they may know that their patent claims on indigenous intellectual property will not be recognized among UN member states.
Barring unfair practices in business like biopiracy can only help the market. But most assuredly, it can help the indigenous to take back a market that may have been stolen by big pharma or the food industry. These are ways that developing economies can ably take part in the world economy. Empowering communities to seriously take part in industry and world markets is the only way forward for emerging economies.
Periodic IMF loans that do not contribute to helping a nation increase its bottom line is equivalent to a child's allowance. It permits the state to get through the fiscal requirements of the "week," but does not allow for investment, future planning, development and infrastructure projects. The state is essentially not earning anything. It is a ward of the IMF or the states that issue its loans.
And if we can acknowledge biopiracy, we can also agree that this egregious form of theft has robbed indigenous and native communities of profit and earned income. We can acknowledge the wholesale theft thay has helped to lead to the desperation of many "emerging economies." And if we can acknowledge that, then we can agree that former colonial states have been hanstrung in their engagement in the world economy.
I don't think the world is going to work right, if we don't empower indigenous communities to be able to competently engage in the world economy. In fact, I think that is one reason trade has begun to shift. It has been artificially tipped toward the minority instead of the majority. That causes bottlenecks and hold producer states hostage to trade with only a couple of contenders.
It's why currency is already on the brink of change, supplychain is shifting and states are looking to new trade partners. Its because a cornered market in a vast world is absurd. There are tons of people living in poverty and lack who could be empowered to to be engines of growth in thwir own economy and for producer nations.
Like the fugazi trade patents and the diacoveries of land on which people already lived, its time ymto dismiss these arcane notions of "civilization" because they are not. They are crafty, sleight of hand schemes to get people's money, goods or land or to shirk ones responsibility to pay for goods and services that one has already used or consumed.
Biopiracy is one reason, so much of the post colonized world accepts corruption. Biopiracy, is a form of corruption. And these systems normalized corrupt practices among colonized groups who were forced to live, work and do business under such bizarre rules. And these bizarre rules of business have nevwr benefitted colonized or indigenous groups. But it also did not benefit the world economy.
And while we can blame Rich nation central banks and the Fed for inflation, the real purp is the syatem of fractal banking itself. Imagine a stystem where you can write a bad check and not get checked for it? I guess its like printing money whenever you need it. Wild! But, thankfully, nobody would be silly enough to fall for that.
But the world has fallen for the system and schemes that lock major populations out of a money and markets system that would greatly benefit from their participation. And as the global south begins to grow more savvy, I think we will have to reinvent the wheel. The market is already experiencing growing pains. States need large new markets and nations need a production cycle that pulls their people out of abject povert.
You can't play a game of hide and seek alone, and you can't keep locking out major populations from the market. Aren't we all tired of Poverty and destitution in southeast Asia, Africa and West Asia? And that is just to name a few regions where the market is not evenly covered.
So I am really glad about the new UN biopiracy treaty. I am skeptical about its efficacy--but its a start. Maybe now we can acknowledge that the world and its markets and economies need to expand to fit the real capacity of the millions on planet earth. Yes thwre is way more capacity that is largely missed, through rules and policy that disenfranchises indigines and communities that need to scale and grow to participate in the economy. Let's get back to basics. Maybe its time to start making plans for people and production in the real world, instead of the magical figments that only win profits in our imagination and the stock market.
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