Dies ist ein Gastbeitrag von Oliver Schlaudt. Er ist Teil des Symposiums „Constitutions of Value“ (Projekt 03) und wurde zuvor auf dem Verfassungsblog veröffentlicht.

The epoch of overt colonialism is over. Violent exploitation of the colonies has been replaced by interactions through the international market, often within the frame of trade agreements. Markets and trade are the realm of ʻvalueʼ, incarnating an ideal of freedom, equity, and justice. Exchange of equal values indeed is what defines a ʻfreeʼ, ʻregularʼ and ʻundisturbedʼ market and also what such a market is supposed to bring about thanks to its inner characteristic mechanism. For the former colonies this should change everything. For each Dollar leaving there is now one Dollar coming in. The result seems to be the same, though: poverty persists in the Global South. Additionally, poor countries suffer from disproportional environmental degradation. Abundance of natural resources all too often results in poverty, debt, war, and destruction of the environment. Weiterlesen →