• DOI:10.1558/poth.v10i4.685
• Corpus ID: 154933948

Free Trade Agreements and the Neo-Liberal Economic Paradigm: Economic, Ecological, and Moral Consequences

@article{MoeLobeda2009FreeTA,
  title={Free Trade Agreements and the Neo-Liberal Economic Paradigm: Economic, Ecological, and Moral Consequences},
  author={Cynthia D. Moe-Lobeda and Daniel T. Spencer},
  journal={Political Theology},
  year={2009},
  volume={10},
  pages={685 - 716}
}

• Cynthia D. Moe-Lobeda, D. Spencer
• Published 11 December 2009
• Economics
• Political Theology

Abstract Since signing and implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the early 1990s, the United States has pursued other free trade agreements with nations in Latin America and Asia. The premise undergirding FTAs is that trade liberalization within the neo-liberal global economy produces economic growth and development among all parties, and reduces poverty in poor nations. We examine arguments of proponents of free trade and the neo-liberal economy— particularly those of Martin Wolf, author of Why Globalization Works— to test these claims. We explore alternatives that center on norms of ecological sustainability and social justice, holding these two as inseparable. The central moral question of how to achieve needed socioeconomic development in the Global South in ways that are both ecologically sustainable and socially just frames our analysis. We conclude by proposing five principles for an alternative, more sustainable and equitable economic paradigm.