Introduction

"With capitalism, numbers live better than people.
With left-ism, ideas live better than people.
Only with humanism do people rise above ideas and numbers."

"Realism" states that every country will do whatever it takes to increase its wealth and security. Given this maxim and the United States' insistence on forcing "Free Trade" on developing countries, it can only be deduced that Free Trade is primarily in America's self-interest. Otherwise, why would Washington pursue it so aggressively?

What is less clear, however, is why Ecuadorian officials accept "Free Trade" for their country. After all, no real holistic benefit for Ecuadorian society has been presented besides the superficial promise of "more choice" for consumers (cheaper goods is a dangerous mirage as will be described later) and a larger market for Ecuadorian products (that is if they don't compete with American products). The most "realistic" outcome of "Free Trade" in Ecuador is that a few will benefit (mainly the already well-off or well-connected) while the poor and the indigenous will be further marginalized and forced deeper into debt.

Perhaps Ecuador's negotiators have no choice and are merely succumbing to America's bullying tactics. On the other hand, another "Realism" maxim may be at work here, mainly that all men are corruptible. Or is it that a sucker is born every minute?

The problem with Western "Realism" and its modern incarnation "Free Markets", however, is that they represent purposefully misleading agendas. By using the science of Ego-based reality as its reference (i.e. solipsism), "Realism" degenerates into a rigid and nakedly self-serving philosophy that promotes the status quo. Its tenets ultimately become self-fulfilling. One of the first casualties of a world of self-fulfilling prophecies is freedom. "Realism" also renders "democracy" meaningless.

Further, "Realism" must be a misguided concept for the simple reason that so much prevalent human misery, corruption and injustice cannot be ipso facto of human existence. There has to be another way of conceptualizing human existence so that true happiness has a greater potential of naturally evolving in more of us. What that way of thinking may be is the query of this essay.

As is agreed by all sides, we are entering a new epoch thanks to the unstoppable process of globalization. Potentially, the most important aspect of this new world order is that people in every corner of the world are close to realizing the free and unfettered access to information thanks to the internet. Second in importance is that human societies are organizing themselves around the principles of the Rule of Law and basic Human Rights.

As a result , today's global community is entering a stage comparable to natural ecological harmony (Ecological harmony arises from conditions of equal access to information by all living forms governed by universal law, in this case, Natural Law). Looking forward, it seems evident that the organizing rules for human societies should now take into consideration the "healthy" Biological principles of sustainability, ecological harmony and strength in diversity and make them compatible with our Human nature (i.e. our tendency towards ego based "Realism"). Yes, we can be realistic but we can also be smart!

This change in direction is crucial for us to achieve true freedom and happiness in a troubled world. It is also, I believe, a moral imperative.

Supermaxi: A Case Study in Free Trade

To start, we must view with skepticism corporate "Free Market" ideologies that lead only to centralized gain and cancerous growth at the expense of the many.

About a year ago, while relaxing in the doctor's lounge at Columbus Hospital, one of my colleagues asked me whether I had heard of the Ecuadorian supermarket chain store, Supermaxi. I told him that, as far as I was aware, Supermaxi was a family operated business that achieved tremendous success in Ecuador through the hard work of its owners. He proceeded to explain that a recent Wall Street Journal had spoken well of the company's potential for growth and he was thinking of investing in Supermaxi.

I did not make much of the conversation until recently, when I began to think about the implications of the Free Trade talks (TLC) between Ecuador and the USA. Supermaxi, it dawned on me, is poised to become one of the main beneficiaries of the TLC. With trade barriers lifted and cheap produce flooding in, Supermaxi has the potential for morphing into South America's Wal*Mart. However, Supermaxi's post TLC success will come at a heavy cost for Ecuador's indigenous and smalltime farmers--and ultimately all Ecuadorians.

As Ecuador's markets are opened by the TLC, excess American agricultural produce will flood the local market. A large venue, like Supermaxi, will be needed to distribute this large volume of goods. These products will have an unfair advantage over local produce as a result of illegal American subsidies (agricultural subsidies makes American produce artificially less expensive than Ecuadorian produce). This unfair advantage is compounded by the greater ability of large factory farms and corporations to effectively market their products via the mass media. Consumers in Ecuador will not only feel like they are getting a "bargain," but they will feel privileged to buy the "superior" American goods they see on the television every day.

The result of the TLC will be that Supermaxi, and similar retail stores, will no longer be compelled to sell the more expensive and less sought after produce made in Ecuador. Eventually, local indigenous and smalltime farmers will not have anywhere to distribute their products. These farmers, as has happened in other parts of the developing world, will be forced to sell their land and move to the city where they will compete in a race to the bottom for the lowest wages offered by the globalized industrial labor market. Others will be left to beg in the streets.

This chain of events will undoubtedly cause great social upheaval and misery in Ecuador. In the short run, this state of affairs will prove beneficial for Supermaxi, the corporation. After all, Supermaxi is in the business of making profits--not of promoting sustainable social development in its... community?

Since Supermaxi, the corporation, only exists on paper, it has no physical neighbors or any "communal" attachments to Ecuador. Taking advantage of the unnatural disconnect between Supermaxi and its immediate surroundings are foreign investors like my colleague. Likely unaware of the social consequences of his investment, my doctor friend was ready to invest in Supermaxi because some Wall Street pundit had said it was a "strong buy." As an investor, he would become a part of the constituency to whom the directors of Supermaxi would ultimately have to respond. This constituency potentially will be made up of foreign, often baseless cyber-investors, who will demand immediate return on their investments with little regard to the long-term consequences of their gain.

If Ecuadorians are not careful with their shopping decisions -- and, simultaneously, if store owners view the bottom line as the only measure of success -- the end result of the synergistic combination of the TLC and globalized investing is that the course of Ecuadorian society will no longer be in the hands of Ecuadorians but in the pocketbooks of faceless foreign investors.

Since I hope to move back to Ecuador's rich and beautiful countryside, the above scenario worries me. What will I be going back to? Right now, Ecuadorian government protection and Fair Trade laws supplement the marginal subsistence existence of Ecuador's farmers and indigenous people. This aid allows farmers to offer their produce at competitive prices -- at least to the local market. The current state of affairs, imperfect as it may be, keeps Ecuador modestly self-sufficient as it maintains the countryside's cultural authenticity. With the TLC, the continued existence of Ecuador's rural countryside is threatened.

What can be done? Isn't this state of affairs just "Realism"? To start with, we must not be fatalists. As Ecuadorians we must understand that without COMMUNITY ACTION (which means, first of all, an end to the petty political infighting, bureacratic corruption, glaring nepotism, environmental carelessness and racism that is prevalent in our society) to prevent the implementation of unfettered "Free Trade," the future of Ecuador, without exaggeration, will be like that of today's Haiti.

Second, as world citizens, we must ask ourselves simple but fundamental questions: Who are we? What is our relationship with each other? With the environment? Where are we going? At this point in mankind's existence, Buddhist-like mental discipline is in order to answer these questions.

Given the transient nature of our existence, it is my belief that a plausible answer to these questions is that we need to evolve to become what we have always been, Eco-tourists. Let me explain.

Ecotourism

Eco-tourism, in its original usage, is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well being of local people."

The International Ecotourism Society states:

"Ecotourism ...is environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively
undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features - both past and present) that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socioeconomic involvement of local populations."

Eco-tourism, in the sense of an all-encompassing philosophy, extends the travel definition to our entire existence. Eco-tourism emphasizes responsible interactions with the "other" in order to enjoy and appreciate the "other's" nature. "Responsible" interactions include those which promote the sanctity or autonomy of "self" and "other" and provide for a mutually beneficial, socioeconomic exchange.