I can vividly remember the Coco-Cola company coming into India, with the opening up of India’s economy in 1992, as the first MNC riding piggy back on the shoulders of India’s market leaders at that time the Gold Spot company, . Within a very short period of time Coco-Cola had flexed its muscle and staged a successful hostile take over of the company. The Thumbs Up pictured on the left and Limca are the only remnants of the old soda range. The flagship Gold Spot was replaced by fanta. The hostile takeover scared the other India companies to such an extent that all talks broke down between them and the MNCs for a whole year. So why this lesson in history? Two recent events …
The first was me getting a case (24 count) of “Thumbs Up” from the India store. I remember how we used (still do) call Coco-Cola and Pepsi as a wimp’s drink compared to Thumbs Up! So it brought back memories of how the fledging new open economy was attacked by the well loaded MNCs.
The second event … flash forward 14 years and a technology boom later. The world has turned more capitalistic than ever (even red china), thanks mainly to the pressure of the US of A and the third world countries are finding the pros of having a capitalistic society. And then its protectionism all over again, this time from the flag bearer of the Capitalistic free society, good ‘ole Uncle Sam. I am talking about the Dubai Ports Deal, which provided a common ground for both democrats and republicans. And it seems that prejudicial politics has overcome the basic tenets of free trade and a level playing field. Am I calling them racist …. no… its just shows that they are not ready for the new world order. How can a bunch of horse riders “barbarians” living in a kingdom gain a foot hold in their own backyard. I don’t think there would have been so much furor if this had been a European “civilized” company.
This is not an isolated event … across the ocean, France is trying to prevent Lakshmi Mittal (An India) take over Europe’s largest steel manufacturer. And here racism is pretty apparent. They just can’t seem to comprehend how a country that they controlled not more than half a century ago, would now have to the guts to come into their house and rule their … steel. Its unthinkable for the Europeans who weren’t below putting up “Dogs and Indians not allowed” signboard in India to now loose to an “Brown” owned company.
Welcome to the reality of capitalism … its a dog eat dog world, the pandora’s box has been opened and no amount of tears over job loss and out-sourcing is going to close it. The best thing to do is to get on your feet and eat before you are eaten.
It is hypocritical for feminists and intellectuals to enjoy the pleasures and conveniences of capitalism while sneering at it…. Everyone born into capitalism has incurred a debt to it.
Camille Paglia
