TTIP. What don’t you get?

These last few days, I had an interesting conversation regarding TTIP with various anonymous users on the net. It became obvious how different we, Pirates, view basic things. Where I see culture and choice, the other sees money and property. Where I see people and learning opportunities, the other sees work hours and profit.  I don’t say this to diminish someone, infact those people see nothing wrong with that. Of course they want profit and property. I don’t think there is something wrong with wanting profit and property, as long as it is accompanied by culture, choice, education and humanitarianism…

For us, Pirates, excluding the purpose of creativity, of culture, of knowledge just for profit and property is a mistake. And what is that purpose? The improvement of our civilization. Our own improvement as individuals and as a collective.

Some will read these and assign a label. From “neoliberal” if they focus on property and profit, “leftist” if they focus on our improvement as individuals or even “communist” if they focus on the collective. No matter though.

For some weird reason, someone thinks that the rules a state sets on what a company can do or cannot do should be a  matter for the courts. That laws are beaurocracy! While for some equally weird reason, courts are not bureaucratic! So, instead of controlling one thing, every citizen will have the responsibility of going to court, paying lawyers to find justice, simply because a company decided to present as “natural juice” something artificial! He misses the point that the law defines what can be labeled natural, and that is the end of that. You don’t need the citizens doing what the law should do.

The basic problem with TTIP is that it views such regulations as an “obstacle” to free trade. In fact, the politicians that want TTIP to pass as it is are telling us it is not the case. State regulations are not in danger of being put aside. Experience with ISDS, however, has showed us the opposite is true and in fact the reaction of people as the previous I referred to, confirms what will happen if it passes as is.

Even their views about patents is completely in line with what we wish to avoid; patents being used as a bureaucratic weapon to fight startups, instead of being a force for innovation as they should be if we can improve them. Now, instead of that we are faced with an even  worse system of patents.

To be fair,  TTIP has its good points. Removing tariffs is one. The potential for new jobs and the small increase in GDP are also a plus. However, those are not enough to justify the inclusion of ISDS. The only thing that would justify it would be the attack of corporations against the  rights of citizens, giving them the ability to sue states for “imaginary profits”.