

                      T R I L A T E R A L I S M

edited by Holly Sklar (1949- ), "The Trilateral Commission and Elite
Planning for World Management," 604 pp, bibliography, index. Montreal:
Black Rose Books 1980, $20 --Dale Wharton, December 1992

BROAD human interests are being served best in economic terms where free
market forces are able to transcend national boundaries." Thus spake David
Trismegistus (David thrice-greatest Rockefeller: scion of the house of Exxon,
chair of Chase Manhattan Bank, comptroller of birthright billions in the
trusts of kinfolk by the dozen).

So saying, to extend those economic terms (and maybe augment family values?)
David begot the Trilateral Commission (TC) in 1973. Today its three sides --
Western Europe, North America (USA and Canada), and Japan -- put forward
about 310 members: "distinguished citizens with a variety of leadership
responsibilities...." Of the last four US presidents-elect, three -- Clinton,
Bush, and Carter -- are TC alumni. (A recent roll of North American
membership follows the review.)

In this reader 23 authors interpret origins, methods, and effects of the TC.
They cast a whole new light on the American Century. After prolog and
overview (including a 40-page who's who) the book breaks into eight sections.
They focus on the tradition of corporate planning, the period after world war
2, TC's domestic imprint, placid governability or democracy (choose one),
keeping the third world safe for business, economic nationalists v global
corporations, challenges from within, and prospects. Separate chapters trace
the TC's principal antecedents: the Council on Foreign Relations (at times
more powerful than the Congress) and the Bilderberg Group (heard of it? It
arranges policy decisions in private, offering them for national governments
to ratify). The book's cover pictures planet Earth with bar code affixed.

EVENTS of 1973 unnerved some members of the US Establishment. The executive
branch of their government almost broke: Vice President Agnew felt obliged to
resign, the Paris Vietnam Conference formalized the rout of US forces,
Watergate began to drip on President Nixon.

The "Nixon shocks" of 1971 had ended an era that began in 1944 at Bretton
Woods NH -- a golden age when goods, services, and money flowed unobstructed
among nations. John Connally, Nixon's Secretary of the Treasury, electrified
monetary systems by quitting the gold standard overnight. Then the US upset
international trade by flouting GATT and raising a tariff against US imports.
This active unilateralism by western/newmoney/cowboy/prussians left
eastern/oldmoney/yankee/traders cold and nervous (would trade wars ensue?).
To cap it, two legislators -- Vance Hartke and James Burke -- did more than
 whimper that liberal trade practices amounted to exporting American jobs.
(It seemed to matter to them that the US faced its first trade deficit since
1893.) They sponsored bills in Congress to limit imports and to lift a tax
exemption on US global corporations. This was a job for Superdave!

Rockefeller liked a suggestion of Zbigniew Brzezinski (they both vacationed
in Seal Harbor ME). Zbig taught at Columbia at the time. His idea was to
strengthen ties among developed nations (except socialists, of course) with a
series of tripartite studies. Participants would be the Brookings
Institution, Japanese Economic Research Center, and European Community
Institute of University Studies. In July 1972, 17 men -- Brahmins, largely --
gathered at Rockefeller's Pocantico Hills estate in suburban New York. They
sketched the outlines of the TC. It would recruit from the usual channels of
civil power (banks, corporations, governments) and influence (media, law
firms, foundations, universities, thinktanks). A labour component would help
control popular isolationism and reduce the distance separating Trilats from
the masses of ordinary folk.

The task of the first economic summit conference -- Rambouillet 1975 -- was
to put TC recommendations into effect, to implement policy at the highest
level. What did (and do) they talk about? Ever the same: domestic economic
policy, monetary arrangements, trade, energy, and north-south relations. G7
economic summits became a Directoire to which individual nation-states are
largely subordinate. (According to a guest on CBC Newsworld, on 11 August
1992, 15 central banks intervened in currency markets to control a selloff of
US dollars.)

To the TC, efforts at economic sovereignty and self-sufficiency are
throwbacks -- quaint obsolete customs that obstruct progress. It favours an
international division of labour. How to explain the subtle interdependence
of the industrial north with the third world? In 1991 business observer Doug
Henwood tried: "...each member of the Triad has gathered under itself a
handful of poor countries to act as sweatshops, plantations, and mines: the
US has Latin America; the EC, Eastern and Southern Europe and Africa; and
Japan, Southeast Asia."

ITS SPIRIT radiates from the pages of TC documents: "The public and leaders
of most countries continue to live in a mental universe which no longer
exists -- a world of separate nations -- and have...difficulties thinking
in...global perspectives...." Foreign affairs generally seem beyond the grasp
of the public and elective officials. Take the US Senate, as responsible a
democratic legislature as one is likely to find. Did it not demonstrate
opacity in rejecting first the League of Nations in 1920 and then the
International Trade Organization in 1949?

"The effective operation of a democratic political system usually requires
some measure of apathy and noninvolvement on the part of some individuals and
groups." "...secrecy and deception...are...inescapable attributes
of...government." "The vulnerability of democratic government in the United
States comes...from the internal dynamics of democracy itself in a highly
educated, mobilized, and participant society." The crisis caused by an
"excess of democracy" in the 1960s shows the wisdom of, for example,
privatizing public entreprise and deregulating industry. How can one expect
competence from hoi polloi?

Reports of the TC annual meetings carry statements from task forces,
addresses, etc, some jocular in tone. Paul Volcker, past chair of the US
Federal Reserve Board, says yes, he opposes regional trading blocs, but for
the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement he can rise above principle. Kazuo Chiba,
past ambassador to the UK, chides the US for its war dances at GATT talks and
worries aloud that "...Americans and Europeans will get together [there] and
stab us in the back."

"...maintaining the benefits of a global economy will require even more
effort (after 1990) than in the past." World without end!

================================================= end review =======


                        The Trilateral Commission

Founded in 1973, this private, nongovernment organization considers a
wide range of subjects--the global economy, policy coordination,
governability, etc. The roster of October 6, 1992 names 311 members
from the three sides:
                        Japan 81
                        North America 94 *
                        Europe 136

"Europe" comprises Germany 23, England 21, Italy 20, France 18, Spain
15, Belgium 11, Netherlands 8, Ireland 6, Denmark 5, Portugal 4,
Norway 3, Austria 1, and Luxembourg 1.

* North American members (Canada 14, USA 80) may move among business,
government, and academic posts. These tables identify only one
interest and affiliation for each member.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                        C A N A D A
BLACK Conrad M Media Chair/CEO, Hollinger Inc
BOSLEY John Politics Member, House of Commons
BOUEY Gerald K Finance Past governor, Bank of Canada
COHEN Marshall A Industry Pres/CEO, The Molson Companies Ltd
DEANS Ian Labour Public Service Staff Relations Board
DOBELL Peter C Politics Parlmntry Centre for Foreign Affairs
DROUIN Marie-Josee Ideas Exec dir, Hudson Institute of Canada
EYTON J Trevor Industry President/CEO, Brascan Ltd
FORTIER L Yves Law Partner, Ogilvy Renault
GOTLIEB Allan E Politics Chair, Burson-Marsteller
HENNIGAR David J Industry Chair, Crownx Inc
MACLAREN Roy Politics Member, House of Commons
SOUTHERN Ronald D Industry Chair/CEO, ATCO Ltd
TURNER William I M Jr Finance Chair/CEO, Exsultate Inc

Former members in public service
MURRAY Lowell Government leader in the Senate
WINEGARD William C Minister of State for Science and Technology
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                        U S A
ALLAIRE Paul A Industry Chair/CEO, Xerox Corp
ALLISON Graham Ideas Faculty, Harvard University
ANDREAS Dwayne O Food Chair/CEO, Archer Daniels Midland Co
ARASKOG Rand V Industry Chair/CEO, ITT Corp
BERGSTEN C Fred Ideas Dir, Inst for International Economcs
BRADEMAS John Ideas Past president, New York University
BROWN Harold Ideas Chair, Jhns Hpkins Foreign Plcy Inst
BRZEZINSKI Zbigniew Ideas Faculty, Johns Hopkins University
BURKE James E Industry Past CEO, Johnson & Johnson
CALLOWAY D Wayne Food Chair/CEO, PepsiCo
CARLUCCI Frank C Finance Vice Chair, The Carlyle Group
CHAFEE John H Politics Senator from Rhode Island
CLINTON Bill Politics Governor of Arkansas
COHEN William S Politics Senator from Maine
COLEMAN William T Jr Law Partner, O'Melveny & Myers
CORRIGAN E Gerald Finance Pres, Federal Reserve Bank of NY
CROWE William J Jr Politics Past chair, Joint Chiefs of Staff
CURTIS Gerald L Ideas Faculty, Columbia University
DEUTCH John M Ideas Faculty, MIT
EINHORN Jessica P Finance Vice president, World Bank
FEINSTEIN Dianne Politics Past mayor, San Franciso CA
FELDSTEIN Martin S Ideas Faculty, Harvard University
FOLEY Thomas S Politics Speaker, House of Representatives
FRIEDMAN Stephen Finance Partner, Goldman, Sachs & Co
GARDNER Richard N Ideas Faculty, Columbia University
GERGEN David Media Ed-at-large, US News & World Report
GERSTNER Louis V Jr Food Chair/CEO, RJR Nabisco Holding Corp
GOLDSCHMIDT Neil Politics Past secy, Dept of Transportation
GORMAN Joseph T Industry Chair/CEO, TRW Inc
GRAHAM Katherine Media Chair, The Washington Post Co
GREENBERG Maurice R Industry Chair/CEO, Americn Interntnl Grp Inc
GUTFREUND John H Finance Past chair, Salomon Inc
HAAS Robert D Industry Chair/CEO, Levi Strauss & Co
HAMILTON Lee H Politics Member, House of Representatives
HORMATS Robert D Finance Vice chair, Goldman Sachs Internatnl
HOUGHTON James R Industry Chair/CEO, Corning Inc
JOHNSON Samuel C Industry Chair/CEO, S C Johnson & Son Inc
JOHNSON W Thomas Media President, CNN
JORDAN Vernon C Law Partner, Akin, Gump, Strauss, &c
KEOUGH Donald R Food President/CEO, The Coca-Cola Co
KISSINGER Henry A Ideas Chair, Kissinger Associates Inc
LABRECQUE Thomas G Finance Chair/CEO, The Chase Manhattan Bank
LEACH Jim Politics Member, House of Representatives
LEWIS Flora Media Columnist, The New York Times--Paris
LORD Winston Politics Past ambassador to China
MACMILLAN Whitney Food Chair/CEO, Cargill Inc
MAZUR Jay Labour Pres, Internatnl Ladies' Garment W U
MCNAMARA Robert S Finance Past president, World Bank
MURRAY Allen E Industry Chair/CEO, Mobil Corp
KEOHANE Nannerl O Ideas President, Wellesley College
NYE Joseph S Jr Ideas Faculty, Harvard University
OKSENBERG Michel Ideas President, East-West Center--Hawaii
OWEN Henry Ideas Fellow, Brookings Institution
PUTNAM Robert D Ideas Faculty, Harvard University
RANGEL Charles B Politics Member, House of Representatives
RAYMOND Lee R Industry President, Exxon Corp
RIDGWAY Rozanne Politics Past ambassador to German Dem Rpblc
ROBB Charles S Politics Senator from Virginia
ROCKEFELLER David Ideas Founder, The Trilateral Commission
ROCKEFELLER John D IV Politics Senator from West Virginia
ROSOVSKY Henry Ideas Faculty, Harvard University
ROTH William V Jr Politics Senator from Delaware
RUCKELSHAUS William D Industry Chair/CEO, Browning-Ferris Indstries
SHALALA Donna E Ideas Chancellor, University of Wisconsin
SHANKER Albert Labour Pres, American Federatn of Teachers
SCHULTZ George P Ideas Fellow, Hoover Institution
SMITH Gerard C Politics Past ambas-at-large/nonproliferation
SPERO Joan Edelman Finance Exec VP, American Express Co
STERN Paula Politics President, The Stern Group
STOCKMAN David Finance Partner, The Blackstone Group
TALBOTT Strobe Media Editor-at-large, Time
TARNOFF Peter Politics Pres, Council on Foreign Relations
THUROW Lester C Ideas Faculty, MIT
TUNG Ko-Yung Law Global Prctce Grp, O'Melveny & Myers
VOLCKER Paul A Ideas Faculty, Princeton University
WATTS Glenn E Labour Past pres, Communcatns Wrkrs America
WENDT Henry Industry Chair, SmithKline Beecham
WHITMAN Marina v N Ideas Faculty, University of Michigan
WILLIAMS Karen Hastie Law Partner, Crowell & Moring
WINTERS Robert C Finance Chair, Prudential Insurance Co

Former members in public service
BUSH George H W President of the United States
DARMAN Richard C Director, Office of Management and Budget
EAGLEBURGER Lawrence S Acting Secretary of State
GREENSPAN Alan Chair, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve Sys
HILLS Carla A Trade representative
RICE Donald B Secretary of the Air Force
SCOWCROFT Brent Asst to the Pres for National Security Affairs

                              --Transcribed and edited by Dale Wharton

------------------------------------------------
(This file was found elsewhere on the Internet and uploaded to the
Patriot FTP site by S.P.I.R.A.L., the Society for the Protection of Individual Rights and Liberties. E-mail alex@spiral.org)
