Phil and Stephen Gowans discuss Gowans' recent lectures, "Canadian Foreign Policy and Why It Matters to Workers" at Unifor-McMaster University Labour Studies Program.
Gowans explicitly shows it is the economic elites of the corporations and banks who determine foreign policy and create wars or "friends" on the basis of how countries accommodate the moneyed interests.
Gowans clarifies with examples: (1) Libya was bombed because Gadhafi wanted assurances for its workers when making business deals, while Bahrain is honored because they have no trade-deal restrictions to protect their "subjects." (2) WSJ Index of Economic Freedom places countries that practice economic redistribution, or attach conditions to foreign investment, at the very bottom of the list.
Gowans points to the complicity of Western media serving as a venue for military analysts --presenting them as neutral, instead of clarifying their conflicting interests. Most sit on the boards of large arms manufacturers or lead government policy think tanks.
Canadian Foreign Policy and Why it Matters to Workers