Globalisation, Information and Libraries: The Implications of the World Trade Organisation's GATS and TRIPS Agreements

Citation

Raduntz, H. (2007), "Globalisation, Information and Libraries: The Implications of the World Trade Organisation's GATS and TRIPS Agreements", Library Review, Vol. 56 No. 9, pp. 846-848. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530710831392

Without doubt Ruth Rikowski's book is highly relevant, accessible, extremely informative and encyclopedic in scope backed by detailed research. It is a “must have” text not only for those working within the information profession and libraries but also for those who are greatly concerned with the current turn of events in which the intellectual resources of the people of all nations are being brought to the world's trading table. The book is organised in four sections dealing with Globalisation and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) (Part 1); General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) (Part 2); Agreement on Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (Part 3); and An Open Marxist Theoretical Perspective on Global Capitalism and the WTO (Part 4).

Part 1 clarifies the historical significance of globalisation and details four dimensions which are intended to draw readers into a deeper theoretical level of understanding the meaning of the term in relation to capitalism. These dimensions stand as a framework of her analysis.

Under the political dimension Rikowski argues that the autonomy of nation states is being supplanted by transnational organisations such as the WTO, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the face of global capital, and points out that these politics are also linked to economic factors, notably the deregulation of labour, the growth of e‐commerce, and the increasing importance of knowledge as a leading factor of production. The social dimension refers to capital's rapid expansion into all forms of social life, while the theoretical dimension introduces us to the theory of value as interpreted from the standpoint of Open Marxism. From this deeper level of theory Rikowski proposes we can develop a more meaningful understanding of global capitalism itself.

On the basis of these dimensions Rikowski proceeds to outline the historical background of the WTO and its nature, function, organizational structure and politics. The analysis ends by raising some critical questions relating to WTO's agreements, policies, politics, role and socio‐economic implications. With this introduction to globalisation and the WTO the analysis in Part 2 is devoted to the GATS which Rikowski sees as likely to have serious implications for libraries and information as their policy to liberalise trade in services is extended to the marketisation of public service sectors which could include publicly funded libraries and those attached to universities, schools, colleges, and governments.

In order to achieve a global perspective, Rikowski includes for consideration in Chapter 4 some of the reactions of different organisations and individuals in a selection of countries regarding some of the likely implications of the GATS for libraries, and information and cultural services. This is certainly one of the strengths of the book. Other welcome inclusions in Part 2 are the practical, real‐life examples drawn from her own experience of how the GATS is impacting on libraries in the UK (Chapter 5), and an outline on the reactions and positions taken on the GATS by various library and cultural bodies (Chapter 6).

With regard to the impact of the GATS on UK libraries, Rikowski describes the mechanisms which assist the GATS to take effect in public libraries as part of the UK government's agenda for the privatization of public services. These mechanisms include principles of Best Value under categories known as the 4C's: Challenge why, how and by whom a services is provided; Compare performance with others, including the private and the voluntary sectors; Consult with local taxpayers, service users, partners, the business community and the voluntary sector; Competition – use fair and open competition, wherever possible, to secure efficient and effective services (p. 138). This kind of information is extremely valuable for it enables readers to recognise the signs that Best Value principles are being introduced into their work places.

In her concluding comments, Rikowski states that it is simply not the case that all library and information workers accept and embrace these trends. Indeed, a considerable number of library association and library information and cultural bodies have expressed grave concerns (p. 183).

In my view the most important section of the Book is Part 3 which Rikowski devotes to a discussion of the TRIPS. It includes an outline of the TRIPS (Chapter 7); the TRIPS in relation to copyright (Chapter 8) and to patents (Chapter 9); and the implications of the TRIPS for information and libraries internationally (Chapter 10). The importance of the section lies in its demonstration that the function of the TRIPS, within the overall policy intentions of the WTO to create a global free market, is to “reduce distortions and impediments to international trade” in relation to intellectual property rights, and to ensure that protectionist measures such as those entailed in copyright and patent laws “do not themselves become barriers to legitimate trade” (p. 189).

Embedded in this statement, I propose, are the contradictions between monopolies and competition, and between protectionism and free trade, which have dogged the capitalist market economy since its inception. In striving for global free trade the WTO must somehow find a solution to the threat posed by copyright and patent law protection. It attempts to do so through the mechanism of the TRIPS, the role of which is to get nations to agree to forego their copyright and patent legislation as a barrier to the ultimate goal of global free trade in favour of a reclassification of knowledge, ideas and information resources as intellectual property capable of being owned exclusively and traded.

The effect is to transfer intellectual property rights protection from the political to the market arena where ownership is underpinned by private property rights. In this way a market for intellectual property is created which permits large corporations to become major players. It is a conclusion which Rikowski foreshadows in her survey of the debates concerning whether the TRIPS is essentially protectionist or not. On the above rendering of the functioning of the TRIPS, it is paradoxical that the TRIPS and its parent, the WTO, can be shown ultimately to be protectionist in the private property sense to the exclusion of the public interest in open access to and the free flow of knowledge, ideas and information.

In her concluding section, Part 4, Rikowski provides a fuller account of her Open Marxist approach and her motivation. The section entails a critical reflection on the analysis she has undertaken and an attempt to explain why value theory is important as a means of understanding the inherent injustice of capitalism as this flaw is reflected through the mechanisms of the WTO agreements, and for grasping the likely impact of those mechanisms on information professionals and librarians.

However, as Rikowski herself admits, there is much to be developed in her approach, and indeed in the Marxist approach as a whole. It is a minor fault which is outweighed by the obvious passion and tenacity of purpose she displays throughout her writing. In admiration I cannot recommend her book highly enough as an extremely important contribution towards clarifying a vital set of issues which we must all sooner or later face and address.