R.I.P. TTIP?

[pampango]

28. National sovereignty is a means to an end, not an end in itself. In the UK the far-right

is trying to exit from the EU while unions want to stay in to preserve workers' right that are part of EU membership. The right, of course, maintains that membership in the EU weakens the UK's sovereign right to weaken workers' rights if it wants to. Workers' rights are more than national sovereignty.

Handing control of social organization and the establishment of public policy over to corporations, eliminates sovereignty and subordinates the principles of democracy and self-determination to the greedy desires of elites.

Your view of the American sovereign government as a force that resists "Handing control of social organization and the establishment of public policy over to corporations ... and subordinates the principles of democracy and self-determination to the greedy desires of elites" is very quaint. Many of us view the government as quite the opposite - a captive of corporations and the greedy elites.

In fact, any international agreement limits 'national sovereignty'. If the climate change agreements are successful we lose the sovereign right to built as many coal-fired power plants as we would like. In the Iran nuclear deal, Iran gave up some 'sovereign' right to develop certain weapons in exchange for something else.

Progressive countries can sign international agreements that sacrifice national sovereignty in return for something they value more.

Trump wants to tear up all of our international agreements. I do not look at him as any kind of pro-worker liberal.