Clintonism

is marked by an economic policy whereby globalization is taken as inevitable, as a disembodied actor to with whom we must fall into line.

These frictions are demonstrated rhetorically in several different ways.One is the tension between the active and the passive, particularly in relationto the American people. At times it seems that the American peopleare the actors... at other times it almost seems as if foreign policy and theeconomy are the disembodied actors. In discussions of resista nce to theinevitable river that is globalization, theorist like James Mittelman recognizethe rhetorical and material stakes: 'At the venues where publicprotests against globalization took place, collective action by varied socialmovements drew attention to the drawbacks to globalization, especiallyworld inequality, a lack of transparency with regard to heightened marketpower relative to political authority, and, in some cases, the erosion of,or affronts to, cultural dignity.

is the idea that free trade is the answer to the new reality of the global economy. It argues that free trade leads to 'high-wage jobs' ('rising standards of living' and expansion of the 'middle class', achieve domestic security for Americans and assuage the economic insecurity of the middle class.

Clinton characterized the revival of the American dream around interdependenceand mutual responsibility as a global sea change, and hismain remedy for this malady was to 'focus our efforts on expandingtrade' ('Address before a Joint Session of Congress on Administration'114... 'Remarks to the International Monetary Fund' 1567). For example,Clinton told the 1996 Pacific Basic Economic Council: 'In the past threeyears, our own exports have boomed. They're up over 35 percent to an alltime high, creating a million new jobs that consistently pay more than jobsthat are not related to exports' ('Remarks to the Paci fic Basin EconomicCouncil' 777). According to the president's logic, expanding free tradeleads to 'high-wage jobs' ('Remarks at Georgetown University' 2056),'rising standards of living' ('Remarks on the Goals' 2166), and expansionof the 'middle class' ('Address before a Joint Session of Congress onthe State 82), giving all Americans a 'fair shot at the American dream'('Rema rks on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade' 2126). ForClinton, trade expansion is the means to achieve domestic security forAmericans and assuage the economic insecurity of the middle class. Ascommunication scholars Mark Moore and J . Gut Ragsdale have noted:

Rebecca Ann DingoThinkers

Rebecca Ann Dingo