Nader warns against big business

Megan Mcgurk

Ralph Nader stressed the importance of understanding and speaking out on global issues during a presentation at the Memorial Union Wednesday night.

About 500 people crowded the Sun Room to hear Nader, consumer activist and attorney, talk about “Globalization: Prospects for Democracy and Freedom.” Nader has long been a supporter of consumers’ rights, and he’s currently making a run for the presidency on the Green Party ticket.

During his speech, Nader said he wanted to focus on the “supremacy of modern globalization.”

Nader said he wanted to warn people against the power big businesses can have on commercial interests, and they should question global corporations about issues such as nutrition, the economy and the environment.

“Global corporations don’t spend much time worrying about justice,” Nader said. “Instead, they worry about who they’ll bribe.”

The activist also said domestic markets shouldn’t be overlooked by big business.

“Domestic markets are what build communities, not export markets,” he said. “What people buy and sell in their communities is the solid basis for growth.”

Big business opposes causes such as the environment, equal pay and the consumer movement, Nader said. However, he said global corporations didn’t get their way.

The people still have the most influence when it comes to these sorts of issues. “Ownership doesn’t mean control,” Nader said.

However, Nader said big businesses are still trying to control the people’s part in democracy. To combat this problem, he said everyone needs to take an active role in the democratic process to achieve justice.

“Big business is on a collision course with our democracy,” he said. “Their interests collide with the rights of the people.”

Nader said global corporations won’t be afraid to bring problems such as environmental harm to the United States if people don’t start to challenge these kinds of practices.

“What the global corporations are doing abroad, they will do here if we allow them,” he said.

Jeremy Varner, senior in history, is a Green Party activist on campus and a supporter of Nader. He said he liked the emphasis Nader put on civil involvement concerning globalization. “Hopefully, more people will become active after this,” Varner said.

Mitch Day, sophomore in physics, said he thought Nader’s lecture had a lot of valuable information. “I thought it was something everyone should hear,” Day said.