Plea for boycott of 'unethical' cocaine - The Observer
In any event, economic boycotts very rarely have any effect as long as most buyers don't participate and most view the product as a commodity. They just rearrange who buys the boycotted producer's product.
Correction: A friendly Bolivian economist tells me my analysis is correct under my implicit assumption that there are many sources of refined cocaine. But that, to the contrary, Colombia refines virtually all the world's cocaine. In that case, non-Columbian cocaine could earn a premium if there are enough socially conscious consumers.
'People think the price of a wrap of cocaine is 50 quid, but the cost is misery on estates here and a trail of blood back to Colombia. Someone has died to bring it to the dinner party. People who wouldn't dream of having non-organic vegetables don't notice the blood on their fingers.'Interesting observation. Will cocaine sellers start branding their cocaine as non-Colombian? I can just imagine the scintillating dinner conversation. "'Oh, the organic artichokes are out of this world.' ... 'Why thank you, and for dessert we have some excellent non-Colombian cocaine.'"
In any event, economic boycotts very rarely have any effect as long as most buyers don't participate and most view the product as a commodity. They just rearrange who buys the boycotted producer's product.
Correction: A friendly Bolivian economist tells me my analysis is correct under my implicit assumption that there are many sources of refined cocaine. But that, to the contrary, Colombia refines virtually all the world's cocaine. In that case, non-Columbian cocaine could earn a premium if there are enough socially conscious consumers.
posted by John B. Chilton at 2/15/2005 08:21:00 AM
1 Comments:
The Interpol web page reports that "it is believed that Colombian drug syndicates are responsible for refining 80 % of the world’s cocaine." It will be very difficult, indeed, to boycott it.
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