ABSTRACT
In 2002, the British economic journ al ist Samuel Brittan wrote that, for those concerned about capit al ism’s abuses, ‘glob al ised free trade is their best defence against the corrup tion of politi cized capit al ism’ (Brittan 2002). That same year, appar ently obli vi ous to the fact that corrup tion was on the rise, then European Union (EU) Commissioner for Enlargement Günther Verheuhen pronounced that the integ ra tion process for the 2004 acces sion coun tries was having a posit ive effect in the battle against corrup tion. 1 And, in 2005, then US Trade Representative Robert Zoelleck gave a speech support ing the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), in which he said that CAFTA
will strengthen the found a tions of demo cracy by promot ing growth and cutting poverty, creat ing equal ity of oppor tun ity, and redu cing corrup tion . . . CAFTA goes beyond cutting tariffs to require broad changes in the way econom ies and polit ies operate, chal len ging those who have grown corrupt and compla cent in captive, uncom pet it ive markets.
