The World Trade Organisation negotiations in Hong Kong in December didn’t get very far. There had been talk of a deal to further “liberalise” world trade, under which the developed capitalist countries would drop restrictions on agricultural products from the “developing” countries in return for these reducing their tariffs on industrial imports. The most that emerged was a promise by the EU to stop subsidising agricultural exports by 2013 – provided that in the meantime there was an agreement on the other points. Not enough, said EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, to make the meeting a true success, but enough to save it from failure.

Maybe in time – April is the next deadline – some agreement, even along the lines envisaged, will be reached. But, given the nature of capitalism, it is not surprising that agreement is proving difficult. The WTO has 149 member states – 149 capitalist states, each with its own economic interests to defend and promote.