Homage to a Bull Moose: Applying Lessons of History to Meet the Challenges of Globalization

It would appear that some critics' cure for the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) is to build it up, while for others, the cure is to tear it down, or at least to diminish its competence. This seeming contradiction makes it difficult to assess and respond to legitimate criticisms of the WTO. The purpose of this Essay is to address this apparent conundrum. In particular, we attempt to shed light on it by (1) describing the nature of the imbalance that exists in the world trading system today (Part I); (2) offering an historical and legal framework for understanding the seemingly conflicting pressures that imbalance has created (Parts II and III); and  (3) identifying and evaluating options for moving forward, taking those pressures into account (Part IV).