Rhetorical Analysis of the World Tradeorganization Essay

WTO: Why It Was Opposed – A Rhetorical Analysis of Top Twelve Reasons to Oppose the World Trade Organization Nowadays economic globalization is a trend. Free trade affects us every day. The World Trade Organization is writing the constitution and operating the global trade. However, more and more people start to think over: is free trade a universally good global economic system? Does the WTO can really inspire growth and prosperity for all? According to the Global Exchange, the answer is no and there are alternatives to the WTO. A flier distributed through the website for Global Exchange appeal to people to oppose the WTO and replace it with a democratic global economy. The flier strongly proves that the WTO does harm to the human rights, global economy and the equality between poor countries and powerful countries. As far as I am concerned, the flier works beautifully to make people realize the disadvantages of free trade and shortcomings of the WTO by enumerating twelve reasons clearly and by using logos, ethos and pathos successfully. The flier from the Global Exchange claims that the WTO has been the greatest tool for taking democratic control of resources out of our communities and putting it into the hands of corporations. There are twelve reasons listed that why people should oppose the WTO. By the mean of showing the disadvantages of free trade . Global Exchange persuade people to reject the expansion of the WTO and help build a political space that nurtures a democratic global economy. A essential persuasive technique in a advertisement or a flier is pathos. The author starts off the flier by a brief statement about the aim of the WTO in a sarcastic tone and then uses the positive tone to describe the team to oppose the WTO is becoming stronger and stronger. The sentences such as â€Å"an international movement is growing†¦. and importantly, we are winning! † make the readers believe that more and more people aware of the negative influence of WTO. We can also see the emotional sentences in the last two paragraphs of the flier. The author is trying to urge the readers to get involved in the international opposition to the WTO by using the short and powerful phrases like† Stop the WTO! †,† Get Involved! †. Using pathos can effectively engage readers’ emotion and imagination. In addition to the Pathos, ethos also has very important effect on this flier. The author presents a lot of specific information about the policies of the WTO and its practices in many aspects in recent years. All the facts, the reports from the authoritative organization like the United Nations Development Programs, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, give the flier strong evidence and make it creditable. The major technique the author uses in this flier is the logos. In order to make the readers understand and accept the reasons to oppose the WTO, the author explains them very logically. He states the policies of the WTO first and then explains specifically how the WTO do harms by the facts. For example, one of the reasons to oppose the WTO is the WTO undermines local level decision-making and national sovereignty. First, the author states â€Å"the WTO requires that all WTO members countries to treat each other equally and to treat all corporations from these countries equally regardless of their track record†(90). Then, he explains how the WTO violates its own principle by some facts such as â€Å"the California’s Former Governor Gray Davis vetoed a â€Å"Buy California† bill that would have granted a small preference to local businesses because it was WTO-illegal. † (90) We can see the WTO rules are so rigid and unreasonable sometimes and undermine local decision-making severely. It is easier for the readers to understand through the logical explanations. The use of logos backs up the author’s claim and make readers agree easily. This flier clearly explains the disadvantages of the WTO and the free trade. The author uses logos to reveal the shortcomings of the WTO and ethos to strengthen the evidence. Pathos also make the flier be vivid and full of passion. Besides, it is also informative because it refers to a lot of information about the WTO and the global economy. In a word, it is a successful flier.