Global Perspective
Global Commerce Causes Peace
Global commerce thrives during peacetime. The economic
boom in North America during the late 1990s was in large
part due to the end of the Cold War and the opening of the
formerly communist countries to the world trading system.
However, we should also understand the important role that
trade and international marketing play in actually producing
peace.
Boeing Company, America’s largest exporter, is perhaps
the most prominent example. Although many would argue
that Boeing’s military sales (aircraft and missiles) do not
exactly promote peace, that business constitutes only about
20 percent of the company’s commercial activity. Of
Boeing’s some $60 billion in annual revenues, about 65 per-
cent comes from sales of commercial jets around the world
and another 15 percent from space and communications
technologies. The company counts customers in 145 coun-
tries, and its 189,000 employees work in 60 countries. Its
11,000 commercial jets in service around the world carry
about one billion travelers per year. Its space division is the
lead contractor in the construction of the 16-country Inter-
national Space Station, ?rst manned by an American and
two Russians in the fall of 2000. The space division also
produces and launches communications satellites affecting
people in every country.
All the activity associated with the development, pro-
duction, and marketing of commercial aircraft and space
vehicles requires millions of people from around the world
to work together. Moreover, no company does more to en-
able people from all countries to meet face to face for both
recreation and commerce. All this inte ...