When a nation becomes a commodity: The Country Brand Index 2008 {Gadling}

Nov 14th 2008 7:51AM The first thing that struck me when reading your list was that every country is in a group considered to be a developed country, all members of a sort of G7 club.

Where are all those exotic, emerging nations with fascinating culture and history, such as Brazil, China and India, to name but three.

The fact that distinguishes a commodity from a country which is a rich source of aesthetic, cultural and intellectual experiences is that the former is fungible.

That is, a piece of copper or a grain of rice or a barrel of crude oil is just that, wherever in the world you happen to be.

We should never allow the idea of experiencing a country, whether it be the cuisine, the art and music or natural environment, to be compared to physical commodities.

The world of commodity trading is a very differnet one to the world of our hedonistic, intellectual and aesthetic experience.

http://www.commodity-trading-today.com/trade-crude-oil.html