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| Thursday, 1 July 2004 |
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Coping with the new world disorder by Dr. Mervyn D de Silva
The current instability in the international economic and financial systems which stand on the foundation of capitalist neoliberal economics affects the Third World countries, and even, the lower income segments in the rich countries that are convulsing in unprecedented economic and social problems. In fact, things have got worse since the mid-1990s when globalisation with all its attendant side effects began pauperising the poor countries while the G-8 powers took control a large slice of World Gross Product (82.7percent). Controlling financial capital The United States of America meanwhile, became, so to speak, the absolute overlord of financial institutions by controlling financial capital through its political, military, and technological strength. It achieved a spectacular accumulation of wealth and power never known before in recorded history. Concurrently, the world and capitalist society plunged into an entirely new phase where only a insignificant part of economic operations had any connection to actual production and trade. Today, nearly three (3) Trillion US$ are daily involved in speculative operations including currencies and stock; And, stock prices on the USA exchanges often rise with no relationship whatsoever to the actual profits and revenues of companies. Simplistic explanations All these financial aberrations are however glossed over with simplistic explanations that the system would regulate itself eventually. No matter all the rhetoric and smooth talk, the creation of purely unreal or virtual wealth reached its peak when according to one report there were cases of stocks whose value increased 800 times over a period of only eight years, with an initial investment of 1000 dollars! All the "wealth" so created is invested, spent extravagantly, and wasted while billions of human persons on low incomes have no access to this wealth. Even a foray into a simplified analysis of the new world order and its abiding financial architecture and system will point to its instability; and, how even a small disruption in the economy of one region has given it the power to shake the entire structure of the world economy. Yet, not even the July, 1997, Asian Tiger crisis; the August, 1998, Russian crisis; the January, 1999, Brazilian crisis and tremors of impending crises have moved the men in the countries that matter to look with constructive criticism at the massive global currency debasement set in motion. These crises are not the consequences of the September 11th terrorist attack. Nor, are they the consequences of the Afghanistan war as many have tried to assume. They are the result of the failure of an economic concept that has been imposed on the world - the Neoliberal globalisation model of the Washington Concensus, the gospels of the IMF, the World Bank, WTO, and all other allied international institutions and organisations. Viable solutions What our country, and other Third World countries should focus their attention on are, the processes that are aggravating all existing problems and removing the known possibilities of viable solutions even being tried out. What are they? They are: Povertly, hunger, disease, ill-literacy, lack of education, unemployment, exploitation of millions of children through prostitution, child-labour and child-soldiers, money laundering, lack of drinking water, scarcity of housing, Health and hospitals, communication, etc. etc. Economic paradigm More urgently, it must be realised that in a splintered world when crucial rights of human beings are denied there are limits to endurance of particularly, the youth of this day. It is only the blind who do not see that the radicalisation sweeping across the world had been sparked by globalisation and the neo-liberal economic paradigm. The coming together of the G-20 developing countries was referred to as a bright spot. Now we have "the good tidings" of yet another bright spot with some African academicians, and politicians meeting last October in Cape Town, South Africa, to discuss these issues in the African context; and better still in what they called "the spirit of the New Bandung". To some Bandung may be an anacthema and they will certainly say it is a dead past. But the past was once a live present with all its intellectually vibrant responses to a global condition that existed at that time, and very much now. Today's present is formed of that history and the Third World's predicament demands that it be understood and where possible the Bandung principles be re-visited. Those great leaders who pioneered the conference had the wisdom to see the distant future amidst Western cynicism. It seems absolutely necessary now, that, if, we are to live intelligibly and creatively guiding our countries in the modern world, our leaders should take note, I mean seriously, of the new emerging strategies. The passivity in the wake of the collapse, of the Soviet Union must be overcome. Cape Town meeting The Cape Town meeting was the discuss four (4) alternative scenarios set out in a new book edited by Alioune Sall entitled "Africa 2025, what possible futures for sub-saharan Africa?" The first, scenario described "The lions are trapped", which looks at the old pattern of relationships. The second, "The lions are hungry," which is the picture of hopelessness painted by the American journalists such as Robert Kaplan. The third, "The lions come out of their den", describes the new generation of politicians and entrepreneurs who will create new relationships between political and economic power and commit themselves to the total common good. The lions mark The fourth, "The lions mark their territory" which is introduced. With a quotation from Martinique's Aime Cesaire, the intellectual leader of the anticolonial movement, - "We do not wish to revive a dead society we must create a new society rich with all the productive capacity of today, warm with all the brotherhood of old" The mood of the New Bandung's priorities are fighting the hijacking of multinational organisations by Washington, and the battles against USA and European farm subsidies, and a one sided "fairness" in trade highlighted at Cancun and the World Social Forum. It is time that our national political leaders make bold attempts to put the body polity on the right mode, rise above all petty bickerings and those minuscule problems, bring in more brain than brawn into their parties, and desist from such cheap thinking. There are bigger issues awaiting to be fought for on the force of argument, rather than the argument of force. Follow the trail blazers in the countries mentioned. |
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