The future of the Arab spring and the Indignados and Occupy Wall Street movements is very difficult to foresee, but one thing is certain: the fight to break the infernal cycle of debt is a vital one. If it is not energetically pursued, there is little chance of
overcoming the next neo-liberal offensive, writes Éric Toussaint.
The Occupy Movement, far from having no programme, has revolutionized
our sense of self. The 'Citizen of the World' adopts a panoramic view of
society and takes the interests of others all over the world to be as
important as her or his self interest, writes Kerry-anne Mendoza.
By adopting integrated policies for the environment,
agriculture, and taxation, a new American Dream can be built that meets
demographic demand while launching a revolution in resource productivity
that will position the United States to lead the larger, global
transition to sustainability. By Patrick Doherty.
The idea and practice of global citizenship is spreading, but a
coherent global citizens movement that engages masses of people remains latent, ready to be
born. Giving life to this critical actor, now missing from the world
stage, stands as the next phase in the evolution of civil society
activism. An initiative by Kosmos.
While the 2007-08 food price crisis
has been a catalyst for important policy reforms, governments have yet to
address its underlying causes and enact deeper
structural reforms, leaving the world at risk of another devastating spike in
global food prices. A report bySophia Murphy and Timothy A. Wise.
Austerity economics has not worked in one single case in
Europe in the last two years. By ignoring the teachings of John Maynard Keynes, European policy makers will deepen, not solve, the financial crisis and
millions of people will suffer needlessly, writes Jeff Madrick.
As we approach the Rio+20 environmental summit in Brazil, there is an increasingly worrying
degree of corporation cooption, if not capture, of key UN agencies. We must make it a priority to challenge the growing emphasis on markets and business as a solution to
environmental problems, says Olivier Hoedeman.
The consolidation of transnational corporations has seen some shifting of the focus of power in global agricultural markets, away
from governments and supranational bodies towards agribusinesses. But the exercise of this power isn’t limitless
and can be constrained by policy, finds a report by the Oxford Farming Conference.
As EU negotiations begin in Athens to hammer out a bail-out
package, there is mounting evidence that speculative hedge funds are
playing a role in preventing a deal. A crack down on the activities of these ‘vulture funds' is needed as part of a much
wider programme of debt cancellation for Greece, writes Nick Dearden.
The activities of European banks, pension
funds and insurance companies are increasing global hunger and poverty
by speculating on food prices and financing land grabs in poorer
countries, according to a report by Friends of the Earth Europe.
