As 11,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries wrap up the climate discussions in Poznan, Poland, a coordinated response to the combined climate and financial crisis is far from negotiated. The question remaining is: can an effective global deal still be reached in Copenhagen that addresses the core drivers of the climate crisis beyond the prioritisation of economic growth and the continued overexploitation of world resources?
The financial crisis presents the opportunity for
the renewal of national, popular, democratic alliance of working
classes, or the move from a pattern of capitalist
dependent development towards an
alternative pattern of inclusive development - in other words, "delinking", says Samir Amin.
The recent Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the Iraqi Government and the United States illustrates three important trends: the rise of Iran, the emerging strength of the Iraqi Parliament, and a critical decline in US hegemony, argues Patrick Cochburn.
Against a background of increasing inequality and chronic hunger in India, one region of the country has bucked the trend.
Now that the age of
Milton Friedman appears to be nearing its end, the world would do well
to give Kerala another look, says Shirin Shirin.
Human rights are increasingly viewed through the rhetoric of military intervention, democracy and political freedom, whilst the UN's pivotal role in securing social and economic rights in the developing world continues to be marginalised, argues Robin Willoughby.
Rising food prices have plunged an additional 40 million people into the
ranks of the undernourished this year, resulting in almost a billion people going hungry. Not enough is being done to reduce food insecurity and prevent more people
becoming hungry, says a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
At a time when states and governments are reappropriating a true
political and regulatory role, actors of global or local
governance from the poorest countries must also be included and empowered to step onto the centre stage, says Patrice Barrat.
Conventional cost-benefit models cannot inform our decisions
about how to address the threat of global warming.
An economics that complements the science of climate change
and endorses active, large-scale climate protection is the only answer, argues Frank Ackerman.
Institutionalised crime in the form of tax evasion and money
laundering is a considerable challenge for the global economy. However, the current crisis
provides a unique opportunity to change the dynamics of an economic system
which has demonstrated its enormous destructive potential, writes Daniel Bradlow.
The financial crisis is a challenge, not just for economic
management, but also in terms of how we think about the global economy and
how we can devise the kind of financial system – based on moral and social
principles - that we would like to see in today’s world, writes Clive Dilnot.
