The economic freedom promised through the
liberalisation of market forces has, in reality, resulted in a freedom for the
very few and a contradiction of the promise that increased
wealth will be shared - demanding a reframing of the concepts of 'democracy' and 'human rights', says Adam W. Parsons.
The following talk by STWR was given at a seminar hosted by World Goodwill on the theme
"Human Rights, Spiritual Responsibilities - A Crisis for Democracy?", held in
London on the 1st November 2008. A transcript and audio of the talk below is presented by Adam W. Parsons.
Unlike the crisis of
1970s stagflation that signalled the end for the Keynesian social-democratic
model, the food crisis of 2008 could be marked down in history for setting in
motion an opposite trend, writes Adam W. Parsons.
The
inability of world leaders to face up to the root causes or policy
contradictions of a food crisis is nothing new, but the resultant crisis of faith in neoliberal economic orthodoxy is a sign that the world direction is changing course, writes Adam W. Parsons.
The World Bank's latest poverty figures underline
the fact that globalisation has been largely ineffective at either reducing the
burgeoning ranks of the world's poor, or including this vast swathe of the
global population into the mainstream economy, writes Adam W. Parsons.
The neglected policy debate on ecological limits is unable to call out the elephant of unsustainable lifestyles without challenging the very premise of our economic system.
In light of the growing international consensus for economic reform, this article introduces economic sharing as a viable mechanism through which the international community can cooperate more effectively to end poverty and create a sustainable world.
Mass protests and demonstrations, the trademark and personification of the global justice movement, must take place outside the systems of power and hope to make themselves ‘heard’; world opinion, on the other hand, is an unmitigated force of consensual mass agreement that holds no party allegiances or crystallised form.
Despite international commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, a recent UN report revealed that poverty will not be halved in any sub-Saharan country by 2015, indicating yet another failure of the system of aid and stregthening the call for a more robust international strategy to secure economic justice for developing countries.
The consequences of an economy based upon the principles of selfish individualism and brute competitiveness have now been exported to almost every country of the world. A return to the human values beyond economic theory has never been such an intimidating but tremendous possibility, writes Adam W. Parsons.
