Since the imposition of free market policies in the 1980s, globalization has come to represent an ideological battle between those who favor economic growth and deregulation through the growing power of multinational corporations, versus those who prefer a more sustainable and democratic approach to international development, socio-economic justice, and the securing of basic human rights and needs.
The good news: The changes we must make to avoid
ultimate collapse are identical to the changes we must make to create
the world of our common dream, says David Korten.
Keynes' prediction in the 1930s of a 'new era of leisure' will not transpire while a quarter of the world lives in abject
poverty, nor while a good slice of those living in developed countries
are not sharing in economic prosperity, says Larry Elliot.
The latest World Bank report on Growth and Development has again questioned the orthodox set of stabilisation
and liberalisation policies to which we were told “there is no
alternative” - and is an indication of how much the
economics mainstream itself is shifting, writes Jayati Ghosh.
The consequences flowing from
Washington Consensus-inspired reforms have worried US policymakers for some time - leading to a renewed questioning of the role of markets and the state, writes Girish Mishra.
The shift from consumptive, life-threatening growth to improved wellbeing and real
quality of life is the key to an environmentally and
socially sustainable future - and one which politicians must acknowledge, writes Jonathon Porritt.