So the solution is: capitalism in a small scale. I am not impressed. Capitalism by definition needs profits and needs to grow, and it can only put up with a linited form of democracy. Not to mention, that to solve the global problems of raw-material distibrution, water conservation, sustainability or even defense against random asteroids, we need more integration in the future, not less. In the last few months people seem to dare to say stuff like capitalism is dangerous for our future. I hope they'll have the courage soon to draw the logical conclusion: only a system based on collective ownership and collective distribution will be able to be meaningfully democratic and practical for our survival. Eva >> >..............cut......... > >The challenge is to replace the global capitalist economy with a properly > >regulated and locally rooted market economy that invests in the > >regeneration of living capital, increases net beneficial economic output, > >distributes that output justly and equitably to meet the basic needs of > >everyone, strengthens the institutions of democracy and the market, and > >returns money to its proper role as the servant of productive activity. > > > >It should favour smaller local enterprise over global corporations, > >encourage local ownership, penalise financial speculation, and give > >priority to meeting the basic needs of the many over providing luxuries > >and diversions for the wealthy few. In most aspects it should do exactly > >the opposite of what the global capitalist economy is doing. > > > >Most of the responsibility and initiative must come from local and > >national levels. Supporting nations and localities in this task should > >become the core agenda of the United Nations, as the protection of people > >and communities from predatory global corporations and finance is arguably > >the central security issue of our time. > > > >The first positive step would be to dismantle the World Trade Organisation > >on the ground that there is no legitimate need for a global police force > >to protect global corporations from the actions of democratically-elected > >national and local governments so that the richest one per cent of > >humanity can become even richer at the expense of the rest. > > > >The WTO is a powerful, but illegitimate and democratically unaccountable > >institution put in place through largely secret negotiations with little > >or no public debate to serve purposes largely conltrary to the public > >interest. The 99 percent of the world's people whose interests it does not > >serve have every right to eliminate it. > > > >Addressing the real need to police the global economy requires an > >organisation very different from the WTO - an open and democratic > >organisation with the mandate and power to set and enforce rules holding > >those corporations that operate across national borders democratically > >accountable to the people and priorities of the nations where they > >operate. > > > >It should as well have the power to regulate and tax international > >financial flows and institutions. And it should have a mandate to make > >speculation unprofitable and to help protect the integrity of domestic > >financial institutions from the financial markets and the predatory > >practices of international financial speculators. > > > >There are obvious questions as to whether such proposals are politically > >feasible given the stranglehold of corporations and big money over our > >political processes. Yet we could use this same reasoning to conclude that > >human survival itself is not politically feasible. > > > >Global corporations and financial institutions are our collective > >creations. And we have both the right and the means to change or replace > >them if they do not serve. > > .................... > > > >Dr David Korten is president of the People-Centered Development Forum > >in Washington State, USA <http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf> > >and the author of 'When Corporations Rule the World' > >and the forthcoming 'The Post-Corporate World: Life After Capitalism'. > > .................... > > > > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
