1. International Trends
The world economy in 2010 affects trade, money flows and conflicts resulting out of alterations in purchasing power. Right now the key issues are the various holdings of bank shares in other countries or as in the case of China its trade advantage presumed to be linked to an undervalued currency. Naturally world economy touches upon the scale of economies. Any firm will seek advantages in producing more due to a demand for its products not coming merely from a restricted local market but world wide.
Quite another matter is the search for policy measures, indicators and practical tasks to ensure sustainable development. The warning signs are clearly everywhere to be seen: erosion of the soil, floods, pollution or vanishment of drinking water, oil and other forms of pollution etc. A turning point in all of this has been the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002. It was a failure due to business coopting the agenda and in managing to have more official delegates than what Civil Society was able to muster despite years of preparatory work for an international agreement. A clear issue is again not only finding or developing the tools to measure things but to have politicians commit themselves to such measurable tools that everyone can know if the world is on track to attain sustainable development. Since governments, think tanks and other institutions following closely developments work with time lines and definite policies which have clear advantages if understood in the right or certain way, it needs to be said the development favored until now has only criteria in mind which enhance profit taking and business practices linked to the notion that a healthy economy is one in which things are done in the most efficient way while those who are innovative have a chance to make money. Thus measures of success are used which distort perception of reality and as a consequence governments do not alter their course until too late.
It has been said that Capitalism will end up in a crisis and then a new society shall come about. This hope for Capitalism to collapse has never been fulfilled. On the contrary, the development of the world economy shows a growing learning process out of all kinds of crisis. Even if the oil spill by BP means a huge disaster for fishers and nature e.g. wetlands and other ecological niches, the institutional norm is to return as soon as possible to 'business as usual'. That means models of existence are not basically altered even though it is clear that the dependency upon oil stems from the fact that people still prefer to drive around in their cars even though everyone would admit this adds a huge burden to an already strained earth by over population, deforestation, melting of the artic ice etc.
Also it is a fallacy to believe problems of the world economy and sustainable development can be resolved by new technology. It was technology itself which has brought about all these problems. Since technology is no longer just a mere tool or a product like a car, but includes a logic according to which society has to organise itself e.g. more roads for all the cars, modifications like clean energy, safer technology, soft power etc. are not sufficient to get out of this trap. For technology has altered since First World War the scale of things and empowered forces which can exert control over millions of people. The use of modern media to convey only certain images attests to that. It leaves those to be addressed by serious discussions and thoughts out of sight.
The problem has intensified as things have become more anonymous. There seems no feed-back possible between thoughts and studying possible consequences if actions are undertaken in a certain direction for many firms and companies have become independent from such local immediacy where theory and practice can be evaluated also in terms of way of life and impact upon the contents of life itself. As a matter of fact the growing number of people excluded from meaningful working and deliberation processes indicates a 'poverty of experience' prevails so that people no longer feel to be in touch with larger reality. Their own lives is one thing, what the media proclaims and how political processes are commented upon has little or nothing to do with what they experience at personal level. Rather than clarifying positions, public debate if at all accessible obscures and obstructs access to information no longer free nor really validated by independent sources. In the end, society does not know how it wants to be governed since best practices are not discussed in politics. It leaves everyone wondering how long will things continue as they have all along as if nothing is happening and yet all the crisis from oil spills, Greek deficit, street protests of the red shirts in Bangkok etc. suggest something has to be done to change how governance is practiced in view of firms going global to join the many forces making up the world economy.
HF 22.5.2010
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