PHA-Exchange> 21 - In preparation of PHA II

[Claudio]

[Correction: The part before this one was numbered No 23 when it should have been No 20]

ONE-LINERS (almost) 

ON GLOBALIZATION: USE THEM (part 2 of 2)

 

The following bits and pieces, for you to use in your debating opponents on the issue of Globalization, come --of all parts...believe it or not-- from the IMF quarterly publication "Finance and Development", Vol.38, No.4, December 2001. (also found in www.imf.org/fandd). I have just excerpted them for you. They are almost all verbatim although I may have somewhat changed the context when editing.

Claudio



15. Exports from the poorest countries have to be granted across-the board, duty-free and quota-free access to industrial country markets. For this to happen and to take advantage of  new opportunities, poor countries have to find ways to collectively increase their bargaining power by joining forces around areas of common interest and concern. 

 

16. Concomitantly to Globalization, homegrown factors and policies have been an impediment to development. Therefore, at the same time, poor countries need to undertake transparent, democratic complementary internal reforms. 

 

17. The state must fight the uncompetitive climate of monopoly rights being given to investors (often foreign), as well as eliminate economic rents and mechanisms that legally confer a dominant position to a few firms and economic agents.

 

18. For this to happen, civil society needs to become more organized to challenge the power of the states (Moderator: that foster or go along with Globalization), helping to limit deviations from good governance. (Moderator: e.g., rent seeking and corruption).  

 

19. Civil society needs to increasingly be visible as a credible negotiator between the people and public powers. It has to become a watchdog to contain market and Globalization excesses. They also have to raise the awareness of the people with respect to the challenges Globalization poses. (Moderator: as the People's Health Movement is doing!).

 

20. The IMF now spends some $100 million a year on technical assistance work --around 20% of its annual administrative expenditures. (Moderator: This technical assistance fosters and furthers Globalization. How much do we, its opponents, spend a year ...??... it is an unfair battle, isn't it?).

 

21. Major causes of inequality are identified as population growth (Moderator: ?), fall in non-oil commodity prices by more than half in real terms between 1980 and the early 1990s, and the debt trap.

 

22. The WB and the IMF have paid remarkable little attention to global inequalities. The WB's World Development Report 2000 on Attacking Poverty explicitly says that rising income inequality should not be seen as negative....provided the incomes at the bottom do not fall and the number of people in poverty falls and does not rise...(Moderator: ??). We should start by rejecting this neoliberal assumption.

 

23. (Moderator: Among other, the IMF imposes untenable conditionalities). These affect member countries' ownership of their own economic policies. Conditionality items that are unrealistically ambitious result in repeated failure to meet agreed IMF-set targets and foster a culture of non-performance. Further, IMF conditionalities run counter to countries' education, health or poverty alleviation goals. (Moderator: Their words, not mine!).

 

24. Although the 'costs of adjustment' are inevitable, they need not fall primarily on the poor nor compromise human rights!

 

25. But the short-run effects of liberalization (Globalization) on the poor ARE negative and significant... So, compensatory policies are being promoted and designed to help the poor to deal with the transition costs of adjustment. (Moderator: This is reactive/palliative and not proactive/ preventive...).

 

26. A rights-based approach to growth and poverty reduction is needed. It needs to comprise six elements: active protection of civil/political liberties, (Moderator: Plus social, economic and cultural rights!); pro-poor budgets and growth strategies; policies geared towards ensuring that people receive adequate food, education and health care; broad participation in policy design and implementation; environmental and social awareness; and efforts to combat discrimination.

 

27. So, growth and macroeconomic stability (Moderator: The pillars of Globalization) cannot, by themselves, eliminate poverty or protect human rights.  While human rights advocates should be given every opportunity to participate in PRSP consultations, "they should not expect the IMF to impose human rights conditions on its member countries". (Moderator: So, are they or are they not for human rights? I think the deeds speak for themselves).

 

28. Finally, the rules of the global game promoting Globalization heavily depend on professional lobbyists. They steer the policy agenda in  favor of special interests. 

For each of the 535 members of the US Congress, there are 38 registered lobbyists and $2.7 million in annual lobbying expenditures. Interest groups have more influence on economic policy making than the electoral process itself (!). 

We need to counteract and deflect these pressures from interest groups (Moderator: But do we have even a fraction of the money needed for that??). Only 20% of all interest groups active in influencing Congress in the US are NGOs.

Therefore, forces promoting profits for a few prevail over those seeking a more efficient and equitable international flow of goods, people and financial capital. 

(Moderator: Are the odds then not tipped against us?: Become more active in the People's Health Movement and its work to revert this state of affairs! As individuals, we beg; collectively, we demand).



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20041024/0e1d1185/attachment-0001.html>