Dear friends and colleagues The following paragraphs are excerpts from a longish post by John Bunzl, the architect of 'Simultaneous Policy' (Simpol). Writing in response to Tony Blair's Genoa remark "To give in to the protesters would be to turn democracy on its head", Bunzl elegantly summarises what we already know about the treacherous role of executive government in selling nations out to corporate control. The full paper is available on request. Together with the Australian coordinator of SP, Dr Doug Everingham < [EMAIL PROTECTED] >, I find Bunzl's approach very honest and feasible--and probably the best answer yet given to the question "What can we (as citizens of Australia and the world) do now?". Therefore, I have decided to join the growing throng of activists committed to the Simultaneous Policy which is explained on the website at http://www.simpol.org . I am now finding that membership of the Simpol email list gives access to an intelligent and responsible section of the international anti-globalism movement. If you are not already aware of this initiative, I recommend that you take the time to examine it closely. I also strongly recommend the democratic principles of Charter 99 at http://www.charter99.org/ Regards Brian Jenkins Hon. Sec., StopMAI Coalition, Western Australia * * * * * "To Give in To the Protesters Would be to Turn Democracy on its Head" So responded an angry Tony Blair to suggestions that summits like the G-8 meeting in Genoa should not take place in view of the violence and bloodshed. <snip> . . . [T]oday's competitive global economy subtly yet effectively reduces the span of feasible policy options open to national governments. Today we live in a global and largely borderless economy where capital and transnational corporations freely move wherever profits are highest, costs lowest and where governments live in fear of the 'reaction' of global markets. No government can now impose higher taxes or regulations on corporations for fear of them moving employment elsewhere. Similarly, governments seeking to impose protective environmental or labour legislation would be seen by global financial markets as 'uncompetitive', prompting instant punishment through devaluation, capital flight, inflation and unemployment. Even the mooting of such policies would cause the computers of market traders to instantly move capital to some other economy offering an environment 'more conducive to business needs'. Democracy presupposes that political parties can freely represent a wide diversity of public opinion and consequently a wide range of feasible policies covering the entire political spectrum. But the policy parameters now dictated by globally competitive markets have narrowed to what has now become a highly restricted, business-friendly stance which excludes all those restorative policies traditionally espoused by the political Left to balance social and environmental concerns against those of business. <snip> . . .[T]he shift of traditional left-of-centre parties towards the right is usually seen merely as a function of party-political expediency, we should therefore be aware of the underlying anti-democratic forces at work. As such, those voters to the left of centre are today effectively deprived of political expression and of their democratic rights. So is it any wonder they take to the streets in protest? And with global problems worsening, is it any wonder that increasing numbers all over the world now see our politicians not just as 'out of touch', but out of their tiny minds as they continue to play out this charade while trumpeting it as "democracy"? <snip> Out with a Bang: Pseudo-Democracy Replaces Democracy Indeed democracy could now better be described as 'pseudo-democracy': an illusion of democracy in which whatever party we elect, the policies delivered inevitably conform to market and corporate demands at the expense of society and the environment. Under such circumstances, it simply no longer matters much which party we vote for or whether we bother to vote at all. As records for low voter turnouts in elections around the world are broken with increasing frequency, it is evident that politicians who took it upon themselves to de-regulate capital flows have only themselves to blame. Yet instead they bemoan the public's "lack of political engagement" in so-called "democratic processes" when it is they themselves who have hollowed out democracy by unwittingly giving power over to the quasi-dictatorship of transnational capital and international competition. Indeed, genuine democracy went out with a bang back in the 1980s: the much-vaunted "Big Bang" of Reagan-Thatcher financial market de-regulation. <snip> If politicians want the protests to stop and wish to lead us once again according to genuine democratic principles, they must co-operate with one another to expose and disarm the 'hidden hand' of transnational capital and corporations and the intense international economic competition which prevents them from solving mounting global problems. They must co-operate to re-impose capital controls and higher taxes and environmental standards on corporations. They must co-operate to use the revenues raised to fund development and higher social and environmental standards in the Third World on a debt-free basis. <snip> What basis for co-operation could be found which provides the necessary means of delivering those objectives? Radically innovative yet practical ideas are now surfacing which show how politicians, the growing body of civil society activists, and disaffected voters can begin to find answers to these questions. One such idea is expressed in the initials 'SP' -- the Simultaneous Policy -- a new and achievable way of removing the barriers of fear and destructive competition which today prevent us from finding solutions. John Bunzl � Founder and Director International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO) Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] SP Campaign Website: www.simpol.org � 2001. John M. Bunzl. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
