"Today, market capitalism has no major ideological rival," United
Nations' Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the World Economic
Forum on February 1 in Davos, Switzerland. "Its biggest threat is
from within itself. If it cannot promote both prosperity and
justice, it will not have succeeded." "If the private sector does
not deliver economic growth and economic opportunity _ equitably
and sustainably _ around the world, then peace will remain
fragile and social justice a distant dream," Annan said.
Annan noted that the flow of investment has dramatically
increased into developing countries, with more than 80 percent of
it going to, with the exception of China, a dozen "middle-income"
countries. Just five percent goes to Africa and one percent to
the 48 least-developed countries. Annan called for "a new
partnership amongst governments, the private sector and the
international community" to set things right.
Sticking to the illusion that a "market economy" is the
source of prosperity, not of superprofits, Annan continued by
saying that not only has a free-market economy won out, but "the
role of the state is changing in most of the developing world,
from one that seeks to dominate economic life to one which
creates the conditions through which sustainable development is
possible." This flies in the face of the fact that in both a
socialist system and a capitalist system the "role of the state"
expresses the kind of system which prevails, especially the
social relations which determine the kind of economic life under
that system. The propaganda according to which a "planned
economy" is by nature inefficient merely diverts from the fact
that the present state of affairs worldwide is the result of
"free market capitalism" not a "planned economy."
Annan said that "in today's world, the private sector is the
dominant engine of growth; the principal creator of value and
wealth; the source of the largest financial, technological and
managerial resources." Belying the actual state of affairs
throughout the world, Annan said that peace and security are no
longer defined in terms of military power or the "balance of
terror." He said that "lasting peace requires more than the
intervention of Blue Helmets on the ground."
According to Annan, "Globalization has given hope that human
ingenuity and enterprise will take us forward into a new golden
age," but "globalization in itself cannot be seen as a magic
panacea. Over 60 percent of the world's population must subsist
on $2 or less a day. A hundred of the world's countries are worse
off today than they were 15 years ago. And increasing disparities
between the rich and the poor within and between countries
remains a serious threat to stability and to long-term economic
growth," he added.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
