Holy John
Acrobat
THE BABEL TOWER OF GLOBALIZATION
Are we missing the chance to give a place to everyone ?
Translated from French to English
- ?ric Desrosiers
Le Devoir (www.ledevoir.com)
January 5th 2002
A lot of people hoped that the tragic events of September IIth would be the necessary electrical shock to the rich countries to take conscience of the urgency of giving a place to everyone in their new Economical Order. Unfortunately, the majority of these countries, Canada included, seem to not go beyond the simple primitive self-defense relfex against terrorism. Are we missing a golden opportunity to change the flow of globalization ?
"Not a long time ago, I would have thought that we actually had good reasons to be optimistic" says Christian Deblock, director at the new Centre d'?tudes Internationales sur la Mondialisation de l'Universit? du Qu?bec ? Montr?al (UQ?M) [International Study Centre on Globalization of the University of Qu?bec in Montr?al (UQIM)].
"We were in a remarkable growing period. The Left formed the Governments of a lot of countries in Europe, Bill Clinton was the President of the United States of America. The Vice-President at the time or this country, Al Gore, spoke of a 'more human globalization'. Now, we are in recession. The Bush Administration is centred on the affirmation of the United States of America's power, the only mega-power. And the social preoccupations aren't on the first spot."
"The times of thinking" on the objectives and effects of globalization is over, says Deblock, himself an economist. "Since I0 years, we opened the flows of all the markets. There is been a constant growing of capitals, of exchanges on an international level. Some countries profited from it. But at the same time, we discover that the market is not an end, that unequalities also growed in our countries and that a great deal of countries are completely left aside and marginalized. We cannot simply let this flow of markets open. If we do that, we head directly towards a wall".
Lessons of the Summit of the Americas in Qu?bec City, April 200I
Its been a couple of years since the anti-globalization movement and it's other forms denounces the vices of the economic model that is been promoting by the occidental countries, the United States of America being the leader, and oftenty imposed to other countries. These nebulous groups are now part of the International Summists. Its action during the Summit of the Americas, last spring in Qu?bec, pushed some politicians and some people in the economics to question themselves for the first time on the New Economical Order.
"I'm convince that the Summit of the Americas was the main factor in the beginning of conscience questions, mostly for the population an Government of Qu?bec, says Deblock. With a crowd of 60 000 people, mostly pacifists despite the image that the big medias tried to impose, primaly composed of young people and even old people, the population and Government couldn't avoid the question 'Why so much opposition, so much questions, even the use of violence against somthing that in theory would bring us happiness ?'."
"The question is not wether we should top globalization in its basical definition", continues professor Deblock. "Its a movement that opens societies to other societies. The question that should be asked, is in the end the same that we asked ourselves after the crisis in the I930s, regarding unequalities and unemployment." The answer, at the time, was the venue of each National Government to take the form of a Welfare Government.
In front of the challenge to humanise globalization, the International Institutions adopted some initiatives, like those programs of struggle against poverty or these 'good conduct codes' that companies follows on a voluntary basis. But that all remains "shy and slack" says Deblock.
We still continue to say, like the World Bank a few days ago on its report on globalization and poverty, that we are optomistic viewing the auto-reparing capacities of globalization. We continue its development without asking questions regarding possible impacts and effects of such measures. "Who can be against a liberalization of services ? No one. Its appearing totally logic, says Deblock. But everything is a service, everything is a product: a hospital, a museum, a shcool. We are quickly overhwelmed by all these new measures."
We would have every reasons, according to Deblock, to start end this mystification of globalization. If some reseaches confirmed that the de-regulation and the liberalization of exchanges helped the countries who applied its principles to know since I0 years an absolutely remarkable economical growing these same researches remind us that this famous period of prosperity is still less important that the one that we known between I950 and I975, during the complete construction of the Welfare State.
"Now, there is only one right emerging at an International level and its the right of commerce, exchange, capitals, etc..".
[ the parts that follow is regarding the Government of Qu?bec. article resumes at the end of the real article ]
...Then came the terrorist attacks that we know. National Government and Financial Institutions didn't wait to put their efforts together and arrived, in a couple of weeks, to put new rules regarding these economical activities.
"This experience teach us that the political action is an important element and that the Government can act. If there was fiscal heavens, its that it wasn't bugging us and that we were profiting from it. If, together, we were able to take charge of our National and International Institution to re-enforce the economical system, it means that we can to do the same things in other fields, such unemployment, human rights, the AIDS, healthcare, education and our social conscience".
------------------
United Nations : www.un.org - UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) : www.unicef.org
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) : www.unesco.org
Ej?rcito Zapatista de Liberaci?n Nacional (EZLN) : www.ezln.org
"The one who governs with weapons is surely poor in ideas" - Marcos
Solidarit?s : <A HREF="http://www.solidarites.org
Parti" TARGET=_blank>www.solidarites.org
Parti</A> pour une Alternative Progressiste : www.parti-rap.org
Are we missing the chance to give a place to everyone ?
Translated from French to English
- ?ric Desrosiers
Le Devoir (www.ledevoir.com)
January 5th 2002
A lot of people hoped that the tragic events of September IIth would be the necessary electrical shock to the rich countries to take conscience of the urgency of giving a place to everyone in their new Economical Order. Unfortunately, the majority of these countries, Canada included, seem to not go beyond the simple primitive self-defense relfex against terrorism. Are we missing a golden opportunity to change the flow of globalization ?
"Not a long time ago, I would have thought that we actually had good reasons to be optimistic" says Christian Deblock, director at the new Centre d'?tudes Internationales sur la Mondialisation de l'Universit? du Qu?bec ? Montr?al (UQ?M) [International Study Centre on Globalization of the University of Qu?bec in Montr?al (UQIM)].
"We were in a remarkable growing period. The Left formed the Governments of a lot of countries in Europe, Bill Clinton was the President of the United States of America. The Vice-President at the time or this country, Al Gore, spoke of a 'more human globalization'. Now, we are in recession. The Bush Administration is centred on the affirmation of the United States of America's power, the only mega-power. And the social preoccupations aren't on the first spot."
"The times of thinking" on the objectives and effects of globalization is over, says Deblock, himself an economist. "Since I0 years, we opened the flows of all the markets. There is been a constant growing of capitals, of exchanges on an international level. Some countries profited from it. But at the same time, we discover that the market is not an end, that unequalities also growed in our countries and that a great deal of countries are completely left aside and marginalized. We cannot simply let this flow of markets open. If we do that, we head directly towards a wall".
Lessons of the Summit of the Americas in Qu?bec City, April 200I
Its been a couple of years since the anti-globalization movement and it's other forms denounces the vices of the economic model that is been promoting by the occidental countries, the United States of America being the leader, and oftenty imposed to other countries. These nebulous groups are now part of the International Summists. Its action during the Summit of the Americas, last spring in Qu?bec, pushed some politicians and some people in the economics to question themselves for the first time on the New Economical Order.
"I'm convince that the Summit of the Americas was the main factor in the beginning of conscience questions, mostly for the population an Government of Qu?bec, says Deblock. With a crowd of 60 000 people, mostly pacifists despite the image that the big medias tried to impose, primaly composed of young people and even old people, the population and Government couldn't avoid the question 'Why so much opposition, so much questions, even the use of violence against somthing that in theory would bring us happiness ?'."
"The question is not wether we should top globalization in its basical definition", continues professor Deblock. "Its a movement that opens societies to other societies. The question that should be asked, is in the end the same that we asked ourselves after the crisis in the I930s, regarding unequalities and unemployment." The answer, at the time, was the venue of each National Government to take the form of a Welfare Government.
In front of the challenge to humanise globalization, the International Institutions adopted some initiatives, like those programs of struggle against poverty or these 'good conduct codes' that companies follows on a voluntary basis. But that all remains "shy and slack" says Deblock.
We still continue to say, like the World Bank a few days ago on its report on globalization and poverty, that we are optomistic viewing the auto-reparing capacities of globalization. We continue its development without asking questions regarding possible impacts and effects of such measures. "Who can be against a liberalization of services ? No one. Its appearing totally logic, says Deblock. But everything is a service, everything is a product: a hospital, a museum, a shcool. We are quickly overhwelmed by all these new measures."
We would have every reasons, according to Deblock, to start end this mystification of globalization. If some reseaches confirmed that the de-regulation and the liberalization of exchanges helped the countries who applied its principles to know since I0 years an absolutely remarkable economical growing these same researches remind us that this famous period of prosperity is still less important that the one that we known between I950 and I975, during the complete construction of the Welfare State.
"Now, there is only one right emerging at an International level and its the right of commerce, exchange, capitals, etc..".
[ the parts that follow is regarding the Government of Qu?bec. article resumes at the end of the real article ]
...Then came the terrorist attacks that we know. National Government and Financial Institutions didn't wait to put their efforts together and arrived, in a couple of weeks, to put new rules regarding these economical activities.
"This experience teach us that the political action is an important element and that the Government can act. If there was fiscal heavens, its that it wasn't bugging us and that we were profiting from it. If, together, we were able to take charge of our National and International Institution to re-enforce the economical system, it means that we can to do the same things in other fields, such unemployment, human rights, the AIDS, healthcare, education and our social conscience".
------------------
United Nations : www.un.org - UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) : www.unicef.org
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) : www.unesco.org
Ej?rcito Zapatista de Liberaci?n Nacional (EZLN) : www.ezln.org
"The one who governs with weapons is surely poor in ideas" - Marcos
Solidarit?s : <A HREF="http://www.solidarites.org
Parti" TARGET=_blank>www.solidarites.org
Parti</A> pour une Alternative Progressiste : www.parti-rap.org