Re: Creating People-Centred Economics

["ÁÎ×Ó¹â HenryC.K.Liu ¹ù¤l¥ú" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Patrick,

You are correct that about the low "socialist/marxist content."
Yet we must remember the progressive role economic nationalism can play in
opposing neo-imperialism (globalization).

Much of the Third World is still primarily agricultural and cottage
industrial.  Under these conditions, a decentralized capitalist regime can be
progressive.
Also, the national bourgeoisie can be usefully included in the war against
imperialism. Mao called it an contradiction among the people.

Simultaneously, we need scholars like Bello who is able to deal with
neo-liberal economists on their own conceptual turf.  This conceptual battle
is important because liberalism theories requie internal consistency in its
logic, and such consistency is lacking because the claim that globalization
benefits the whole world is not supported by facts.  Such exposure weakens the
conceptual underpin of neo-liberalism.  By learning to debate on their terms
does not mean we believe in their philosophy.  It is a tactic of using the
internal contradictions of neo-liberalism to wage war against it.  In this
sense, Stiglitz of the World Bank has become a friend of the Third World while
in reality he is merely a good cop in a god/bad cop syndrome.
One of the principles of guerrilla war is to use all resources at one's
disposal.

Henry C.K. Liu

Patrick Bond wrote:

> Thanks Henry, as comrades may know, this occurred in March 1999.
> (There's a forthcoming Zed Press book with some of the papers.)
>
> As a loyal friend and admirer of the sponsors (and attendee), I would
> say with all honesty, however, that the socialist/marxist content was
> virtually nil (notwithstanding the potential implied in the final
> tagline). Attempts to get deeper into the meaning of "people-centred"
> foundered because so many international NGOs still have
> small-is-beautiful or Adam-Smith-utopic notions of "SMMEs,"
> microcredit and the like. The plenary got bogged down in debating how
> (not whether) to reform the IMF, in spite of host Walden Bello's
> excellent opening statement that the gathering should be a site for
> the IMF's decommissioning (again, I'd blame it on articulate
> inside-Beltway and London NGO bureaucrats who simply want any
> opportunity, and "mandate," to get closer to the Fund).
>
> My own conclusion is that these kinds of global gatherings have in
> future got to a) root themselves much more explicitly in concrete
> grassroots/shopfloor anti-neoliberal struggles (though FOCUS did
> indeed bring in the Thai Forum of the Poor); and b) establish far
> more coherence (and yes, quality control) in terms of who comes, in
> order to really move this debate, and agenda, forward.
>
> I'm sure there'll also be good debates amongst socialists/marxists
> about the whole idea of "national economic sovereignty." I think we
> can go a long way with it, helping each working class deal with its
> own bourgeoisie, while weakening the global bourgeoisie and its
> agents...
>
> > Date:          Fri, 4 Feb 2000 17:05:25 -0500
> > Reply-to:      Discussions on the Socialist Register and its articles
> >                <SOCIALIST-REGISTER@xxxxxxxx>
> > From:          "AIxO1â HenryC.K.Liu
> >                1ù¤l¥ú" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Subject:       Creating People-Centred Economics
> > To:            SOCIALIST-REGISTER@xxxxxxxx
>
> > Welcome to FOCUS on the Global South
> >    Economic Sovereignty in a Globalising World: Creating People-Centred
> > Economics for the 21st Century
> >
> > Why We Are Having This Conference
> >
> > While financial analysts assess the global financial crisis in terms of
> > stock market indexes and currency values,
> > the real impact is being borne by the millions of people who are being
> > pushed further into poverty as we
> > approach the new millenium. Generations will inherit a debt not of their
> > making, and as the human costs of the
> > crisis continue to mount, speculators and currency traders escape
> > virtually unscathed.
> >
> > Uncontrolled speculative investment and currency trading have a
> > devastating effect on economic stability and
> > long-term development. The crisis has shown that national economies no
> > longer have control over vital aspects
> > of economic policy, and that they too are subject to the whims of the
> > market.
> >
> > The inability of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to
> > respond to the crisis with appropriate policies
> > has called into question their capacity to understand and react to the
> > needs of people in a rapidly changing global
> > economy. A growing number of critics are now calling for a thorough
> > review of these institutions' policies and
> > decision making processes.
> >
> > The dire human consequences of this demand our attention. It is
> > imperative that international economic relations
> > be reviewed and reshaped to control speculation, regulate financial
> > markets and reduce inequalities between
> > nations, while promoting economic democracy and fostering sustainable
> > development.
> >
> > All these measures and reforms should aim to give local communities,
> > national governments and regional
> > groupings the chance to pursue economic policies which meet the needs of
> > people, instead of the markets.
> > http://focusweb.org/conference/
> Patrick Bond
> email:  pbond@xxxxxxxxxx * phone:  2711-614-8088
> home:  51 Somerset Road, Kensington 2094 South Africa
> work:  University of the Witwatersrand
> Graduate School of Public and Development Management
> PO Box 601, Wits 2050, South Africa
> email:  bondp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> phone:  2711-488-5917 * fax:  2711-484-2729