Another World is Possible

Another World is Possible:
Vision and Policy choices for a just and democratic World

John Samuel



We are in the midst of a profound transition in the history of the world, history of ideas and that of the international order. Many of the ideas and framework that have emerged during the last three hundred years and particularly during the enlightenment period are not adequate enough to address the new challenges faced by humanity in the 21st century. The roles of technology and communications have substantially changed the way we think, act and live. The mode of technology often shape the mode of communication ( and travel) and this often determines our mode of thinking and mode of thinking shape our mode of action and this in turn shape the mode of living. With unprecedented level of international travel, migration, globalization of market, impoverishment, inequality, marginalization, violence and climate change, humanity will have to adopt new ways of creative thinking and action to address such challenges.

We are in the face of new Challenges, including:

a) Increasing Inequality across the world
b) Growth lead, market driven and consumerist based economic syndrome that undermine the immunity of people, nature and earth, resulting in global warming and increasing inequality and violence.
c) More than a billion people are at the receiving end of poverty, marginalization and communicable disease like HIV/AIDS. The further marginalization of some of the poorest countries due to the collapse of the state and economy, aid dependency, and internal conflicts pose big challenges.
d) Global Warming and Climate Change pose the single largest threat to the present and future generations.
e) Militarization and the unprecedented growth of arm industry and resultant globalization of violence and terror by the state and non-state parties.
f) Marketisation of Development, Politics and State. Increasingly, big corporations are influencing the political process and development through media empires, corporate funding of election and political parties and by strengthening corruption.
g) Emergence of exclusive identity politics and revival of fundamentalist religious groups.


We are in the midst of unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities. There is a huge deficit of legitimacy and resultant moral degradation among the global powers, particularly the USA and their northern allies and there is a crisis of credibility of political parties and electoral process in most of the so called democratic countries. The global hegemony of power and ideas are under challenge and 9/11 signified the new challenges and the emergence of new global identity politics and its unfortunate consequences. Hence, there is a need to think and act together to make this world more just, more democratic, more sustainable and more secure place.

We have challenges that are global, national as well as local. We need ways and means to strengthen a more sustainable, secure, just and democratic international order. At the same time, there has to be new policy framework or paradigms that would enable countries to address the internal challenges of poverty, civil conflicts and increasing identity politics and violence.

Here are some of the Policy Options:

1) Reforming and Democratizing the Untied Nations: After 60 years of existence, the United Nation is urgently in need of substantive reform to make it relevant, efficient, and effective and a truly multilateral forum. The UN should be a democratic forum as well as a means to strengthen democratization across the world. This requires changing the structure of the Security Council by including at least ten more permanent members in the Security Council and provision of citizens groups and civil society organisations to participate in the general assembly and Security Council. The dependency of UN on rich nations can be reduced through a small taxation on international travel and freight.
2) Restructuring and Democratization of the World Bank: The role of World Bank needs to be fundamentally challenged. It should play the role of a coordinating mechanism of regional development banks and decreasing its lending capacity and role substantially (except in very few and necessary cases). It can also play an international coordinating role of monetary balancing and some of the role of the IMF, so that IMF can be dismantled. However, World Bank should be a democratic body where the policies should be decided by an elected board( with regional as well economic representation- for the rich as well as poor countries)
3) An International Framework for Fair Trade and complete revamping of the Word Trade Organisation. The present trade regime is unjust and in favour of the rich and powerful countries. There has to be basic changes in the trade rules and patenting regime to make it more just, fair and sustainable. There has to be a different and more ethical framework to encourage international trade.


4) Regional Integration of Polity, Economy and Market: Regional Integration of Polity, Economy and Market will help to optimize the market potential of region or sub regions and there will be more balances of power in terms of economy and trade. A regional currency and fewer currencies in the world will be more helpful in terms of redefining the capital market and exchange rate mechanism and monetary policy. Regional Development Banks formed on democratic principles and accountability mechanism can help the smaller countries and financing development in the respective region. An International Currency, coordinated by the reformed World Bank or such institution will help to stabilize the international economy in a more effective way. Regional Integration can only be done without affecting the autonomy of the participant states as well as by granting more autonomous space for sub nationalities and marginalized ethnic minorities. Regional or sub regional (e.g. South Asia) can play the role of a policy making forum, with specific conflict resolution mechanism.
5) Global Accountability framework for transnational corporations and institutions. There has to be a global framework that will make transnational corporations accountable, transparent and just. Transnational corporations and international NGOs with more than US$ 200 million should have clear accountability and transparency mechanism (including sources of revenue, expenditure, salaries, work ethic, principles of management) so that citizens and consumers can hold them to account for their actions.
6) Disarmament and global framework to regulate small arms: There has to be time bound mechanism to reduce weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. Small arms kill more people and perpetuate violent conflict in poor countries by furthering impoverishment and deprivation. So there has to be total ban or very stringent regulation for selling small arms to the public and to non-state actors and strict regulation for the production and marketing of small arms. It is important to have an effective International Treaty on Small Arms.
7) An International Conflict Resolution at the reformed United Nations: There has to be an international framework to stop the use of military force in the cases of international disputes or conflict. In the absence of such a mechanism, periodic wars will devastate parts of the world or the entire world. We need to learn from the mistakes during the Vietnam War and now Iraq War. Such wars never solved any issues or problems, except help the powerful countries to get a boost from the war economy.
8) An International Tax Framework: The unbridled flow of financial capital is a cause of real concern for the countries and economies of the developing world. The financial crisis in South East Asia in 1997 amply demonstrated this. Hence, there has to be some global mechanism to regulate the flow of finance capital and also a nominal taxation on the international flow of capital beyond a certain amount. Such taxation (like the one suggested by the economist James Tobin) will help to develop a global trust fund to finance human development and anti-poverty programmes as well as to address issues of climate change.
9) A global framework on Climate Change and Consumption: Unethical and market driven consumption and irresponsible use of energy-depended technology and travel are the prime reasons for carbon emission. The present economic growth model, which survive because of unbridled market growth, consumption and profit motive. Such an unbridled economic growth model is a cardinal cause for the carbon emission and resultant global warming. Unless there is limits to such consumption based growth model, we will be doing a grave injustice to the coming generation and to the biodiversity and the earth itself. Hence, there has to be measures for cumulative taxation (for instance, when you by a second car, there will be more and if you have third one, hundred percent more etc) on consumption, particularly that energy intensive equipments. There can also be a taxation on air travel and more economic incentive for the use of clean technology and for research of new energy sources ( other than fossil fuels)
10) An International Charter on Just and Democratic Governance: This should help to enable democratization and citizens’ participation and accountability measures during and after election. This also should have an international agreement on electoral reforms. Increasingly the Media Empires and big Corporations are controlling or influencing Party Politics and electoral politics. So there has to be a framework for regulating the role of media (by having a code of conduct for poll surveys) and that of corporate donations (making it transparent, accountable with clear limits for such donation). This should also include an accountability and
Democracy framework for political parties to ensure that there is internal democracy, public accountability and transparency among political parties. Political parties that comply with charter and who manage to get five percent of votes may be able to avail public funding based on a budget to run the party as well as some funding for the election campaign. It will be also worthwhile to impose a nominal tax on citizens who do not vote in the normal circumstances. The rate of voting in many of the so-called democracies is alarmingly low. Such fines may help to fund the election
Commissions.

11) A Global Trust Fund for Financing Human Development and addressing challenges faced by Humanity. There has to be an international mechanism to raise resources (e.g.: Introducing Tax framework for internal flow of finance capital and international travel and freight) as well as contribution by all countries with a certain amount of GDP. Such Fund should be managed by a democratically elected Board (by the member countries) with regional representation and economic (poor and rich countries) and such funds should be managed and disbursed in a transparent and accountable manner.


At the National Level, policy framework may vary from country to country. However, there could be potential policy options for ensuring equity, justice, sustainability and accountability. Some of the options are the following”

1) Budget Transparency and Accountability: There has to be clear mechanism for citizens’ participation and role in budget formulation and budget monitoring. Participatory Budgeting is a prerequisite for economic justice as well as for ensuring efficient and effective use of budget.
2) Transfer of economic resources to rural areas as to regenerate rural economy, agriculture and market. This will help to reduce the unprecedented rural-urban migration and resultant increase in urban poverty and violence.
3) Investing in Human Development: A National Level Fund to ensure human development for all and particularly to ensure health and education of the marginalized sections and groups.
4) Electoral Reforms to make sure those Political parties are well funded, accountable, democratic and transparent and measures to put a maximum limit of eight years for any particular person to be the head of the government or the chief functionary of the government.
5) Strengthening Local Self Governance: Local Self Governance should be strengthened through the devolution of finance, administration and service delivery. Local Self Governance can have clear mechanism for participatory budgeting and planning to ensure accountability and transparency. This can also reduce the number of employees at the national level.
6) Strengthening Women’s Political Participation in all elected bodies: Active participation of women can substantively change the political process and strengthen democratization. There has to be conscious measures to ensure the participation of women as well as the marginalized sections.
7) Affirmative Action for Right to Education and Right to Work: There has to be conscious legislative and policy measures to ensure high quality public education to the citizens in general and marginalized sections in particular. Conscious efforts to generate employment and economic opportunities in the rural areas will help to address issues of poverty.
8) Economic and other reforms to ensure equity: This will include land reforms as well women’s right over land and conscious efforts to strengthen the economic capability of the poor through rural credit programmes and financing self employment and helping to build up sustainable local economies and market through forming and strengthening cooperative finance service, cooperative production facilities and marketing. One can also develop mechanism to link up local market with global market.
9) High Investment to ensure quality higher and technical Education and Research: Unless national governments invest in high quality higher and technical education and research, there will always be knowledge and technical dependency on rich countries in the north. The hegemony of the rich and powerful northern countries (and erstwhile colonial and imperialist powers) is primarily due to the knowledge domination and trade domination. Hence, a very conscious efforts to invest in higher and technical education and research is an absolute prerequisite to build a more just and multi polar world.
10) Right to Information and Public Accountability Mechanism: There has to be an effective Right to Information law and accountability framework for all the public officials, including elected representative. The sources of income of the elected representative and public official need to be made public and their tax returns also need to be public. In case, if such information proved to be wrong, or fabricated stringent measures including the preventing them from occupying public office or contesting elections need to be contemplated. Such strong accountability framework will help to reduce corruption to a large extent.


Many of these public policy options are indicative rather than comprehensive. There is indeed a need to have a paradigm shift of public policy making and implementation. The present neo-liberal and neo-conservative policy making process are inherently divisive and will perpetuate violence, poverty and agony all over the world. So we need to think, act and move towards a more humanist, ethical, human rights based and democratically accountable Policy Paradigm for heralding another world: A world of Human Rights for all where every person can live with dignity, where no one will go to bed hungry, a world without wars, a world of freedom from want and freedom from fear, a world that is sustainable…a world where every human person can realize her or his creative potential, a world of ethical consumption, ethical market and democratic state…a JUST World. We need to keep alive our capability to dream, capability to aspire, capability to change and transform this world to make more just and joyful to us and to the coming generations. We need to create a new politics and new poetry towards such a world. We still need Utopias!!