[E-rundbrief] Info 749 - Radical economic transformation

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 749 - The global economic crisis: An historic 
opportunity for transformation. An initial response from individuals, 
social movements and non-governmental organisations in support of a 
transitional programme for radical economic transformation, Beijing, 15 
October 2008

Bad Ischl, 21.10.2008

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

================================================

The global economic crisis: An historic opportunity for transformation

October 21st, 2008

An initial response from individuals, social movements and 
non-governmental organisations in support of a transitional programme 
for radical economic transformation Beijing, 15 October 2008

Preamble

Taking advantage of the opportunity of so many people from movements 
gathering in Beijing during the Asia-Europe People's Forum, the 
Transnational Institute and Focus on the Global South convened informal 
nightly meetings between 13 and 15 October 2008. We took stock of the 
meaning of the unfolding global economic crisis and the opportunity it 
presents for us to put into the public domain some of the inspiring and 
feasible alternatives many of us have been working on for decades. This 
statement represents the collective outcome of our Beijing nights. We, 
the initial signatories, mean this to be a contribution towards efforts 
to formulate proposals around which our movements can organise as the 
basis for a radically different kind of political and economic order. 
Please sign on to this statement by adding your name in the comments 
section.


The Crisis

The global financial system is unravelling at great speed. This is 
happening in the midst of a multiplicity of crises in relation to food, 
climate and energy. It severely weakens the power of the US and the EU, 
and the global institutions they dominate, particularly the 
International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade 
Organisation. Not only is the legitimacy of the neo-liberal paradigm in 
question, but the very future of capitalism itself.

Such is the chaos in the global financial system that Northern 
governments have resorted to measures progressive movements have 
advocated for years, such as nationalisation of banks. These moves are 
intended, however, as short-term stabilisation measures and once the 
storm clears, they are likely to return the banks to the private sector. 
We have a short window of opportunity to mobilise so that they are not.

The challenge and the opportunity

We are entering uncharted terrain with this conjuncture of profound 
crises -- the fall out from the financial crisis will be severe. People 
are being thrown into a deep sense of insecurity; misery and hardship 
will increase for many poorer people everywhere. We should not cede this 
moment to fascist, right wing populist, xenophobic groups, who will 
surely try to take advantage of people's fear and anger for reactionary 
ends.

Powerful movements against neo-liberalism have been built over many 
decades. This will grow as critical coverage of the crisis enlightens 
more people, who are already angry at public funds being diverted to pay 
for problems they are not responsible for creating, and already 
concerned about the ecological crisis and rising prices -- especially of 
food and energy. The movements will grow further as recession starts to 
bite and economies start sinking into depression.

There is a new openness to alternatives. To capture people's attention 
and support, they must be practical and immediately feasible. We have 
convincing alternatives that are already underway, and we have many 
other good ideas attempted in the past, but defeated. Our alternatives 
put the well-being of people and the planet at their centre. For this, 
democratic control over financial and economic institutions are 
required. This is the "red thread" connecting up the proposals presented 
below.

Proposals for debate, elaboration and action

Finance

     * Introduce full-scale socialisation of banks, not just 
nationalisation of bad assets.
     * Create people-based banking institutions and strengthen existing 
popular forms of lending based on mutuality and solidarity.
     * Institutionalise full transparency within the financial system 
through the opening of the books to the public, to be facilitated by 
citizen and worker organisations.
     * Introduce parliamentary and citizens' oversight of the existing 
banking system
     * Apply social ( including labour conditions) and environmental 
criteria to all lending, including for business purposes
     * Prioritise lending, at minimum rates of interest, to meet social 
and environmental needs and to expand the already growing social economy
     * Overhaul central banks in line with democratically determined 
social, environmental and expansionary (to counter the recession) 
objectives, and make them publicly accountable institutions.
     * Safeguard migrant remittances to their families and introduce 
legislation to restrict charges and taxes on transfers

Taxation

     * Close all tax havens
     * End tax breaks for fossil fuel and nuclear energy companies
     * Apply stringent progressive tax systems
     * Introduce a global taxation system to prevent transfer pricing 
and tax evasion
     * Introduce a levy on nationalised bank profits with which to 
establish citizen investment funds (see below)
     * Impose stringent progressive carbon taxes on those with the 
biggest carbon footprints
     * Adopt controls, such as Tobin taxes, on the movements of 
speculative capital
     * Re-introduce tariffs and duties on imports of luxury goods and 
other goods already produced locally as a means of increasing the 
state's fiscal base, as well as a means to support local production and 
thereby reduce carbon emissions globally

Public Spending and Investment

     * Radically reduce military spending
     * Redirect government spending from bailing out bankers to 
guaranteeing basic incomes and social security, and providing 
universally accessible basic social services such as housing, water, 
electricity, health, education, child care, and access to the internet 
and other public communications facilities.
     * Use citizen funds (see above) to support very poor communities
     * Ensure that people at risk of losing their homes due to defaults 
on mortgages caused by the crisis are offered renegotiated terms of payment
     * Stop privatisations of public services
     * Establish public enterprises under the control of parliaments, 
local communities and/or workers to increase employment
     * Improve the performance of public enterprises through 
democratising management - encourage public service managers, staff, 
unions and consumer organisations to collaborate to this end
     * Introduce participatory budgeting over public finances at all 
feasible levels
     * Invest massively in improved energy efficiency, low carbon 
emitting public transport, renewable energy and environmental repair
     * Control or subsidise the prices of basic commodities

International Trade and Finance

     * Introduce a permanent global ban on short-selling of stock and shares
     * Ban on trade in derivatives
     * Ban all speculation on staple food commodities
     * Cancel the debt of all developing countries -- debt is mounting as 
the crisis causes the value of Southern currencies to fall
     * Support the United Nations call to be involved in discussions 
about how the to resolve the crisis, which is going to have a much 
bigger impact on Southern economies than is currently being acknowledged
     * Phase out the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World 
Trade Organisation
     * Phase out the US dollar as the international reserve currency
     * Establish a people's inquiry into the mechanisms necessary for a 
just international monetary system.
     * Ensure aid transfers do not fall as a result of the crisis
     * Abolish tied aid
     * Abolish neo-liberal aid conditionalities
     * Phase out the paradigm of export-led development, and refocus 
sustainable development on production for the local and regional market
     * Introduce incentives for products produced for sale closest to 
the local market
     * Cancel all negotiations for bilateral free trade and economic 
partnership agreements
     * Promote regional economic co-operation arrangements, such as 
UNASUR, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), the Trade 
Treaty of the Peoples and others, that encourage genuine development and 
an end to poverty.

Environment

     * Introduce a global system of compensation for countries which do 
not exploit fossil fuel reserves in the global interests of limiting 
effects on the climate, such as Ecuador has proposed.
     * Pay reparations to Southern countries for the ecological 
destruction wrought by the North to assist peoples of the South to deal 
with climate change and other environmental crises.
     * Strictly implement the "precautionary principle" of the UN 
Declaration on the Right to Development as a condition for all 
developmental and environmental projects.
     * End lending for projects under the Kyoto Protocol's "Clean 
Development Mechanism" that are environmentally destructive, such as 
monoculture plantations of eucalyptus, soya and palm oil.
     * Stop the development of carbon trading and other environmentally 
counter-productive techno-fixes, such as carbon capture and 
sequestration, agrofuels, nuclear power and 'clean coal' technology.
     * Adopt strategies to radically reduce consumption in the rich 
countries, while promoting sustainable development in poorer countries
     * Introduce democratic management of all international funding 
mechanisms for climate change mitigation, with strong participation from 
Southern countries and civil society.

Agriculture and Industry

     * Phase out the pernicious paradigm of industry-led development, 
where the rural sector is squeezed to provide the resources necessary to 
support industrialisation and urbanisation
     * Promote agricultural strategies aimed at achieving food security, 
food sovereignty and sustainable farming.
     * Promote land reforms and other measures which support small 
holder agriculture and sustain peasant and indigenous communities
     * Stop the spread of socially and environmentally destructive 
mono-cultural enterprises.
     * Stop labour law reforms aimed at extending hours of work and 
making it easier for employers to fire or retrench workers
     * Secure jobs through outlawing precarious low paid work
     * Guarantee equal pay for equal work for women -- as a basic 
principle and to help counter the coming recession by increasing 
workers' capacity to consume.
     * Protect the rights of migrant workers in the event of job losses, 
ensuring their safe return to and reintegration into their home 
countries. For those who cannot return, there should be no forced 
return, their security should be guaranteed, and they should be provided 
with employment or a basic minimum income.

Conclusion

These are all practical, common sense proposals. Some are initiatives 
already underway and demonstrably feasible. Their successes need to be 
publicised and popularised so as to inspire reproduction. Others are 
unlikely to be implemented on their objective merits alone. Political 
will is required. By implication, therefore, every proposal is a call to 
action.

We have written what we see as a living document to be developed and 
enriched by us all. Please sign on to this statement at the bottom of 
the page.

A future occasion to come together to work on the actions needed to make 
these ideas and others a reality will be the World Social Forum in 
Belem, Brazil at the end of January 2009.

We have the experience and the ideas - let's meet the challenge of the 
present ruling disorder and keep the momentum towards an alternative 
rolling!!

Initial Signatories

(among many others also Matthias Reichl and the Center for Encounter and 
Active Non-Violence with the comment:
"We have to resist non-violently against the wrong-directed decisions of 
governments and finance-institutions and to organise alternative 
survival-systems.")

The full list of organisations and individuals and the comments see at 
the homepage of the Casino-Crash-initiative:

http://casinocrash.org/?p=235#comments


-- 

Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
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fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
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