25th January: Debating globalisation25 January 2004
Today is the last day for us here in the Swiss mountains, and also the last day of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). After packing up the office at the Public Eye on Davos, we headed over to the "Open Forum" to take a look at the WEF`s notional nod towards public participation.
The afternoon panel was entitled "Globalisation or Deglobalisation for the Benefit of the Poorest?" Surely this question misses the main thrust of the public debate around globalisation?
In our experience, people world-wide are questioning whether the current form of globalisation - which mostly benefits the richest people and big business at the expense of poorer people and the environment - really the only one we can come up with?
It`s too simplistic to talk about globalisation vs deglobalisation.
But luckily the panel at the Open Forum included Joseph Stiglitz. Stiglitz is:
- Former Chief Economist at the World Bank
- Advisor to Bill Clinton when he was President
- Author of Globalization and its Discontents.
He is famous as one of the few main-stream economists who have actually spoken out against the policies of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions.
He wasted no time in explaining how so many of the economic policies are failing.
For example, he explained that economists at the IMF care more about inflation than they do unemployment because they don't spend much time with people who are unemployed and don't see the consequences.
The Open Forum ended with a press conference at which we asked Andre Schneider (Managing Director of the WEF) how he could justify keeping the participants list secret each year while also preaching the need for transparency and dialogue? He seemed to accept the criticism and said he would consider making it public next year. We shall see!
Finally, the day ended with a member of the local public presenting our colleague Miriam Behrens from Pro Natura (Friends of the Earth Switzerland) with some flowers in the street, ".as a thank you for organising the Public Eye".
It seems very clear to us that local people quite rightly still see the Public Eye as the home of real debate, even with all the publicity and money that has been thrown at the Open Forum.
Don't let big business rule the world,
Craig and Eve
Craig Bennett and Eve Mitchell, our Corporates Campaigners are sending daily updates direct from the World Economic Forum.
© Friends of the Earth
