Ready or not, a newer world emerges

Louis Moyston

Saturday, February 11, 2012

The new world order established in the 1980s by President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Aspen, Colorado, is dead. Market fundamentalism has destroyed global capitalism. Newer poles of global leadership are emerging to challenge the thinking and dominance of the Anglo-Saxon Alliance. It is noticeable that most, if not all of the nations in the emerging power centres have a high level of state participation in their development strategies. Complementing the emergence of these newer poles of power in global leadership are the international mass movements and the "occupy" demonstrations in the major capitalist centres. These contemporary movements are rooted in that major demonstration that occurred at the 1999 WTO conference in Seattle, Washington, USA. Where does Jamaica stand in the scheme of things as they appear in the global community today?

During the process of decolonisation of the European colonies, the world was divided into two major power spheres: East and West, the communist and the capitalist centres. The "South" (the Third World) emerged some time in the early 1950s. Out of this experience, men like Nehru, Tito and others initiated and nurtured the Non Aligned Movement of Nations (NAM). This tradition was vigorously defended by Michael Manley and others during the 1970s. The NAM and the New International Economic Order (NIEO) emerged to facilitate appropriate trading and development strategies for the Third World ("South"). Today we are witnessing another juncture in the history of the world: NATO powers are failing economically. Most of those countries depended on their colonial territories for free and cheap labour, as well as an abundance of resources. Those systems were built off conquest and the lack of access may be partly associated with such decline. A few years ago we heard about the potential prosperity of the untested hypothesis of the European Union. Today a major crisis threatens the very existence of the Union. George Soros (1998) in his book The crisis of global capitalism predicted that market fundamentalism would destroy global capitalism; and that there would be some dangerous outcomes in both the metropolitan centres and the periphery (developing countries).

As the traditional global power brokers decline we witness the rise of poles - the newer world. The article "Six set to fuel south to south cooperation" (Observer, June 5, 2011) illustrates how India and other emerging powers such as Brazil, China, Indonesia, South Korea and Russia set out to discuss ways to "help to drive growth in lower-income countries through cross-border commercial and financial transactions". The Russian representative emphasises the central role of science and technology in this process. The conference was inspired by a World Bank report that recognises the changing global system, especially the decline of the dominating single currency system. According to another article, "Putin proposes setting up Eurasian union" (Observer, October 5, 2011), the Russian prime minister for the union of former Soviet nations is to become a major player in the global community competing with the United States, European Union and Asia. He describes the move as the emergence of one of the "poles in the modern world serving as an efficient link between the European and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region". A third report "World economy top worry for leaders at Americas talk" (Observer, December 4, 2011) informs that at the December 2, 2011 meeting "leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean pledge safer ties to safeguard their countries from the world financial crisis". The gathering signals the formation of a new bloc in the Americas, excluding the USA and Canada. It is not clear if Jamaica attended the meeting. While the Brazilian president emphasised the concern of the danger of the global community, President Evo Morales argued that the "IMF pillaged us and led us into poverty". The president of Colombia noted the potential of growth of the countries in the region in a "world going through great uncertainty" where there is "a hurricane that's hitting the so-called industrialised countries". President Chavez expressed his solidarity with Cuba and called for closer economic ties with China. These themes are important critiques and lessons about the Anglo-Saxon Alliance and its associated international regimes in the global society.

These newer poles of power are emerging at a time when the "Occupy protests spread to US colleges" (Observer, November 20, 2011). These protests and global mass movements are rooted in that mass protest movement that emerged in the winter of 1999 at the WTO conference at Seattle, Washington, USA. (Deeper roots can be found in the events leading up to the French Revolution.) There is that anti-capitalist theme at the core of the protest.

Indeed, workers of the world are uniting as national and global capitalism face a terminal crisis. It was so instructive to listen to the BBC debates on the Davos meeting relating to a crucial discussion on the failure of capitalism and the new ideas for the emergence of a new thinking; also interesting is the prominent role of the state and state entrepreneurialism in the rise of these emerging powers: Brazil, China, India, Russia, South Africa and also the major rising "tigers" in Asia. There are a number of lessons for Jamaica to learn from these experiences. There is the lesson of thinking about and actively developing association with newer poles of power; there is also the lesson of the terminal impact of market fundamentalism on global and national capitalism; and there is also the lesson of the critical and creative role of the state in development. As we approach the 50th anniversary of Independence it is very important that we seek new paths to advance the national interest of Jamaica in a modern world.

thearchives01@yahoo.com

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Ready or not, a newer world emerges