3D
Campaigning . . . for
Global Economic Reform

• sustaining
  Development
• extending
  Democracy
• ending
  Debt

Policies for people & planet . . .

As a result of our poor stewardship of our planet we face a potentially apocalyptic future. Our unstable global economic and monetary system forces people to grow cash crops for export, to finance debt repayment, when they themselves are poor and malnourished. Deforestation, unsustainable agriculture and heavy reliance on fossil fuels have created global warming. Observance of human rights is selective at best, and sometimes nonexistent. And if that is not sufficiently dire, there is still the bomb ticking away in the hands of an expanding and increasingly rowdy nuclear club.

Battling to bring humanity back from the brink of destruction, activists throughout the world fight to protect our environment, campaign to end debt and poverty, and organise to promote human rights, peace and development. Increasingly they are aware that the sources and causes of their concern are inextricably linked.

Common roots suggest common solutions. In a world where profit maximisation rules supreme, all roads lead to the global economic and financial system. We need radical changes to that system.

Decision makers within capitalist enterprises give much more weight to their own short term gains than to any future or more general benefit. Supposed regulators of international trade and finance, such as the WTO, are in practice captives to the transnationals' agenda.

. . . problems with common causes
need common solutions . . .

Economic growth is primarily assessed through crude measures which ignore the effects of production on the environment and health, the impact in terms of social justice and wealth distribution, and other factors affecting our quality of life. If you can't measure it, put a price on it, and make a profit on it then it becomes irrelevant. Growth is the imperative.

Financial markets and debt demand growth. Money must multiply to maintain the momentum of the economy. It doesn't matter that deforestation is the inevitable result of the rapid economic growth policies adopted by many developing nations in response to the demands of the global financial institutions; or that modern agriculture uses ten calories of non-renewable energy to produce one calorie of food, where traditional practices yielded two for one; or that deals are done with the most despicable of dictatorships. Unless it has an impact on share prices and dividends . . .

Governments, under pressure from transnationals and global institutions, find themselves trapped by the short-termism and the demands for unsustainable growth which are inherent in our current global economic system. These demands are inevitable consequences of how we create and use money, how we organise and control our economies and enterprises, and the criteria by which we judge economic success. A long term solution requires us to identify and make the radical changes necessary to eliminate these fundamental flaws.

. . . Global Economic Reform

People do not vote for governments because they want them to give away their powers to unelected global institutions. Yet governments have done so, and we are paying the price for the myopic incompetence of governments and supranational organisations; and the greed of the transnationals who exert their influence over them to the detriment of people and planet.

We believe, however, that the process is reversible through collective grassroots pressure, and that there is an alternative global economic strategy which can replace the greed and self-interest which now holds our world to ransom.

A few months ago, a handful of people in Scotland met to discuss what could be done. We agreed that any campaign must involve and unify in action the diverse forces already campaigning on the issues. Such a campaign would create a network among existing organisations - but should also be flexible enough to engage new supporters, and to address new opportunities for campaigning, such as the Scottish Parliament.

At subsequent meetings, which have involved activists from NGOs, churches, and the labour movement, we decided to start by building support for the concept of such a campaign among Scottish organisations and activists.

We prepared a short pamphlet that pointed the finger at some fundamental flaws, and made some suggestions for remedies - but also made it clear that the purpose of the pamphlet was to stimulate interest and debate, not to serve as a definitive and immutable founding statement. (Not least, this was because we live in an imperfect world, and any "perfect" solution is not only doomed to fail, but is also likely to be morally repugnant. We reject the free market dogmas of the "libertarian" right, and all authoritarian prescriptions, such as the scapegoating of any social group.)

We would like to become part of a global network, connecting national, regional and local groups. If you agree that we need to link up the various dimensions of our campaigning, and can help in Scotland, or know of (or want to create) similar initiatives elsewhere, or simply want more information, then please get in touch.

(old contact details removed)

Please indicate if you wish to be involved in the organisation of the campaign, and it would also be helpful if you could list any relevant organisations of which you are already a member.