[GJM] Need for New Social Alliance/Susan George.

Fri Jun 6 05:45:09 MDT 2008

This might be of some interest...
&nbsp;
Robert Searle&nbsp; www.p2pfoundation.net/Transfinancial_Economics
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&nbsp;

--- On Fri, 6/6/08, feasta at yahoogroups.com &lt;feasta at yahoogroups.com&gt; wrote:

From: feasta at yahoogroups.com &lt;feasta at yahoogroups.com&gt;
Subject: [feasta] Digest Number 1434
To: feasta at yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, 6 June, 2008, 12:49 AM

Feasta is the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability based in Ireland 

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FW: 'Need for New Social Alliance:' Interview with political economi From: Deirdre DeBurca 
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FW: 'Need for New Social Alliance:' Interview with political economi 
Posted by: "Deirdre DeBurca" deburcad at gofree.indigo.ie 
Wed Jun&nbsp;4,&nbsp;2008 2:19&nbsp;pm (PDT) 

bject: 'Need for New Social Alliance:' Interview with political economist
Susan George

Q&amp;A: ‘NEED FOR NEW SOCIAL ALLIANCE:’ Interview with political economist
Susan George

Inter Press Service (IPS), 3 June 2008.

FLORENCE - A global alliance of human rights activists, environmentalists
and ethically run small enterprises is needed to save the planet from
self-destruction, says Susan George, chair of the Planning Board of the
Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. The institute works "to contribute to
social justice."

Susan George, author of several books on development, now focuses on
neo-liberal globalisation mirrored in the World Trade Organisation talks,
international financial institutions and in North-South relations.

"Even if committed to the social and environmental challenges, none of these
groups individually will be able to save our future, which is dominated by
powerful economic forces that have a short-term view and, if allowed, will
continue exploiting and destroying the planet," George says.

We must recognise, she says, that change does not happen at an individual
level. "Yes, I can change my light bulbs or reduce my carbon footprint, but
we need a radical revolution that cannot be achieved individually. "

IPS Italy correspondent Sabina Zaccaro spoke with Susan George at Terra
Futura, an exhibition of 'good practices' in social, economic and
environmental sustainability held yearly in Florence. In its fifth year,
Terra Futura was dedicated to strengthening social alliances -- and trying
some audacious ones such as alliances among private citizens and financial
institutions.

IPS: Will the political-economic system really allow these alliances to
happen?

Susan George: The market ideology works to separate people, it is a model
that separates people on a competition basis. Social contact is the only
response to economy that works all the time to prevent this.

People do not have to abandon their own field and commitment, but become
used to working together. We are free agents, and if we understand that
there's an interest, that the vast majority of people can often no longer
see where their interests lie -- and that is part of the political fight
that we have -- then it is possible.

If you show to people that they have an interest in alliances, and this is
true for farmers, trade unionists, small medium enterprises…then yes, I
think it possible to make those alliances.

IPS: And who sets the rules?

SG: It is hard to get binding rules, it could be easier at the level of the
regions. In many places this is not possible because of corruption, or
because the will of the government is to prevent this kind of thing and
allow transnational corporations to do whatever they like. I would say that
that's what the European Commission is there for -- to allow finance
capitals and transnational capitals to operate as freely as possible.

IPS: Can the ethical argument alone convince business?

SG: No, not at all. They say how green they are, how caring they are, but
it's rubbish to believe it...Corporations and transnational organisations
preach self-green regulation; 'we will bring the proper solution', they say,
but it is totally illusive.

IPS: So, what can be a convincing argument?

SG: The right arguments are the arguments of force you cannot argue with,
you don't discuss; you don't say 'please'. When you are in a position where
you are able to dictate.

IPS: How?

SG: Well, through alliances! At a much larger scale, at a big scale...the
problem is scale. Alliances must be as broad as possible. Economic power is
way ahead of us, so to me the problem is, can we go fast enough, become
important enough in order to put a stop to that, to escape the current
impasse.

IPS: Does politics have a role in that?

SG: If it would be just politics, I would not be that worried, since things
due over centuries sort themselves out; but with the environment we don't
have that kind of time. I don't say it often in public, because I don't want
people be in despair, but I am often in despair.

IPS: Are you totally pessimistic?

SG: I am hopeful; the only thing you can work on is hope. Generally,
politicians are the last to move, but we need to make alliance with them.

When politicians have an interest in something, they show that they are able
to listen. Look at what happens with prices...and scarcity. Politicians and
business do listen to that, they listen to the price of oil -- they bring
the wrong solutions, but they listen to price signals.

IPS: Can oil be replaced with agro-fuels?

SG: It's criminal. There's a lot of talk about using plants that are bio --
but any plant is bio. I've just read that some of the species they're
intending to use are invasive species, they take over, and then will spread
all over and take all the water out of the ground, and so on.

So, it's always the same thing -- you cannot have just a techno solution
because there's the entire environment that you have to consider. I am not
an agronomist, but I would refuse any introduction, any crop until the
impact of that crop on the rest of the environment has been studied. You
cannot just say 'Ok, this is good, we will harvest it, and we will do
ethanol out of it', because you don't know.

That's also what's wrong with GMO (genetically modified organisms) seeds.
They only look at the plant and what that plant is supposed to do, to
repulse insects or whatever, but they don't look at the whole of the
environment, it's not their task.

Scientists are perfectly able to make a plant that can repulse insects, but
they have no knowledge at all of how the birds, the butterflies, the worms,
the bacteria, will react.

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