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Transforming World Bank, IMF And WTO For Social Equity, Ecological Safety And Distributive Justice For Renewable Resource Based Livelihoods
By Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar Alam
The Context
Anti-Globalization Protest
Defines Our Times As Much As
There Are Endeavors For
Globalization Of The Movement Of
Capital And Technologies, Labour
And Services, Consumption And
Production Patterns.
Globalization Of The
Non-Renewable Resource Based
Consumption And Production
Pattern Has Been Indicted To Be
Responsible For Increase In The
Emission Of Green House Gases.
Millennium Development Goals Has
Been Signed Along With Several
Other Documents That Call For
Action For Ensuring Justice For
All And Ensuring An Era Of Peace
With Justice. In India, Wada Na
Todo Abhiyan (Keep The Promises
Campaign) And A Group Of
Organisations Organized A South
Asia Peoples Summit Against
Poverty In September 2005 Where
Declarations Reflected The
Demands Of The People,
Marginalized All Over The
Country. Special Sessions Were
Conducted On Globalization That
Called For Scrutiny Of The
Foreign Capital In The Country
While Describing World Bank, WTO
And IMF As Part Of The “Unholy
Trinity” That Is Presiding Over
The Misery Of People And
Destruction Of Planet.
Declarations Of The People
Summit Against Poverty Have Been
Shared With UN. Civil Society
Organizations Have Organized
Several Events Under Global Call
To Action Against Poverty (GCAP).
There Is A Global UN Campaign
For Realizing Millennium
Development Goals With Calls For
Debt Cancellation And Debt
Forgiveness For Realizing
Millennium Development Goals.
Events Have Been Planned All
Over The World Calling For Debt
Cancellation. Oxfam Has Led A
Campaign For Debt Relief And
Trade Justice. Some Announcement
For Debt Reliefs Were Made But
Then The Same Was Proposed For
Deduction From The Grants That
Were To Be Provided Under The
Official Development Assistance.
It Can Be Seen That Debt Relief
Is Not A Sustainable Solution As
There Is No Guarantee That
Unsustainable Debts Will Not Be
Created In The Future.
Therefore, There Is A Need To
Get Beyond The Call For Debt
Cancellation And Work For
Addressing The Root Cause Of
Indebtedness Within And Among
The Nations And Institutions.
This Paper Will Focus On The
Following:
Ø
Addressing The Root Cause Of
Indebtedness
Ø
Establishing Linkage Of The
Usurious Finance System With The
Ecologically Hostile Development
Paradigm Promoted As Part Of
Globalization Of The
Prescriptions Of The Economists
Of Washington Consensus And
Protected Through The
Formulation Of Security
Doctrines That Does Not Care For
The Ecological Implications Of
The Globalization Of
Unsustainable Consumption And
Production Patterns.
Ø Protecting The Ecologically
Sustainable Livelihoods As Part
Of Poverty Reduction
Ø
Establishing Local And Global
Solidarities Of Action For
Transforming The Finance Sector
There Are Evidences Supporting
The Case Of The Transforming The
Processes And Redesigning The
Mechanisms That Ensure Freedom
From Indebtedness. It Is
Important To Seek Redress Of The
Root Cause Of The Indebtedness.
Forgiving The Debts And
Transforming The Debt To Aid
Could Be One Time Solution But
Ensuring Protection Of The Local
Resources And Revenue Receipts
From Taxation In The Highly
Indebtedness Nations Is Critical
For Preventing The Outflow Of
Hard Earned Foreign Exchanges.
This Can Be Done Only Through
Freeing The Debt From Interest
As Interest Based Debts Will
Continue To Be A Reason For The
Outflow Of The Hard Earned
Foreign Exchanges And Chronic
Indebtedness Of The Nations.
Thus Freedom From Interest Based
Debt And Money Is A Critical
Step For Addressing The Root
Cause Of Indebtedness Of The
Poor And Developing Countries
That Also Form The Group Of
Highly Indebted Countries. It
Has Been Also Established That
Continuation Of Interest Bearing
Debt Based Financing Is
Ecologically Hostile. Creation
Of The Infrastructure Without
Having A Guaranteed Supply Of
The Energy Is Also Ecologically
Hostile. This Makes It
Imperative That International
And National Finance Sector Is
Transformed. Considering The
Above, The Paper Will Attempt To
Address The Following Questions:
Ø
Why There Is A Need To Transform
The Finance Sector And Transform
World Bank, IMF And WTO
Ø
What Is Being Done At The Global
Level Towards Transformation
Ø
What Is Being Done At The
National Level
Ø
What Can Be Done
Ø
How To Strengthen The Movements
And Get Results
Reasons For Transforming The
Finance Sector
Evidences Are Mounting
Indicating The Need To Transform
The Finance Sector Radically
Though There Is Not Much
Discussion In The Civil Society
About The Ways Transformation
Can Be Effected. Even The Left
Has No Clue, As They Are More
Content With Demonizing The
Capitalist Order. Based On The
Learnings From Interaction With
The E-Forums And Movements
Globally , I Would Like To Cite
The Following Reasons For
Transforming The World Bank, IMF
And WTO.
1.
Increasing Demands On The State To Ensure Equity And
Ecological Sustainability- Following The Demands Of The Movements And
Scientific Assessments Ensuring
Ecological Sustainability And
Global Equity Of The Consumption
And Production Processes Has
Been Accepted As A Key
Consideration And Sustainable
Development Paradigm Has Been
Accepted To Be Part Of The
Development Policies Of The
Nations That Have Signed The
Millennium Development Goals.
Realization Of The Millennium
Development Goals For
Sustainable Consumption And
Production Cannot Be Achieved
Without Decelerating The
Consumption Of Fossil Fuel Based
Services And Utilities. This Is
Needed For Meeting The
Challenges Of The Climate Change
And Addressing The Kyoto
Protocol Emission Targets. While
Technology Transfer, Clean
Development Mechanisms Can Have
Impact, It Is Important To Get
The Required Reduction In The
Global Emission Of The Green
House Gases Through Transforming
The Consumption, Production,
Budgetary Allocation And Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI)
Patterns. Eliminating Generation
Of Debt-Based Money Is An
Important Way To Minimize The
Flow Of Money In The Economies
Of North And South. It Is
Important To Stabilize The
Currency Values And Ensure
Protection To The Ecologically
Sustainable Sources Of
Livelihoods Across The World. An
Unprecedented Heating Of
Economies Is Being Offered As
The Vision For Growing Economies
Such As India And China Without
Realizing The Limits To The
Sustainability Condition Of The
Exhaustible Resources. There Is
Guarantee For Ensuring
Sustainability Of The GDP
Growth Rates As There Is No
Guarantee For The Supplies Of
Energy For Fuelling The
Transportation Systems Based On
Fossil Fuel Based Energy.
2.
Increased Debt Service Obligation Due To The Charging
Of The Compound Interests- Debt Service Obligations Of The Nations In South And
North Need To Be Eliminated For
Ecologically Sustainable Growth
And For Liberating Resources For
Ensuring Access To Basic
Services. Some Years Ago India
Had To Pay More Than 40% Of The
Tax Receipt For Servicing The
Debt. The Money Could Have Been
Used For Developing
Infrastructure For Providing
Basic Services. This Is
Applicable To Many Nations Of
The South That Are Advised To
Reform Their Economies For
Attracting More And More Fdis
While Being Compelled To The
Repay The Debts Through Getting
More Loans Under Various
Stabilizing Mechanisms.
Charging Of Compound Interest
For Both Short Tem And Long Term
Loans Needs To Be Avoided As
This Is Responsible For The
Outflow Of The Foreign Currency
And Tax Receipts /Local
Resources That Are Vital For The
Ecologically Sustainable
Development Needs.
3.
Creation Of Fiat Money/ Usurious Money Is Accelerating
Globalization Of Non-Renewable
Resource Based Consumption And
Production Patterns. Profit Motive Being The Key Drives All The Operations Of The
World Bank, IMF And Other
Regional Banks Such As Asian
Development Bank. Making Profit
From Want Is Presented As A
Legitimate Reason For Charging
Of Interest Even For The
Creation Of Productive And
Ecologically Sustainable
Capacities In The Developing
Countries. It Would Be Important
To Liberate Banking And Finance
From Usury And Charging Of The
Interests. This Will Have
Salutary Effect On The Movement
Of Capital, As Lots Of Capital
Will Be Lost Due To The Deletion
Of Usurious Money From The Books
Of The Accounts. Banks Will Have
No Incentive For Charging
Interest On The Loans.
4.
Globalization Of The Discontent Due To The Impacts Of
Climate Change- More And More People Are Suffering From The Impact Of
Climate Change That Has Been
Induced By The Emission Of
Inequitable Consumption Of The
Fossil Fuel Based Services And
Utilities Across The Cities That
Are Experiencing Various Sorts
Of Globalization. Differential
Responsibility For Addressing
The Climate Is A Hurdle That
Needs To Be Addressed. Exclusion
Of China And India Has Been
Resented As The Countries With
Higher Emission Levels Are
Called For Meeting The Targets
While The Developing Economies
Are Provided Time. Deletion Of
The Usurious Money From The
System Will Have A Significant
Impact On The Development
Financing And Analytic And
Advisory Outputs Will Be Geared
For Ensuring Social Equity And
Ecological Sustainability While
Catalyzing Civil Society And
Political Action For
Simultaneous Adoption Of
Consumption Patterns That Are
Ecological Friendly And Social
Equitable With Focus On The
Ecologically Sustainable
Livelihoods. John Bunzl
Www.Simpol.Org Has
Been Advocating The Principle Of
Simultaneity For Meeting The
Global Challenges And This Is
Need For Sharing Of The Interest
Free Loans At Interpersonal,
National And Global Levels.
5.
Interest Based Debt Financing With Freedom For
Deregulated Banking Creating
Inequitable Prosperity And
Unsustainable Accumulation Of
Wealth. Usurious Finance System Is Responsible For Over
Accumulation Of Wealth In Some
Countries That Are Benefiting
Some Of The Corporations.
Instances Of Distributive
Injustices Galore And They Fuel
The Call For Ensuring The Divide
For The Consumption Pattern
Within And Between The Regions
And Populations Groups. Debt
Relief Has Been Accepted For
Some Countries That Are Highly
Indebted. Uganda Is An Example
Where Sustained Growth Has Be
Projected With The Freedom From
Debt Service Obligations.
Accumulation Becomes
Unsustainable As There Are
Growing Economic Divide Within
The Countries That Protect
Usurious Institutions. Also
Accumulation Of Nonrenewable
Resource Based Wealth Is
Transitory.
6.
Dispossession Of The Poor Due To Non-Payment Of
Interest Based Loans Within And
Between The Nations-
Many Among The Poor And Dalits
Have Lost Their Small
Landholding For Paying The
Usurious Loans Collected From
The Moneylenders In The Rural
Areas. Situation In The Urban
Area May Be Slightly Different
Where Access To Public Health
Services Is Relatively Better.
Shaheed A Construction Worker
Got A Serious Injury In The Head
And He Succumbed To Death As
Medical Attention Was Not
Provided In Time. Sajnu Got His
Leg Dismembered Due To Lack Of
Medicine In Right Time For Small
Wound In The Leg. Bhikhan, The
Father Of Sajnu In A Village
Called Kishandaspur (Bihar) In
Bhagalpur District And Had To
Sell His Land For Meeting The
Medical Costs For His Son. There
Are Many Poor And Dalits Who Are
Suffering And Losing Their
Smallholdings For Meeting The
Medical Costs In The Various
States Of India. Arif A Young
Boy Is Suffering From Ulcer And
His Parents Had To Take A
Usurious Loan Of Rs.18,000,- For
Meeting The Medical Costs. Arif
Is Suffering From Peptic Ulcer
And His Father Has Taken A
Usurious Loan For Meeting The
Medical Cost. Aseer , The Father
Of Aseer And Darudni His Mother
Are Working Hard As
Sharecroppers For Meeting The
Cost Of His Son And They Are
Using The Hard Earned Food
Grains To Pay Off The Usurious
Loans .His Parent May Not Be
Able To Pay All The Amount And
His Hard Earned Livelihood As A
Sharecropper Will Be Needed To
Pay For The Loan He Incurred For
Meeting The Medical Costs .There
Are Millions Of Such Cases Where
Poor And Dalits Are Feeling The
Burnt Of The Privatization Of
The Medical Assistance Services
And Lack Of Access To Affordable
Medicine And Public Health
Delivery Services. It Is Likely
That Millennium Development
Goals For Health May Not Be
Achieved If Access To Quality
Health Care Is Not Ensured And
Poor Are Not Freed From Pawning
Their Meager Resources. Farmers
Have Committed Suicides In The
Several States Of India, As They
Have Not Been Able To Pay The
Usurious Loans. Formation Of The
Union Of Wives Of Such Farmers
Named All India Widow And
Destitute Women’s Movement Is A
Testimony Of The Peoples
Suffering. They Demonstrated In
Delhi And Met Sharad Pawar, The
Union Minister For Agriculture,
Government Of India.
Indebtedness Of The Nations
Similarly Dispossesses And
Deprives The Nations Of The
Vital Resources And Tax Receipts
That Could Be Used For Providing
Basic Services.
7.
Ecologically Hostile Development Paradigm Is Getting
Accelerated Application
Eliminating Renewable Resource
Based Livelihoods-
Usurious Finance System Is
Responsible For The Generation
Of Fictitious Money That Is
Being Pumped In The Ecologically
Sustainable Economies For
Projects That Are Ecologically
Not Sustainable. This Is Being
Done Through Arguing For More
Foreign Direct Investment And
Then Creating A Better
Regulatory Environment For
Investments. This Has Been Part
Of Most Of The Poverty Reduction
Strategy Papers That Have Been
Done For Obviating The Critique
For The Structural Adjustment
Programmes That Were Launched In
Early 90s After Collapse Of
Soviet Union.
8.
Instituting Interest Free Transactions Across The
World For Ensuring Environment
Sustainability And Ecological
Safety –
For Those Who Have Been
Convinced Of The Need To Remove
Usury From The Transaction Of
Value At Various Levels, It Is
Important To Transform The
Institutions That Are Involved
In Shaping The Investment
Patterns Across The Regions And
Continents. There Is A Need To
Communicate On The Eliminating
Permission For Private Money
Lending Through Charging Of
Usury. There Is Need To
Communicate That All Men And
Women Believing In God And The
Day Of Judgment Must Stop
Charging Interest On The Money
That Has Been Lent. There Is
Need To Educate The Future
Generations Through Including
This In The Curricula At All
Levels. There Is A Need To
Eliminate Usury And Interest
From The Loans. This Could Be
One Of The Major Demands Of GCAP
As It Is Easier To Convince For
Interest Free Loans Then Debt
Cancellation By All The Nations
That Are Highly Indebted.
Returning The Principal Amount
Is Easier And More Dignified.
Even So, Forgiving Debt Is
Itself A Virtuous Act.
Actions At The Global Level
1.
Global Justice Movement
Www.Globaljusticemovement.Net
Argues That Usury Is Not
Necessary. They Have Based Their Conclusions On The
Need To Generate Interest Free
Loans For Productive Capacities.
Rodney Shakespeare And Robert
Ashford Base Their Conclusions
On The Work On Binary Economics.
Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar Alam Has
Argued For The Need To Adopt
Monotheistic Framework For
Resolving The Disputes And
Creating A Global Consensus For
Transforming Banking And Money
Where Charging Interests Is
Considered A Non-Negotiable
Foundation. Norman Kurland
Through Advocacy Of The Third
Way Is Calling For The
Elimination If Usurious Finance.
2.
American Monetary Institute
Www.Monetary.Org Is
Seeking Reform In USA
. Stephen Zarlenga Concluding A
Recent Conference In Washington
Called For The Need For Wider
Acceptance Of The Need To Reform
The Monetary System. Currently
He Is Organizing Second
Conference For This In The City
Of Los Angels. Details Can Be
Seen At
Www.Monetary.Org
3.
Local Exchange Trading System LETS Promoting Barter
Followed By Hundreds Of Groups
Across Europe
Www.Letslink.Org
. There Is Recognition Of The
Need To Promote Exchange Of
Commodities And Services In Real
Terms Rather Than Through Using
Paper Currency. People Are
Already Exchanging Services And
Commodities In LETS Network.
More Than 250 Networks Have Been
Formed Across Europe Recognizing
The Evils Of The Paper Currency
And Eliminating Usury.
4.
JAK Bank (Sweden) Calls Itself First Interest Free
Bank. They Are Running The Bank Based On The Principle Of
Cooperation Without Charging
Interest. All Those
Participating In The Bank Are
Stakeholders And They Are
Running The Bank Through
Recognizing The Peoples Need For
Transaction Of Value Rather Than
For Being Part Of The Enterprise
Where Peoples Need Are Exploited
For Generating Usurious Profit
For Some Of The Stakeholders.
5.
Islamic Banking (Banks Following The Commands Against
The Usury) Is Based On Sharing
Of The Losses And Sharing Of The
Profits And Muslims Globally Are
Interested In Freedom From The
Usurious Finance System.
Allah Commands All To Forgive
Debts If Possible And Stop
Charging Usury. There Are
Several Verses In Qur’an To This
Effect. There Are Commands In
The Bible And Sanskrit Texts As
Well. Muslims Feel That
Christians And Jews Should
Follow The Commands Of God In
Bible And They Should Join Their
Forces For Liberating Banking
From Usury. Hindus, Buddhists,
Sikhs , Jains Following The
Commands Need To Oppose
Partaking Of The Food Obtained
Through Usurious Money. Thus All
Of Us With Various Religious
Identities Need To Say No To
Usury. Saying No To Usury Thus
Is Not Only Pleasing For God But
Also For Establishing Fair Deals
For Fellow Human Beings In Need.
Globalisation Of The Usurious
Finance System Is Responsible
For The Ecologically Hostile And
Socially Inequitable
Distribution, Consumption And
Production Patterns. Thus
Abolition Of The Ususry From The
Loans Is Part Of The Negations
That Are Ecological Imperative.
In Dubai, Islamic Mint
Www.Islamicmint.Com
Produces E-Dinars And It Is
Selling Its E-Gold Products
Following The Islamic Standards.
The E-Dinars Are Produced For
Fulfilling The Religious
Obligation Of Paying Zakat
Better.
6.
In London, A Campaign Called Campaign For Interest
Free Money Has Been Launched
Www.Interestfreemoney.Org
For Making Money And Banking
Interest Free.
This Indicates The Fact That
More And More People Are Joining
The Crusade Against Exploitative
Usurious Finance System. There
Are More And More Reasons To
Attend To The Call Of The
Movements And Call For The Need
To Transform The Institutions
And Transform The Individual
Mindsets That Are Supportive Of
The Usurious Finance System.
7.
Bernard Laitier Conceived EURO And Defined The
Exchange Mechanisms. He Has
Called For The Rethinking Money
In An Article That Was Published
In The Ecologist. He Has
Proposed “Terra” To Be The
Global Stable Currency.
8.
David Korten , The Author Of “When Corporations
Rule The World” Changed His
Thesis For Pointing Out That It
Is The Finance System That Is
Responsible For The Over
Accumulation Of Wealth, Unstable
Security Environment And
Accelerating Ecological
Degradation. In His Powerful
Article Once Posted At
Http://Intraforum.Com/Money, He
Has Called For Interest Free
Money. David Korten Has Led The
Anti-Globalization Movements.
9.
Www.Seektoknow.Net/Money
Contains An Article Produced By
Samita Barua. She Has
Built On The Writings Of
Buckminister Fuller And Argues
For Interest Free Banking And
Money. She Writes From A
Buddhist Perspective.
10.
Brettonwoods Project
Is Keeping A Watch On World
Bank, IMF And WTO And Their
Projects And Programmes. There
Are Several Movements That Are
Weary Of The Machinations Of The
Bank And Fund Though They Are
Not Exactly Proposing What The
Fund And Bank Should. This Paper
Contains The Ideas For Seeking A
Change In The Operational
Principles Of Banking And
Finance.
Transforming Money/Finance In
India
1.
Bharat Jan Andolan Has Launched National Movement For
The Eradication Of Usury Under The Overall Guidance Of BD Sharma. BD Sharma
Has Extensively Worked On The
State Of Farmers And
Agricultural Credit Details The
History Of Dilution Of Laws
Preventing Usury In Bihar And
Other States. He Has Spoken In
The Various Forums And Has
Called For National Mobilization
For Liberating The Debtors From
Compound Interest.
2.
South Asian People Summit Against Poverty Called For Transformation Of The “Unholy” Trinity Of World
Bank, IMF And WTO – Peoples
Summit Against Poverty Was
Organized On 3-4 September And
There Was A Special Session On
Globalisation. Prof. Babu Mathew
Had Drafted The Concept Paper
With The Input From The People’s
Movements. Recommendations
Included Scrutiny Of The Foreign
Capital, Transformation Of The
Policies Of World Bank, WTO And
IMF.
3.
Arundhati Roy Has Been Writing Extensively On The Need
To Transform Institutions
Through Exposing The Working Of
World Bank. Her Writings And
Participation In The Movements
Of The Oppressed And Displaced
Are Part Of The Expressions Of
The Strong Opposition To The
Globalisation Of The
Ecologically Unsustainable
Development Policies Across The
World.
What Can Be Done
1.
Build Solidarities Of Action And Communication For
Transforming The Finance Sector – Considering The Criticality Of The
Millennium Development Goals ,
It Is Important To Free The
Resources For Investment Is
Sustainable Social Development
Projects That Help Men And
Women In Preserving Ecologically
Sustainable Livelihoods Across
The Nations And Regions.
Governments, Networks, Civil
Society Organisations,
Movements, Citizen Groups And
Clubs All Need To Call For
Action Against Usurious
Transaction. A Global
March/Movement For Transforming
Finance Sector Is Proposed
For Discussing Suitable Actions
All Over The World.
2.
Call For Transforming Functioning And Principles Of
Banking And Money- It Is Important To Call For Transforming World Bank, IMF And
WTO And Make Them Ecological
Friendly And Socially
Responsive. Considering The Call
For Elimination Of Usury From
The Transactions Across The
Religions, It Can Be Seen That
Responses Are For The Pleasure
Of God As Well And Thus In The
Best Interests Of All.
3.
Seek Consensus For The Unified Proposal For World
Bank, IMF And Other Key Banker
Of Bankers-Islamic Movements, Liberals,
Democrats, Muslims, Greens,
Left, Faith Leaders And All Need
To Unite For Generating The Mass
Movement For A Unified Proposal
For Transforming Institutions.
As Per The Established
Procedures, First And Foremost
Is To Generate Acceptance For
The Proposals That Are
Ecologically Sound And That
Serve The Best Interests Of
Future Generations. The
Consensus Can Be Generated For
Liberating Debts From Simple And
Compound Interest. God Fearing
Men And Women Leading The
Governments And Organization
Will Have Not Difficulty In
Accepting The Proposal. Those
Who Do Not Believe In The Merit
Of Abolishing Usury Can Be
Persuaded For Abolishing Usury
Considering The Ecological
Limits To Globalization Of
Non-Renewable Resource Based
Consumption, Production And
Urban Planning Patterns.
4.
Include The Demand For Transforming Money And Banking
In All The Communications
Related To Poverty Reduction-
Millennium Development Campaign
Has Been Focusing On The Goals
1-7 And Call To The Funding
Consortiums Have Been Made For
Increasing Aid For The Nations
As Part Of Goal Number 8. It Is
Extremely Unlikely That Goal
Number 7 For Ensuring
Environment Sustainability Will
Be Met Unless There Is A Global
Adoption Of Interest Free Banks
And Debts.
5.
Combine The Learning Of Secular And Faith Based
Perspectives For Making Money
And Banking Interest Free-The
Work Of Rodney Shakespeare And
Robert Ashford On Binary
Economic Analysis Has Proved The
Need To Get Rid Of Usury. Global
Justice Movement Recognizes The
Importance Of Islam-Submitting
To The Commands Of Allah. Binary
Economic Analysis Is A Secular
Analysis And It Has Been
Concluded That Interest Is Not
Necessary. Muslims Will Be The
Happiest If They Have To Deal
With Usury Free
Local/Regional/National/International
Transaction Neighborhood. It Is
Only Men And Women Who Have Not
Faith In The Commands Of Allah
Who Will Resist The
Communication Based On The Need
To Seek Best Here And In
Hereafter Through Eliminating
Usury From The Transactions.
Pious Jews, Christians, Hindus,
Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Buddhists
And Jain Are Equally Cognizant
Of The Commands Against Charging
Interest For Loans In The
Related Sanskrit Texts.
Following The Dictum Of Not
Loving Things That One Does Not
Like For Oneself, Ones Own
Relatives And Dears One , It Is
Likely That All Of Us Following
Various Religions Will Stand Up
Against The Usury And Call For
Abolition From Our Own
Transactions And From The
Transaction Of Institutions.
Strengthening Movements
Safeguarding Futures
1.
Environmental Sustainability Is Linked With The
Development Model –Globalization Of Fossil Fuel Based Consumption And
Production Pattern Is Proving
Deadly For Ecological Safety.
There Are Many Evidences For The
Same. Increased Intensity Of The
Cyclones Are Linked With Global
Warming That Is Directly Related
With Increased Emission Of Green
House Gases. Globalization Of
Ecologically Hostile Development
Paradigm Supported Through
Usurious Finance System Has To
Be Halted, As It Is Responsible
For Creating Socially Inequity
In The Consumption And
Production Patterns At The
Global Scale. Delhi Is An
Example Of A City That Is
Experiencing The Same. Metro
Project Has Consumed Lot Of
Space That Had Trees While There
Is No Guarantee For The Supplies
Of Energy In The Future. India
Has Been Forced To Vote For An
Immoral Position On Iran For
Securing Nuclear Energy With The
Assistance Of The US And Other
Countries Controlling The
Supplies Of Uranium. One The One
Hand, Tribal And Forest Dwellers
Are Being Relocated For
Industrial Development And
Defense Related Projects, On The
Other Hand They Are Being
Relocated For The Protecting The
Wild Species. Such Policy Moves
Are Depriving Millions From
Access To Ecologically
Sustainable Livelihoods That Had
Been Available For Millions Of
Years. Apparently Globalization
Of Non-Renewable Resource Based
Consumption And Production Is
Being Sought Without Recognizing
The Facts That Fossil Fuels And
Such Other Treasures Gifted By
God Is Exhaustible. Dean Steele
Supporting The Globalization Of
Hydrogen Fuelled Vehicles Calls
For Preservation Of The
Hydrocarbons For Essential Need
And Not For Leisure And
Pleasure.
2.
Movements And Institutions Need To Understand The
Linkage And Call For
Transforming The Finance Sector
And Transforming Consumption
Pattern As A Global Imperative- There Is Need To Understand This
Linkage And Disseminate Across
The Movements And Csos. Making
Loans Wipes Out The Fictitious
Money. Transforming Consumption
Pattern Through Adopting
Alternative Measures For Leisure
Helps In The Deceleration Of The
Consumption Of The Fossil Fuel
Based Energy Intensive Utilities.
GCAP Must Not Promote Energy
Intensive Poverty Concerts As
That Is An Ecologically Hostile
Activity. Several Organisations
And Movements Boycotted Th Same
In New Delhi On 4 September.
Such Events Are Hurdles In
Realizing The Mdgs For
Environment Sustainability And
They Are Part Of The Copycat
Atheistic Neo-Liberal
Globalisation Of Leisure Use
Patterns That Include Use Of
Energy Intensive Modes Of
Peoples Assemblies For
Communication And Entertainment.
3.
Global Call To Action Against Poverty Should Consider
This As Part Of Consistent
Communication Strategy-
GCAP And Millennium Development
Campaign Ought To Consider The
Need To Free Resources For
Social Development Across The
Regions Through Abolishing
Interest Based Loans And
Minimizing Budgetary Allocation
For Defense. The Global Compact
For Realizing The Millennium
Development Goals Needs To
Consider The Need To Transform
Financing For Developing Through
Calling For Interest Free Money
And Debt Both For Ecological
Justice And Social Justice.
Large Sums Of Money For Serving
The Debt Must Stop For Ensuring
Ecologically Sustainable
Development Across The World.
Money Freed Can Be Used For
Realizing The Mdgs 1-7 While
Ensuring Global Partnership And
Meeting The MDG 8 For A Just And
Ecologically Sustainable World.
4.
Creating Synergy Through Making This A Cross Cutting
Concern-
There Is A Need To Have A United Recognition Of The Need To
Transforming Operational
Principles Of Banking For
Meeting And There Is Need To
Create Global Mobilization Of
People For The Same. We Can See
That Interest Free Loans Are
Good For All. We Will Not Have
To Reckon With The Violent Armed
Struggles That Are Responsible
For The Loss Of Lives, We Will
Have Ecologically Sane
Development Across The World .We
May Have An Utopia Realized Here
In Now That Is Responsive To The
Concerns Of Collective Human
Security, Ecological Safety,
Social Justice, Global Compact
For Mdgs. We Would Be Ready To
Meet The Interspecies Justice
And Secure An Ecologically
Sustainable, Social Just Future
For Future Generations And
Ourselves.
Hurdles
UN System Has Been Advised To
Identify Hurdles In Realizing
The MDG. It Can Be Seen That
Usurious Finance System Is
Single Most Important Hurdle
Along With Exhibitionist
Consumption Patterns That Is
Propelled By The Globalization
Of Atheistic Neo-Liberal
Political And Cultural
Ideology.
1.
Economists And Corporations Who Are Interested In
Preserving The Status Quo-
Economists Associated With The Washington Consensus
Process Are Known To Be
Forwarding The Idea That Has
Been Captured By Some As Market
Fundamentalism. Some Greens Also
Think That Privatization Of All
The Services Will Permit
Incorporation Of The Ecological
Costs As Corporations Can Not
Run Without The Support Of The
Consumers Who Respond To Prices
For Their Consumption Patterns.
Even So, We Can
Consider The Amount Of
Ecological Rucksacks And
Footprints That Will Have To Be
Mitigated If There Is No
Conscious Global Action For
Transforming The World Bank And
Other Bankers. Application Of
Atheistic Social Darwinism For
Access To The Nonrenewable
Resource Based Consumption
Patterns And Status Markers Will
Be Extremely Dangerous In A
World Where Politics Of Identity
Is Being Played At The Global
Level Through Subjugating The
Class And Religion Based
Discourses For Local And Global
Governance.
2.
Men And Women Who Wish To Continue The Enterprise Of
Discontent Without Finding
Solutions Through Organizing
Ecologically Hostile Conferences
–This Is Being Said Considering
Some Patterns Across The
Conferences That Are Organized
For Meeting The Global
Challenges And For Solving The
Global Problems. The Work On
AIDS Can Be Seen As An Example
Where A Faith Based
Communications Is Prohibited
Recognizing The Need To Protect
A Privileged Position For The
Adulterers. Meetings Of The
Financing For Development Have
Been Organized While Recognizing
The Fact That Some Issues Are
Not Practical. It Is Likely That
The Propositions Contained In
This Paper Are Described
Utopian. That Is Why, It Is
Important To Expand The
Knowledge Base And Seek Radical
Solutions. Organisations Such As
Action Aid Promoting Radical
Solutions Are Expected To Take
The Proposal For Transforming
The Fundamental Principle Of
Banking And Money For Ensuring
Global Stability And Ecological
Safety. It Is Expected That GCAP
Will Seize The Historic
Opportunity For Advocating And
Changing The Financing For
Development Through Making It
Interest Free. We May Have A
Better Scenario For Poverty In
The Year 2015, If We Could
Ensure That Financing For Mdgs
Is Debt Free.
3.
Political Parties That Are Not Aware Of The Long-Term
Needs –
Green Parties Across The World Though With A Following Of The
Minority Are Cognizant Of The
Need To Address The Ecological
Challenges. Left Do Not Appear
To Be Arguing Specifically For
Meeting The Ecological
Challenges As They Still Appear
Not To Be Distinguishing Between
The Call For Distributive
Justice For Nonrenewable And
Renewable Resource Based
Livelihoods. Even So, Outcome Of
Their Resistance For Halting The
March Of Atheistic Neo-Liberal
Capitalism Are Eco Friendly.
They Need Recognize The
Contribution Of The Faith Based
Political Parties Such As
Christian Democrats, PAS , Hamas
And Others Across Who Recognize
The Importance Of Seeking
Eternal Well-Being For All
Through Promoting The Use Of
Faith Based Measures. Use Of
Violence By Some Groups Can Be
Seen In The Specific Social,
Poltical And Cultural Context.
Maoists In Nepal Seek
Establishing Of Constitutional
Democracy (The Hindu, Feb 9-10
2006) With Or Without The
Monarchy. They Have Been Calling
For An End To The Monarchy For
Promoting Competitive Democracy
And Seek The Change Though
Violent Actions If Required.
There Is Need For All The
Political Parties To Understand
The Collective Challenges .It
Would Be Useful For Colleagues
In GCAP And MDG Campaign If The
Conferences Were Organized For
Educating The Political Leaders
Across The World. It Is Possible
To Generate Agreement On The
Commons For Transforming The
Finance Sector As The Call Is
Being Made Utilizing Both
Secular And Faith Based
Arguments. Government And
Corporate Sector Could Also
Organize Meetings And Discussion
For Establishing The Argument
For Transforming The Finance
Sector And Consumption Patterns.
Governments Are Responding To
The Same And The Pace Can Be
Accelerated With The Formulation
Of Key Propositions That Are
Addressing For Eliminating The
Crosscutting Hurdles.
4.
Lack Of Education On The Faith-Based Alternatives-
There Is Significant Absence Of
Education On Faith-Based
Alternatives For Addressing The
Issue Of Poverty, Indebtedness,
And Development And There Are
Strong Resistances Globally For
The Faith-Based Alternatives.
Author Has Grown To Believe That
Adoption Of The Commands Of God
Noted In The Texts Of Various
Religious Traditions Is Needed
For Facilitating Decisions
Against Usurious Finance System.
There Are Call For Resisting And
Opposing The Globalisation Of
The Economic System But Then
There Does Not Exist
Articulation And Discussion On
The Faith Based Alternatives As
That Is Associated With Samuel
Huntington’s Thesis On Clash Of
Civilizations. There Are
Assessments Of The “Postmodern”
Condition Without Any
Prescription For An Alternative
Form Of Economic, Political,
Cultural And Global Governance.
Solutions
1.
Institutionalization Of The Discourse On Transforming
The Finance Sector –This Is Being Proposed Considering The Need To Educate For
Global Action, As We May Not Get
The Results Quickly. The ICT
Enabled Communication; Capacity
Building And Dissemination
Packages Will Be Able To Quickly
Transmit The Key Arguments With
Local Actions Across The World.
Inclusion Of The Interest Free
Banking As A Theory And Practice
Is An Urgent Academic Innovation
That Needs Inclusion In The
Teaching Of Economics Across The
World. As Of Now, There Does Not
Exist Arguments For Interest
Free Banking Derived From The
Faith Based Communications As
They Have Been Ignored By The
Atheistic Rationalists. Already
There Are Associations Of
Ecological Economists Who Have
Been Arguing For Rethinking
Progress. Richard B Norgaard Has
Called For The Same Through
Exposing The Myths Around The
Definition Of Progress. Pavel
Kasyanov , The President Of
Ecological Economists
Association In Russia Had Been
Part Of Alternative Draft Of
WSSD In 2002 Along With The
Author Of This Note And Michael
Ellis.
2.
Mass Mobilization For Abolishing Usury From
Interpersonal And Institution
Transactions –Mass Mobilization Is Need For
Creating A Global Consensus For
Calling World Bank And Other
Banks For Eliminating Usury And
Interest From The Transactions.
God Fearing Men And Women Will
Be Most Forthcoming Is
Supporting The Move As They
Would Not Be Able To Say Yes To
Usury Fearing The Destiny On The
Day On Judgment. There Are Clear
Commands. More Awareness And
Communication On The Issue Will
Be Required For Social Groups
Where Even Faith-Based
Communication Against Usury Is
Low. For Atheistic Rationalists,
It Would Not Be Possible To Deny
The Ecological Impact Of The
Globalization Of Non-Renewable
Resource Based Consumption
Pattern. Greens All Over The
World Cannot Deny. Atheistic
Communists Cannot Fail In
Recognizing Usury To Be The
Important Of Part Of Capitalism.
Buddhists And Jains Would Not Be
Able To Deny Considering The
Injunctions And Exhortations For
Choosing The Right Livelihood.
Hindus Would Not Refuse The
Precepts Of Dhammapada.
(Please Refere The Article On
The History Of Interest At
Www.Monetary.Org That
Has Cited Commands In The Sacred
Texts Across The Religions).
It Can Be Seen That With Such An
Understanding , It Would Not Be
Possible To Refuse The
Arguments. I Think, This
Ought To Be Key Proposition For
The Action Plan Of GCAP Till 7
July 2007. We Could Demand All
The Financing For Development To
Be Interest. Make Developing
Financing Interest Free For Mdgs
And Poverty Reduction Globally
And Locally.
3.
Review Of The Monotheistic Perspective For United
Endeavor At All Levels-This Is Being Suggested Considering The
Appropriateness Of The
Monotheistic Framework For
Generating United Power For
Transforming Financing For
Development And Then For
Transforming Consumption
Patterns. Induction Of The
Standards Of Piety All In The
Civil Society Movements With
Adoption Of Prayer And
Meditation 5 Times Is A Powerful
Tool For Transforming Behavior,
Decision And Consumption
Patterns Across The World.
Promotion Of Interest Free Loans
Saves Lots Of Poor In India Who
Are Approaching The Moneylenders
For Meeting Medical Assistance,
Buying Inputs For Agriculture
And Other. Freedom From Debt
Service Obligations Provides A
Lot Of Resources That Can Be
Used For Providing Vital Medical
Assistance To The Poor Who Are
Being Left At The Mercy Of The
Market Forces. A Church Movement
Called Sojourners In US
Www.Sojourners.Com Is
Calling For Application Of The
Communications Of Jesus Christ
(Peace Be Upon Him) For
Transforming Foreign Policy And
Social Security Establishment In
US.
4.
Discussions With The World Bank, IMF And Other
Institutions-
There Is Need To Initiate Discussions With The World Bank
While Seeking Global Application
Of UNDP Promoted Sustainability
Index For Investments In General
And Fdis In Particular. There Is
A Need To Point Out The Need For
The Adoption Of Internal
Coherence In Pursuing The
Development Policies. Use Of
Environment Impact Assessments
Needs To Be Informed More
Stringently Considering The
Frequency Of Natural Disasters
That Are More Man Made.
Ecological Audits
Are Be Made Compulsory Each Year
For The Institutions And
Governments.
5.
International Meet On The Solutions-
It Is Possible For GCAP To
Decide For Regional Conferences
For Discussing The Solutions. UN
May Be Requested To Consider An
International Meet For
Transforming The Finance Sector
And Consumption Pattern For
Social Justice And Collective
Ecological Safety. Governments
May Be Requested To Consider The
Need To Present Memorandums To
The World Banks For Transforming
The Finance Sector.
6.
Inclusion In The Mdgs-
This Note Has Been Developed
Considering The Inclusion Of
Debt Relief In The Millennium
Development Goals While
Recognizing That The Relief Is A
Temporary Measure. There Is Need
To Call For Debt Free Financing
And Interest Free Debts For The
Realization Of Millennium
Development As Inequities Can
Not Be Addressed Without
Addressing The Underlying Reason
For Equity. There Is A
Need To Eradicate The Reason For
Indebtedness Within And Between
The Nations And Eliminate The
Morally Abominable, Socially
Inequitable And Ecologically
Hostile Practice Charging
Interest On The Loans.
Recognizing The Criticality Of
Mdgs, There Is Need To Suggest
Transforming Finance Sector And
Financing For Mdgs At Least By
7-7-2007 When Globally We Will
Be Mobilizing For Assessing The
Achievement Of Mdgs.
Reference:
-
Human Development Report
2003, Millennium Development
Goals: A Compact Among
Nations To End Human Poverty
UNDP
-
Global Justice Movement
Www.Globaljusticemovement.Net
-
Islamic Mint
Www.Islamicmint.Com
-
American Monetary Institute
Www.Monetary.Org
-
Social Watch India: Citizens
Report On Governance And
Development 2004, National
Social Watch Coalition
-
Interviews With Prachanda,
The Leader Of Maoists In
Nepal ,The Hindu, February
9-11,2006
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