Globalization and Economic Justice: From Terrorism to Global Peace 9781463207359, 1463207352

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Globalization and Economic Justice

Globalization and Economic Justice

From Terrorism to Global Peace

Edited by

Karikottuchira Kuriakose

gp 2017

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2017 by Gorgias Press LLC

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC. ‫ܛ‬

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2017

ISBN 978-1-4632-0735-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A Cataloging-in-Publication record is available from the Library of Congress. Printed in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ..................................................................................... v Preface ...................................................................................................... vii Contributors ............................................................................................. xi Chapter 1. Introduction: Globalization and Economic Justice ........ 1 GEORGE MATHEW Chapter 2. Keeping the Peace in Our Schools: A Simultaneous Equation Model of School Discipline Programs ..................... 19 STEPHEN CHEMSAK Chapter 3. Family Economy to Global Economy: The Early Christian Understanding of Household Management and its Relevance in the Modern World ............................................ 31 SERGEY TROSTYANSKIY Chapter 4. What is Happening to Our Beautiful Land? Climate Change and Terrorism .................................................................. 81 TENNY THOMAS Chapter 5. Personalized Medicine in a Globalizing World .............. 97 Introduction ................................................................................... 97 ANNAH KURIAKOSE Chapter 6. Nonviolent Experiments Around the World ...............111 K. K. KURIAKOSE Chapter 7. The Qur’anic and Prophetic Model of Peaceful Coexistence and Ethical Conduct .............................................139 LIYAKAT TAKIM

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Chapter 8. Meaningful Employment in the Global Economy The Most Effective Counter-Terrorism Force “The World Works when the World WORKS” ...........................................155 BRUCE NISWANDER Chapter 9. Eradication of Child Poverty as the Cornerstone for Welfare and Development .........................................................185 VARGHESE M. DANIEL Chapter 10. Globalization and the Oil Industry – Current Challenges and Emerging Trends .............................................199 JOE VARUGHESE Chapter 11. Promoting Peace through Employment and Income Generation .....................................................................213 ABRAHAM JOSEPH AND TAKAKO HAMAGUCHI Chapter 12. Thomas Merton and George Grant: When Justice and Peace Embrace Two North American Prophets ............233 RON DART Chapter 13. Neo-liberalism and Economic Development (of Nations).........................................................................................243 PAMELA K. BRUBAKER

PREFACE Human life is not a mere search for survival. It is also a struggle for equality and economic justice. Environment and health, production of farm and industrial good, labor supply, and marketing of goods and services are the controlling factors of economic development. None of these, however, can be actualized without peace. Peace is a crucial condition of economic development. Without peace economic justice cannot become a reality. On the other hand, there is no peace without economic development. Peace and development thus go hand in hand. Our modern economy is characterized by the predominant role of neo-liberal policies and global economic trends. Can modern neo-liberalism provide humanity with peace and economic justice? How does globalization affect human conditions all across the world? The critics of globalization comment that the neo-liberalist economic model cannot provide conditions for equality and economic justice. Neither can it sustain global peace. Instead, it is responsible for unemployment, inflation, and the growth of terrorism. In other words, instead of bringing peace and economic justice to the world, it escalates violence and environmental disaster. Moreover, neo-liberal market-driven globalization fails to satisfy a large spectrum of human needs. It is incapable of satisfying emotional, spiritual and creative dimensions of humanity. Its policy of a rapid diffusion of national and cultural boundaries was not met with the support of large strata of world’s population. Even more so, modern economic development and the process of globalization deepened material scarcity, and increased poverty all across the globe. As a result, instead of promoting prosperity and justice it boosts human suffering. Scholars argue that various neo-liberal and profit-ridden programs threaten our physical environment – the life of the earth itself. Indeed, neo-liberal economists endeavor to resolve the side effects of modern economic vii

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growth, such as global warming. Various programs that aimed to reduce carbon emissions had become crucial for global community. Concerns over climate change, oil crisis, and genetic engineering of plants require a long-term strategic planning, whereas other issues, for example, unemployment may necessitate only a short-term planning. Other problems featured critical include scarcity in water supplies, agricultural productivity, and human and eco-system of health. A rapid advance of globalization resulting from the implementation of neo-liberal economic policies also exacerbated already existing social problems associated with multiculturalism. An imposition of multiculturalism upon a culturally multi-facet world characterized by diversity of cultural values and ways of life had contributed to an ongoing violent contest over cultural and historical values all over the globe. Just to give a brief example: whereas some cultures uphold an unequal status of women within the society, other cultures promote equality and nondiscrimination. Indeed, the waves of globalization impose the principles of equality, liberty, and freedom (i.e. democratic values) on the entire world. Yet these principles, as a matter of fact, do not appear acceptable or fully endorsed in many corners of the globe. As a result, we may see that the challenge of accepting these values, the possibility of a full endorsement of diversity had become an obstacle for political, social and economic justice. A major side affect of modern economic development is terrorism. It has a tremendous psychological and emotional impact on individuals and communities. The value of human lives taken away by suicide bombers is enormous. The cost of anti-terrorist measures has been also enormous in monetary terms. It is a ‘hidden bright’ side that protects the population against any future attacks. The psychological as well as physical situations change with economic and social situations. Further, the people’s concern extends to every area of global development, including health and wellness. Trends in healthcare point to customized care for every patient, known as personalized medicine. The lynchpin of the personalized medicine movement is diagnostics, which involve the collection, storage, and analysis of human genetic material. While the ideal is that personalized medicine is adopted widely at costs that are affordable to patients but sustainable for providers, economics factor heavily into these processes.

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The newly-emerging economic system (1), generates a skilled and entrepreneurial workforce suited to the global market, and that entertains meritocracy and skill specialization so as to encourage competition among all strata of the population. It seeks individual success, and individual autonomy at the expense of community values of local societies. The market – driven concerns had become a predominant agenda in academic and public life of citizens. This agenda again significantly diminishes the awareness of local communities. (2), Neoliberal system damages community awareness, while individual autonomy and skill specialization, makes individuals selfish and competitive. One of the disadvantages of contemporary culture is that man has become more selfish, competitive – and that damages community consciousness. In the newly emerging mono-culture, the idea of common good is not at all a concern, for man is becoming aggressive and selfish. Furthermore, the trend of individual motive (selfishness) causes the growth of injustice – a conflict between the common interest and private interest–and destroys trust for a better life for individual as well as community. Many democratic developing countries struggle to build their economic infrastructure. They widen the gap between the rich and poor while it promotes the growth of a new class, the neocapitalist, at the expense of democracy and globalization. For instance, according to a study, in 1960, the poorest 20% of world population shared 2.3% of world’s resources and in 2006, it has grown to 3.7%, and the top 5% share 22.2 % of global resources. I hope the articles of the different contributors here are recognized as the first steps to realizing global awareness and the restraining of growing injustice, while supporting the building up of a community that guarantees basic rights in a democratic society. Finally, to all of my valued colleagues who contributed to this volume, you deserve my sincerest thanks. K.K. Kuriakose

CONTRIBUTORS Pamela K. Brubaker is Professor Emerita of Religion and Ethics at California Lutheran University. Her recent books include Globalization at What Price? Economic Change and Daily Life (Pilgrim Press, 2007) and Justice not Greed, co-edited with RogateMshana (WCC, 2010). She has also published numerous book chapters and journal articles on feminist ethics, economic ethics, and just peacemaking. Brubaker participated in several World Council of Churches consultations on the global economy (2002–2013). Her Ph.D. is in Christian social ethics, Union Theological Seminary (NYC, 1989).

Dr. Varghese M. Daniel is a Bioethicist and a scholar in Theology and Ethics based in New York. He has completed Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Yale University (New Haven), and PhD in Ethics from University of Divinity (Melbourne), Masters in Bioethics from Katholic University (Belgium), Bachelor of Divinity from Serampore University (Calcutta). He has extensive research experience from Monash University Melbourne, Neimegan University, Netherlands and University of Padua, Italy. He was awarded Erasmus Mundus European Fellowship, Australian Postgraduate Awards and Parkville Fellowship. Currently he is serving as the President of St. John’s Church, Orangeburg, NY. He married to Dr. Smitha Susan (Biophysics Scientist) and they have two children Adarsh and Angela.

Ron Dart has taught in the department of political science, philosophy and religious studies at University of the Fraser Valley, (Abbotsford, British Columbia), since 1990. Ron has published more than 20 books and more than 300 articles in the areas of politics, spirituality, poetry, human rights and mountaineering. He is on the National Executives of the Thomas Merton Society of Canada. Many of Ron’s online articles can be found on the Clarion Journal and Vivelecanada websites, and he has been a regular contributor xi

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to the Canadian Encyclopedia. More information on Ron can be found on Wikipedia: The free Encyclopedia, his blogsite and the University of the Fraser Valley’s website.

Dr. Abraham Joseph, who was born in Singapore, as his father was a British Government Civil Servant, did his doctorate in Economics under late Japanese Foreign Minister, Dr. Saburo Okita, at the Japan Economics Research Centre, Tokyo, Japan. He also worked in India’s Planning Commission in 1980 and 1981 under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh, then Member-Secretary of the Planning Commission. Dr. Joseph served in various capacities in the United Nations Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa, Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, Small Island Developing Countries (UN/OHRLLS), Chief Executives Board of the UN System for Coordination (CEB), Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination (OESC) and United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). Upon his retirement from the United Nations, Dr. Joseph served as Special Adviser to the Foreign Minister of Timor-Leste. Dr. Joseph now serves as International Senior Adviser in the Public Service Institute, University of Oklahoma, USA, and also is on the Board of Advisers of various Foundations and Institutions. Dr. Joseph, in a candid interview to The Statesman, this former UN expert explains how Timor-Leste was able to navigate from crisis to recovery to development, and Dr. Joseph added that the success owes to its people and the United Nations as well as the international development partners. Karikottuchira K. Kuriakose, His academic career began with the study of theology at Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam, India, and from there he read for a Divinity degree at Serampore University, West Bengal. He earned a Masters in Sociology from SV University, Andhra Pradesh. He was granted a research fellowship at the Christian Institute for the study of Religion and Society, Bangalore, and also worked for the Church relations committee of the Senate of Serampore College. Fr. Kuriakose moved to the USA for further study, research and ministry, in early 1980s. He then joined the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California, for continued theological studies, and engaged in pastoral ministry, first in San Francisco and then in New York. He holds an Ed D from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York and his

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dissertation focused on Gandhian philosophy. Since 1996 he has taught at the College of New Rochelle, New York; and then Metropolitan College of New York. His research has been focused on peace education. His publications include Nonviolence: The Way of the Cross (Xulon Press, 2004), Religion, Terrorism, and Globalization, Nonviolence a New Agenda (Nova Publishers, 2005), Terrorism, Religion, and Global Peace: From Concepts to Praxis (Gorgias Press, 2012), and Timeless Teachers and Ethical Visions (Information Age, 2014).

Annah Kuriakose graduated from New York Medical College, but her path into medicine was peppered with various other interests and endeavors. She received her Bachelor’s in Anthropology and fulfilled premedical requirements from Amherst College in western Massachusetts, where she also co-founded the Amherst College Public Health Collaborative. After college, she moved on to obtain a Master’s in Education from the University of Mississippi. During graduate school, she spent two years teaching in a low-income rural school in the Mississippi Delta, where she was honored with the distinction of Teacher of the Year in her second year. Upon completing her graduate courses, she matriculated into medical school with an interest in public health and education disparities, adolescent medicine, and rural development, which eventually morphed into a focus in pediatrics. After completing her medical education, she deferred residency to teach in an urban school district in New Jersey, where she can be found today.

Dr. George Mathew, Founder Director, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi is presently its Chairman. His areas of specialization are: local governance, grassroots democracy, democratic process in India, decentralization, gender equity and human rights. Dr. Mathew has been serving on various committees and commissions constituted by Government of India, State Governments and international organizations. His studies and articles on state and society appear in national dailies, journals and books. His major works include: (i) Communal Road to a Secular Kerala; (ii) Panchayat Raj From Legislation to Movement and the following edited works: (i) Shift in Indian Politics; (ii) Dignity for All: Essays in Socialism and Democracy; (iii) Panchayat Raj in Karnataka Today: Its National Dimensions; (iv) Panchayat Raj in Jammu and Kashmir; (v) Status of Panchayat Raj in States of India 1994; Co-edited: (i) Status of Panchayat Raj in the States and Union Territories of India 2000;

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2013 (ii) Grassroots Democracy in India and China: The Right to Participate, and (iii) Inclusion and Exclusion in Local Governance: Field Studies from Rural India. He produced the film: “Swaraaj: The Little Republic” which won the Gold Medal for the Best Film on Social Issues (2002) from President of India for its strong depiction of women’s empowerment in society.

Dr. Timothy (Tenny) Thomas received his Ph. D. from Fordham University, Bronx, New York. He also teaches at the theology faculty of St. John’s University, Queens, New York. He received his S. T. M from Columbia University/Union Theological Seminary, New York, and M. Phil from University of Oxford, UK. He is the author of Christology in the Anaphoras of East Syriac, West Syriac and Byzantine Traditions. Kottayam, India: St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute. [Forthcoming 2017]. “Diatessaron.” Dictionary of Biblical Translations. New York: Nida Institute of Biblical Scholarship. [Forthcoming 2017]. “Monasticism” (3000 words), “Confession” (1000 words), “Nestorianism” (1000 words), “Vestments” (500 words), “St. John Chrysostom” (500 words), “Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church” (1500 words). 2011. Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Sergey Trostyanskiy is currently Research Fellow of the Sophia Institute (International Research Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture) based in New York and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, where he received his Ph.D. in Church history. His research interests include Byzantine history and philosophy. He is author of St. Cyril of Alexandria’s Metaphysics of the Incarnation (Peter Lang, 2016) and editor of Seven Icons of Christ: An Introduction to the Oikoumenical Councils (Gorgias Press, 2016) and Love, Marriage and Family in Eastern Orthodox Perspective (Gorgias Press, 2016).

Professor Liyakat Takim is the Sharjah Chair in Global Islam at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. A native of Zanzibar, Tanzania, he has authored more than one hundred and twenty scholarly works on a wide range of topics such as the genesis and development of Islamic law, the Qur’an and hadith literature, reformation in Islam, the role of custom in shaping Islamic law, Islamic mystical tradition, Islamic biographical literature, Islam in post-9/11 America and many other topics. Professor Takim has

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also spoken at more than ninety academic national and international conferences. He also teaches graduate and under-graduate courses on topics such as Islamic fundamentalism, Global Islam, Islam in America and Sunni-Shi’i encounters. He has published three books and is now working on his fourth book, Ijtihad and Reformation in Islam. Professor Takim has taught at several universities and is actively engaged in dialogue with different faith communities.

Bruce Niswander is a seasoned business professional in the areas of entrepreneurship, business commercialization, skilling and skills transfer and intellectual property management. Mr. Niswander founded and serves as the Managing Director of the Global Business Incubator (GBI) (September, 2011 to Present), which was created specifically to support sustainable economic development initiatives in the South community of countries. The Global Business Incubator (GBI) is dedicated to delivering entrepreneurial solutions that create sustainable jobs in the rapidly changing, global marketplace. GBI’s service offerings include the creation and ongoing operation of impact oriented, entrepreneurial environments (physical and digital incubators), a network of “skills transfer and skills matching” services, and a commercialization accelerator that connects proven technical solutions to local, regional and global commercial opportunities. Prior to his work with GBI, Mr. Niswander was the director of Technology Transfer, Director of Entrepreneurial Incubators and Commercial Innovation (3 incubators in NYC Market) and a faculty member at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU (NYU College of Engineering August 2006 to August 2011). Topical areas of focus included Technology Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Finance and Managing Intellectual Property. Seven of the incubators’ initial tenants were sold to 3rd party acquirers for values totaling nearly $80 million. Prior to joining NYU, Mr. Niswander served 3 years as a Financial Consultant to Sallie Mae / Student Loan Marketing Group and 5 years as Entrepreneurial coordinator for Battelle Memorial Institute (the largest independent research institute in the world). Over his business career, Mr. Niswander was also responsible for creating 6 of his own start up ventures. Mr. Niswander studied chemical engineering at the University of Cincinnati (1970 through 1973), holds a bachelor’s degree in finance summa cum laude (January 1975 – June 1976), a

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master’s degree in business administration and a juris doctor, Law Degree (September 1976 to June 1979) – all from Ohio State University. He is also a Certified Financial Analyst (CFA).

Joe Varughese is a Professional Engineer practicing in the oil and gas industry for the last 13 years. He taught Project Procurement and Operations Management courses in Haskayne school of Business at University of Calgary. Joe’s work experience includes Mitsubishi’s joint venture in India and manufacturing and operations management with Dura Corporation’s subsidiary. His areas of expertise are in supply chain management, quality chain management, and operations management and diversified consulting experience. His research interests are in the Supply Chain Management, Risk Management, and Productivity Improvement. He studied at the Indian Institute of Technology (New Delhi, India) , University of Calgary (Canada), Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada) and is a regular speaker at various Quality Management venues. Stephen Chemsak holds a Doctor of Education in International Educational Development with a policy focus from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, a Master of Education, International Education, from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and certificates in student learning outcomes assessment and institutional effectiveness from the State University of New York (SUNY) Center for Professional Development. Currently, he is Director of Institutional Research and Assessment at Belmont Abbey College outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. He has served as Director of Institutional Research and Analysis at the State University of New York at Cortland and Assistant Director for Enrollment Research at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Chemsak wrote his dissertation on Japanese school design and its relationship to culture, pedagogy, and power in comparative perspective. He has presented research at Comparative and International Education Society conferences (CIES), at an Association for Institutional Research and Planning Officers (AIRPO) conference, and at the college/university level.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: GLOBALIZATION AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE GEORGE MATHEW DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, NEW DELHI

Globalization has become a buzzword which is subject to varying interpretations and meanings. To some it is a powerful tool to transform the world, others see it as a euphemism for a second colonization. When globalization became a powerful tool, it promised el dorado to millions. Today, many blame it for the greater miseries of millions of people out of jobs. Today, not just critics, even many protagonists maintain that globalization is a god that has failed. Not all aspects of globalization are considered bad. It has shrunk the world and brought immense new opportunities to all nations and peoples. But globalization is not Cadillacs. McDonalds and Nike sneakers only. Globalization is widely blamed for producing more billionaires and pauperizing millions. Perhaps globalization’s greatest failure has been in the field of economic justice. Globalization promised to lift all boats (Roy 2003) but the experience suggests the contrary. Globalization has its roots in the prescience of John Maynard Keynes in 1919, who while opining on the state of affairs for Europe’s economy after the First World War, stated: “The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth, in such quantity as he might see fit, and reasonably expect their early delivery upon his doorstep; he could adventure

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Sixty-four years later in 1983, Theodore Levitt coined the term ‘globalization’ with specific reference to market and trade parlance in the Harvard Business Review (Roy 2003). Today, the surging impetus behind dynamics of international trade entailing flow of both labor and capital, have assumed proportions in line with the aforementioned Keynesian theory. Furthermore, the information revolution and its digital connotations through science and technology catalyzing the concept of globalization steadily towards its possible zenith, and having its implications on a critical matter such as that of economic justice, mandates the need to subjectively collate the particulars of globalization. “Globalization is inherently not bad. But its benefits are unevenly shared and its costs unfairly distributed. What the world needs is compassionate globalization based on the principle of justice and equity and not serfdom” (Roy, 2001).

GLOBALIZATION AT WORK

Between the 16th and 19th century, a world market had been established, which in turn allowed monopolies to set in, to benefit a select few. Arab nations’ vast oil reserves, North America’s monopoly of surplus grain, Australia, North America and South Africa’s monopoly in uranium are examples. Consequently the 70 per cent of the world’s people living in the less developed world, continued to suffer. A world market may have existed, but it remained wholly biased toward the needs of the industrialized giants who largely controlled it. In the 1950s, there was modest acceptance by the developed market societies that ordinary commercial methods were not enough to secure world growth. Two developments took place apparently to help the poor countries: aid giving and concessionary lending – the equivalent of 19th century philanthropy – on the one hand, and the growth of large multinational corporations, on the other, which was considered necessary to conduct world trade without the backing of colonial control. These developments, of course, did not deliver growth to those that needed it. New debts were incurred, and the old dependence remained intact. This fundamental uneasiness began to express itself in a series of third

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world conferences. Eventually, they persuaded the “North” to join with them in establishing a new trade organization, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to give more weight to both their decisions and their difficulties. 1 At the UNCTAD’s 1964 session they set up the third world “Group of 77” (now comprising 177 developing countries) to be an instrument of greater influence in world trade negotiations. 2 It was in this context of a growing unjust world order and unbearable economic conditions that in June 1974 the General Assembly of the United Nations called for the creation of a New International Economic Order (NIEO). 3 By then, the belief that the world economy worked in a way unfair to developing countries (and was also increasingly inefficient in its operations) was widely shared. The essential characteristics of the New International Economic Order were, firstly, that it would support the development effort of poor countries in all areas by changing unfair and inadequate rules and regulations that had been existing, particularly in trade and monetary affairs. Secondly, it would increase the share of developing countries industrial and agricultural production. Thirdly, one-sided dependence would be replaced by genuine interdependence. And finally, it would require states to behave decently with each other. The norms of such behavior have been set out in the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, 4 a seminal document of the North-South encounter. The new economic order came to be generally seen by the developing countries as a question of change in the balance of power in the market, the power without which economic bargains were invariably biased towards the heavyweights. The third world countries were demanding equitable distribution of the world’s resources and better terms of trade, while the developed countries wanted to ensure a continuation and maintenance of their affluence. We may recall though that this pursuit of an ever-increasing affluence has led to the present internahttp://unctad.org/en/Pages/About%20UNCTAD/A-BriefHistory-of-UNCTAD.aspx 2 http://www.g77.org/doc/ 3 http://www.un-documents.net/s6r3201.htm 4 http://www.un-documents.net/a29r3281.htm 1

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tional inequality and the use of three quarters of the world’s resources by 30 per cent of the world’s population. As may have been expected, therefore, the developed countries were unwilling to change the existing patterns of production and consumption. In the early 1980’s the world economic scene was very threatening for the third world countries. The general feeling was that the third world was at the edge of a dangerous precipice. The June 1984 economic declaration of Heads of seven major industrialized countries (G7) held in London 5 made it clear that there would be no relief from international debt or any significant increase in the transfer of resources. The conference emphasized the need for economic efficiency, reliance on private investment flows and other subjects, which were of interest to the developed world. What happened after 2005? The western countries which dictated the economic policies for their advantage were in the doldrums. The economic recession gripped the most powerful country – United States of America – and its consequences were alarming. Today the situation continues unabated while the two Asian countries – China and India – are emerging economies and according to OECD estimate India will be the third largest economy soon.

THE USA-CASE OF ECONOMIC INJUSTICE

In 2011, I visited New York, the bastion of western capitalism and Yale University. The people’s movement: “Occupy Wall Street” was making waves. It came in the wake of the massive financial crisis of 2008 that rocked the world economy and has left many western giants with huge debts and growing social problems to tackle. The countries of the Eurozone, particularly Greece and Portugal, seem constantly to be fighting the meltdown, while America itself has been left with debts of over $16 trillion. Who would have predicted this in 1984? “He would have been here”, said the caption of a poster of Mahatma Gandhi, in Zuccotti Park in New York. It was a moment of great reckoning when I saw Gandhiji’s message about greed ml

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splashed around prominently. He was one of the first to tell the world that “the earth provides enough to satisfy everyman’s need; but not for everyman’s greed.”(Mahatma Gandhi: The Last Phase (vol.10) p.552. Greed like a mountain prevails in our societies; 99 per cent of people’s need is a molehill. While talking with the Wall Street protesters at Zuccotti Park and Yale University square, I could not miss the depth of anger among the protestors towards the filthy rich whose greed has brought the world to the economic precipice. Seeing the posters that say 1% is dominating 99% wherever I travelled in the US, the thought which came to mind was: has the capitalist system taken us back to the worst days of oligarchy and feudalism? The biggest hoarding I saw in Zuccotti Park says it all: “Bank of America CFO gets $970 per hour; Goldman Sachs CEO – $ 7,058 per hour; AT&T CEO – $13,670 per hour; John Paulson, Hedge Fund Manager – $ 2.54 million per hour. The Top 12 Fortune 500 companies made $170 billion in Profits during the Recession and paid $ 0 taxes.”

But then what is the wage structure of workers? Average union wage is $23.19 per hour; average non-union wage – $19.68 per hour. The non-union cashier gets – $9.07 per hour; while the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Occupy Wall Street tells the world that 15 million are unemployed getting $0.00 per hour! What these figures portray is utter sense of disgust and revulsion among the majority of people towards the greedy. The Wall Street movement was by no means confined to the unemployed youth. Young and old from all sections of society were there. When I enquired from the receptionist of the hotel on the Avenue of Americas, New York, as to what was the best way to reach Zuccotti Park, he said, “You are going there? I also wanted to come, maybe tomorrow”. Hundreds of wall posters, hoardings, paper boards displayed as well as pamphlets distributed all over the protest sites exemplified the disillusionment with the nonperforming model. The God of the Market has failed. From Karl Marx to Gandhi, from socialism to people’s participation in decision-making – the inspiring writings of all thinkers, writers and philosophers are quoted extensively. Corruption and exploitation are the two pillars’ of capitalism. We knew this in 1984, but it has reached new levels now. What about bailouts? An interesting plac-

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ard had the picture of a black woman with two kids in her lap saying: I am a low wage worker. “When millions of our taxpayer dollars are given to big corporations, don’t I deserve $10 per hour?”. Many were shocked when bailouts of super rich corporations were discussed recently in India. While I was at the Yale University square, young protesters there reminded me of the Anna Hazare movement against corruption back home which began on 5 April 2011 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, spreading to several parts of the country and continuing till 3 August 2012 (India Today pp 20–27). The police crackdown against peaceful protesters was one common feature. Apart from that, all emphasis was on “Greed”. The youth, who came in hundreds with their own money and slept in the movable covered beds and tents, speak about the greed, which makes the rich even richer at the expense of the poor. On the top of these beds was written: “workers of the world unite!”. At the Jantar Mantar and India Gate in Delhi what I saw during the Anna Hazare protest days was the anger of the youth asking, “what are we destined towards, if corruption prevails like this? We will fight against it.” The same spirit and energy was visible in the Occupy Wall Street protests as well. The movement for democratic accountability is spreading all over the world; especially in financial capitals, all sections are coming out in support. It was interesting to read in The Financial Times (London) that when hundreds of activists supporting the Occupy Wall Street protests were at the steps of the St. Paul’s Cathedral in London (this was one of the 20 such rallies in U.K), the canon chancellor of St. Paul’s, Dr. Giles Fraser, came out in solidarity. One of the leaflets quoting Martin Luther King Jr., that I read while leaving Zuccotti Park, cannot be forgotten easily: “As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be rich, even if I have one billion dollars. As long as diseases are rampant and millions of people in this world cannot expect to live more than twenty-eight or thirty years, I can never be totally healthy… I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the way our world is made. No individual or nation can stand out boasting of being independent. We are interdependent.” The time has come when the dictatorship of the capitalists and the greedy cannot go on as it is. Growth, we now know, is worth little if it does not carry the people with it. Many of us in the developing world knew this as

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way back in 1984. Now the specter of inequality has come to haunt the developed nations too. The big question is whether the state and policy and lawmakers will respond to this challenge with much needed courage.

THE CASE OF CHINA

The United States helped China’s economic rise by promoting globalization. China made full use of it as globalization gave the country the opportunity to share capital, technology and knowledge on a global scale. It took advantage of opportunities in the world economy by a mix of policies which allowed it to have well-trained and skillful labor force. China also increased substantially domestic savings rate and adopting export-oriented models. In recent years, China even embraced free market orthodoxy. In the annals of history, it will be noted that it was the United States and Europe that championed a new economic structure, which ultimately undermined their own position in the world. How did this happen? China’s decision to open its economy to the world coincided with the U.S. drive for globalization. U.S. and Western corporations opened the economic floodgates to China through direct investment and subcontracting agreements. As Western capitalism globalized, China became the factory of the world. The Chinese development model consists of state control over finance, direct support for state owned enterprises by the government, import substitution industrialization in heavy industry, a high dependence on export markets and a high rate of domestic savings. A high level of external competitiveness particularly in the manufacturing sector was one of the primary aims of China’s economic policy. It required foreign technology and investment to achieve economies of scale. Post-reform growth in China has been more inclusive especially in agriculture and industry creating employment for vast numbers of people. The adherents of globalization like the US got trapped in its free market ideology and obsession with balancing the budget which became policy straightjackets that ensured that money that could have been spent on education, research and development, modern infrastructure and other requisites for outcompeting its rivals was in short supply. The Chinese opted for the opposite choice. They poured resources into areas pivotal for

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GEORGE MATHEW

building a robust and competitive economy. China became the unintended winner of the limits of the United States’ free market ideology. Next to the United States, China now has the highest number of millionaires globally. The number of millionaires in China continues to increase. But what about the poor? Poverty is a major concern in China. According to a study conducted by the International Monetary Fund, the widening gap between the rich and the poor in China makes it “one of the most unequal countries in the world” (Serhan Cevik and Carolina Correa-Caro, 2015). The positive results of the centrally planned economy moving to market economy have gone to the rich. Today China has 2.4 million millionaire households, but the income inequality has gone up and those who live with less than 1 US $ per day could be nearly 200 million.

GLOBALIZATION AND INCOME-DISTRIBUTION TRENDS WORLDWIDE

Income inequality and uneven resource distribution is not a new phenomenon. The following table is illustrative of this fact as far back as the late 1990’s. Global Economic Governance, 1997: The G-7 and the G-77 Title

Institutional Grouping

Membership

G-7

Western Economic Powers

G-77

Developing and some transitional countries (Excluding Russia, Poland)

U.S, U.K, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan (7 countries) 143 countries

% of World GDP 64.0

% of World Population

16.9

76.0

11.8

Source: UNDP, 1999:109 (G-7: Group of 7,G-77:Group of 77)

A study by Credit Suisse in its Global Wealth Report 2015, highlights that 71 per cent of the world population account for only 3 per cent of global wealth.

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Source: Global Wealth Report 2015, Credit Suisse Research Institute, October 2015

A core reason why several countries across the globe – including large ones such as Brazil and Russia – are at the receiving end of globalization is due to their dependence on export of raw materials meant for primary production. Large scale imports by China for example from these countries leads to a progressive decline of indigenous industries in the latter. This is attributed to the temporal focus on profit-generation and wealth creation by private players, without taking into consideration long-term ramifications such as domestic unemployment.

GLOBALIZATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT

According to the World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2015, “by 2019, more than 212 million people will be out of work, up from the current 201 million”. 6 Global Unemployment Rates and Projections Country/region World G20 Economies

2007 2013 5.5 6.0 5.0 5.7

2014 5.9 5.6

2015 5.9 5.6

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-theilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_336884/lang--en/index.htm 6

2016 5.9 5.6

2017 5.9 5.6

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GEORGE MATHEW

G20 Advanced Economies G20 Emerging Economies Developed Economies and the European Union Australia Canada Japan United States European Union France Germany Italy United Kingdom Central and South-Eastern Europe and CIS Russian Federation Turkey Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa South Africa Latin America and the Caribbean Brazil Mexico East Asia Republic of Korea South-East Asia and the Pacific Indonesia South Asia

5.7 4.8

8.4 4.9

7.7 5.0

7.4 5.1

7.2 5.1

7.0 5.2

5.8 4.4 6.0 3.9 4.7 7.2 8.0 8.6 6.1 5.4

8.5 5.7 7.1 4.0 7.4 10.9 10.4 5.3 12.2 7.5

7.8 6.0 6.9 3.7 6.2 10.2 9.9 5.0 12.5 6.3

7.5 5.9 6.7 3.6 5.9 9.9 10.0 4.7 12.6 5.9

7.3 5.7 6.6 3.6 5.5 9.7 10.0 4.9 12.5 5.7

7.1 5.6 6.6 3.7 5.2 9.5 9.9 5.0 12.3 5.5

8.2 6.0 10.3 10.2 11.4 7.8 22.3

7.8 5.5 9.7 10.9 12.4 7.7 24.6

7.7 5.1 9.2 11.0 12.5 7.7 25.1

7.8 5.3 9.2 11.0 12.5 7.7 25.0

7.8 5.4 8.9 10.9 12.5 7.7 24.9

7.8 5.4 9.0 10.8 12.5 7.7 24.8

6.9 8.1 3.4 3.8 3.2

6.3 6.5 4.9 4.5 3.1

6.6 6.8 4.9 4.6 3.5

6.8 7.1 4.8 4.8 3.5

6.9 7.3 4.5 4.9 3.5

6.8 7.3 4.3 4.9 3.5

5.5 9.1 4.0

4.3 6.2 3.9

4.3 6.2 3.9

4.3 6.1 3.9

4.2 5.9 4.0

4.2 5.8 4.0

Source: ILO, Trends Econometric Models 2014

CRONY CAPITALISM AND ITS IMPACT ON PUBLIC-POLICY

A basic reason for the prevalence of such economic incongruity and its subsequent challenges is crony capitalism. A classic example of crony capitalism finding greater significance over people’s welfare is in the defense sector. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), USD 1.676 Trillion was spent as part of defense expenditure by world governments. The defense spending of top countries listed below depicts the significance of

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budgetary allocation in matters of security over that of health and education. The defense spending of advanced countries such as the United States far exceeds that of several large countries put together. Defense Spending (2015) in 15 Countries

Source: International Institute of Strategic Studies 2016

Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI))

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GEORGE MATHEW

This needs to be compared with the investments by the government on basic services such as education and health. The final report of The World Education Forum 2015 (UNESCO, 2015), provides some useful pointers with regard to financing of education: • • •

•

• •

•

“On average, between 2000 and 2012, countries increased their spending on education, but this was mainly the result of more revenue, not of prioritization given to education. Aid to education fell by US$1.3 billion between 2010 and 2012. For every child in low- and lower-middle income countries to benefit from an expanded basic education of good quality, the average annual cost will have to increase from $100 to $239 billion between 2015 and 2030. Even if governments spend close to 20 per cent of budget on education, there remains an annual financing gap of $22 billion to be filled mostly by external sources, which requires aid to increase, four times. Currently, no finance target exists for education within the SDGs. There is an increasing need to find different approaches because some traditional vertical (donor-recipient) partnerships have not worked well. Other ways and types of financing need to be explored. Starting from the experience of the health sector in 2009, there is growing evidence that results based financing works and is now applied in 32 countries with support from donors. The World Bank will double results-based financing to US$5 billion in the next five years”. 7

A report by NORRAG (Network for international policies and cooperation in education and training) examining the government expenditure on education by the BRICS countries is of great significance and needs to be highlighted here. The table below is illustrative. 7

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002437/243724E.pdf

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Government expenditure on education as a % of GDP and total government expenditure

The report argues that while BRICS are emerging economies experiencing rapid economic growth, their individual government expenditure on education is far from satisfactory. This, it is highlighted in the report, is in a context where, “As a group, BRICS countries have an important political and economic role to play on the world stage as they occupy about 26% of the planet’s land, in addition to being home to 41% of world population and about 46% of its workforce. The countries had a combined GDP of approximately $14.9 trillion, accounted for about 19% of the world GDP in nominal terms and approximately 26% of global GDP in terms of purchasing power parity and an estimated US$4.5 trillion in combined foreign reserves in 2012.1 During the final quarter of 2012, the rise in World GDP by 2.5% was largely because of these big emerging economies. The BRICS alone have been responsible for 55% of global growth since the end of 2009” (Khuluvhe, 2015). Recognizing the importance of optimum financing for education, The Incheon Declaration for Education 2030, adopted in May 2015 at the World Education Forum sets a new vision for education for the next fifteen years. The declaration explicitly states: “It is also clear that the aspirations encompassed in the proposed SDG 4 cannot be realized without a significant and well-targeted increase in financing, particularly in those countries furthest from achieving quality education for all at all levels. We therefore are determined to increase public spending on education in accordance

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GEORGE MATHEW

with country context, and urge adherence to the international and regional benchmarks of allocating efficiently at least 4–6% of Gross Domestic Product and/or at least 15–20% of total public expenditure to education”. 8 The situation with regard to the health sector is also equally disappointing. The World Health Organization highlights the following facts with regard to the health sector in India: “India is losing more than 6% of its GDP annually due to premature deaths and preventable illnesses, according to a 2010 World Bank report. Total expenditure on health is 4.2% of GDP. Of this, current public expenditure is only 1.1% of GDP. Over 70% expenditure is out of pocket (and majority at point of service). The country’s per capita health spending has risen from US$21 in 2000 to US$44 in 2009 (with government expenditure within it increasing from US$6 to US$13). However, India remains among the five countries with the lowest public health spending levels in the world. Out-of-pocket payments have increased, with impoverishment of nearly 2.2% of population taking place annually due to catastrophic illness-related expenditure. Hospitalization for major illnesses is a major cause of indebtedness, especially for those living below the poverty line”. 9 The above situation is particularly significant given the rapid urbanization trends, according to the World Urbanization Prospects, 2014 report, Africa and Asia are urbanizing at a faster pace than the rest of the regions and are projected to be 56 and 64 per cent urban, respectively by 2050 (World Urbanization Trends 2014). It is projected that both population growth and rapid urbanization will add 2.5 billion people to the world’s urban population by 2050, with 90 per cent of the increase concentrated in Asia and Africa (ibid).

http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/incheonframework-for-action-en.pdf 9 http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief _ind_en.pdf 8

1. GLOBALIZATION AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE

CONCLUSION

15

A comprehensive understanding of the emerging gap between the rich and the poor is important for all stakeholders concerned. The poor countries of the world are no more deluding themselves by believing that globalization will lift all boats. It has made them even more vulnerable economically and structurally. The Third World countries have realized that embracing of untrammeled market economy is a recipe for disaster. “The way globalization has proceeded in the past two decades or so has only exacerbated differences not only among the Third World countries, but also within them” (Roy, 1999). There was hope that globalization will lead to greater equity, job opportunities and distributive justice. However, the factual consequence on people’s lives reflected through marketdriven policies depicts a miserable story altogether. Yesterday’s protagonists of globalization have become today’s globalization-skeptics. Two decades ago, Western scholars maintained that capitalism could do no wrong. It was argued that, “a crisis in capitalism need not be a crisis of capitalism.” Today, even Western scholars and Institutions like World Bank agree that untrammeled globalization has sharpened social inequalities, increased polarization and the growth of poverty. It is happening all over, not just at the interface between the rich and poor nations. The same dynamic is at work within the industrialized world. The Western countries are fast becoming deindustrialized. The wheel has turned full circle. Today, it is the Western countries who talk of de-growth, anti-developmentalism, zero growth etc. Even Club of Rome talks about limits of growth. The discussion and discourse on the socialist approach to development hardly exists today. The political parties with socialist ideology at one time do not articulate the social and economic crisis in any radical way and even if they do so, it is within the emerging market economy framework only. We need today a paradigm shift in our thinking, teaching, action and programs, so that the unlimited capitalist growth leading the way to the empire of the millionaires could be curtailed to benefit the poor and the disadvantaged. We need to dream a world of happiness and equality and that will happen only when the poor and the disadvantaged come to the center stage.

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The contributors of this volume investigate various peacemaking and economic development strategies from different angles. Although nations around the world are concerned about establishing democratic governments, safeguarding the basic tenants of economic justice has not been an easy task. Several of the authors in their articles put forward data showing how unequal distribution of goods and services, among changing situations, only supports an unequal distribution economy. Every contributor in this volume treats each of their arguments from varying viewpoints, not only from a contemporary mode of thought, but also from historical perspectives – in the development of theories as well as experience – and make careful reflections on cases of economic development that are burdened with injustice. Thus, the book is a combination of two themes: one is economic development and the other, peace experiments around the world. Would the authors’ task becomes fully worthy of this search for justice in the midst of social and economic injustice? The 14 authors here perform a scholarly service that extends across national and cultural boundaries, which may reach and affect the waves of globalization and the trick of terrorist ideology.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Keynes, John Maynard. 1919. The Economic Consequences of the Peace. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, Inc. Khuluvhe, M. (2015). BRICS Education Expenditure. NORRAG News, 52, 126–128. Retrieved from: http://www.norrag.org/fileadmin/Full%20Versions/NN52.p df Nayyar, Pyarelal. 1958 Mahatma Gandhi: The Last Phase vol.10 Roy, Ash Narain.1999. The Third World in the age of Globalization: Requiem or New Agenda? Zed Books, London and New York. Roy, Ash Narain. 1997. Flawed Mantra of Market, Hindustan Times Roy, Ash Narain. 2001. Who is afraid of globalization? Indian Express Serhan Cevik and Carolina Correa-Caro. 2015 IMF Working Paper No. WP/15/68 on “Growing (Un)equal: Fiscal Policy and In-

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come Inequality in China and BRIC p.3 India Today, Delhi 2012 vol. 37 The Group of 77. http://www.g77.org/doc/ The London Economic Declaration. http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/summit/1984london/communiq ue.html United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. http://unctad.org/en/Pages/About%20UNCTAD/A-BriefHistory-of-UNCTAD.aspx United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2014. World Urbanization Prospects The 2014 Revision Highlights https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2014 –Highlights.pdf United Nations, Declaration on the Establishment of a New Economic Order. http://www.un-documents.net/s6r3201.htm United Nations, Charter of Economic Rigts and Duties of State. http://www.un-documents.net/a29r3281.htm UNESCO. 2015. World Education Forum. Incheon Declaration http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/incheonframework-for-action-en.pdf World Health Organization, Country Cooperation strategy at a Glance http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccs brief_ind_en.pdf

CHAPTER 2 KEEPING THE PEACE IN OUR SCHOOLS: A SIMULTANEOUS EQUATION MODEL OF SCHOOL DISCIPLINE PROGRAMS STEPHEN CHEMSAK INTRODUCTION

Parent involvement in schools is essential not only for effective learning but for effective school discipline (Walker, 1994). Yet research suggests a two-way causal relationship, similar to economic supply and demand, between school parental program provision and parental involvement (Eccles and Harold 1993; Bauch and Goldring, 1995; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004). Provision and involvement are, in turn, linked to other exogenous factors. On the parent side, participation in other school programs (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 1987) and socioeconomic status of parents (Becker and Epstein, 1982) are associated with parental involvement in school discipline programs. On the school side, the likelihood that the school is located in a high crime area (Ward, 1998) and teacher support for school policies (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000) are linked to provision of school discipline programs involving parents by schools. Using a Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) model, this paper explores the two-way causal relationship, or mutual influence, of school discipline programs and parent involvement in them. Likely to the chagrin of teachers, administrators, and education policy-makers, this paper did not find evidence that the provision of school discipline programs involving parents has a statistically significant relationship to parent program participation in such 19

20

STEPHEN CHEMSAK

programs. This finding may not be surprising in light of a body of educational research that shows that family factors often have an even more powerful relationship than do school factors to what generally are considered positive measures, indicators, or outcomes of education. Causal Model 1 Parent Participation in other groups (Open-House [q5a], Student Teacher Conferences

Parents involved in School Discipline Programs [q6a]

Students expected to go to College [q26b] (SES proxy)

High Risk School (Metal Detectors [q1e], Locked/monitored gates [q1c], “High Crime Area”

School has discipline programs involving parents [q4c]

Teacher Support for Safety Programs [q14d]

DATA DESCRIPTION

The data used to explore the relationships among these factors come from the 2003–2004 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSCS) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The survey contained questions on topics ranging from parent involvement in schools to frequency of crime and violence. In early 2004, the survey was sent by NCES to a stratified sample of administrators and principals of 3,473 public primary and secondary schools throughout the U.S. In the end, 2772 responses were received, a response rate of 75%. The endogenous variables in Note that in some instances, several variables have been combined in one variable “box”. I.e. locked/ monitored gates are put together in the box “high risk school”. 1

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21

this paper reflect whether or not parent groups were involved in school’s efforts to promote safe, disciplined, drug free schools (Q6a)(1=yes; 2=no) and whether the school has a program that has a program at school that helps maintain school discipline (Q4c)(1=yes; two=no). The exogenous variables reflect the following: the percentage of students who had a parent or guardian participating in open-house or back-to-school night (5a) (1=025%;2=26–50%; 3=51–75%; 4=76–100%; 5= School does not offer ); the percentage of students who had a parent or guardian participating in regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences (5b)(same categories as 5a) ; socioeconomic status accounted for by a proxy: percentage of students likely to go to college after high school (26b); whether access to school grounds was controlled during school hours (1=yes; 2=no); whether the school required visitors to pass through metal detectors (1=yes; 2=no). Verbatim Questions from NCES 2003–2004 Survey 1. During the 2003–2004 school year, was it a practice of your school to do the following? (If your school changed its practices during the school year, please answer regarding your most recent practice. Check one response on each line.) c. Control access to school grounds during school hours (e.g., locked or monitored gates) 1 Yes 2 No e. Require visitors to pass through metal detectors 1 Yes 2 No 4. Which of the following does your school do to involve or help parents? (Check one response on each line.)c. Have a program that involves parents at school helping to maintain school discipline 1Yes 2No 5. What is your best estimate of the percentage of students who had at least one parent or guardian participating in the following events during the 2003–2004 school year? (Check one response on each line) a. Open house or back-to-school night 1 0-25%2 26–50%3 51–75%476–100% 5School does not offer b. Regularly scheduled parent-teacher

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STEPHEN CHEMSAK

conferences 1 0–25%2 26–50%3 51–75%4 76–100%5 School does not offer 6. Were any of the following community and outside groups involved in your school’s efforts to promote safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools? (Check one response on each line.)a. Parent Groups 1 Yes 2 No 14. To what extent did the following factors limit your school’s efforts to reduce or prevent crime? (Check one response on each line.)d. Lack of teacher support for school policies 1 Limit in Major Way 2 Limit in Minor Way 3 Does not Limit 26. What is your best estimate of the percentage of your current students who are the following? b. Likely to go to college after high school _______% 30. How would you describe the crime level in the area where your school is located? (Check only one response.) 1 High level of crime 2 Moderate level of crime 3 Low level of crime Hypothesis Although it has been suggested that the provision of programs involving parents has a relationship to parent group involvement in school discipline programs (Eccles and Harold 1993; Bauch and Goldring, 1995; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004), once the former variable is instrumented and all exogenous variables are controlled for, there is no statistically significant effect. Brief Discussion of Frequencies 73% of school administrators reported that their schools had parent groups involved in efforts to promote safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools (parinvolv variable). 80% reported having programs involving parents maintain school discipline (involvparen). Most schools’ students had at least one parent attending an openhouse or back-to-school night (parenophsebckschl2, “26%–100% of

2. KEEPING THE PEACE IN OUR SCHOOLS

23

students” combined response options accounting for > 89% of responses) and parent teacher conferences (par3teach2, “26–100% of students” combined response options accounting for > 82% of responses). Reported percent of students likely to attend college after high school (percencoll) appeared normally distributed, around 50%, while peaking at each fifth percentile. At 38% of schools, access to school grounds was reported controlled (lockmongate). Under 2% of schools required visitors to pass through metal detectors (metdetect). 75% of schools were reported to be located in an area with a low level of crime (crimeschool=2). 75% also reported that lack of teacher support does not limit the school’s efforts to reduce or prevent crime (lackteachsup). | parinv~v involv~n pareno~2 par3te~2 percen~l metdet~t lockmo~e -------------+-------------------------------------------------------------parinvolv | 1.0000 involvparen | 0.1328 1.0000 1.0000 parenophse~2 | -0.1463 -0.0451 par3teach2 | -0.0794 -0.0459 0.4752 1.0000 percencoll | -0.1229 0.0514 0.2150 0.1102 1.0000 metdetect | -0.0292 0.1062 0.0570 0.0193 0.0549 1.0000 lockmongate | 0.0419 0.1574 0.0010 0.0401 0.0571 0.0746 1.0000 crimeschool | -0.0343 0.1352 0.1483 0.0879 0.2964 0.1466 0.1727 lackteachsup | -0.0179 0.0547 0.1618 0.1739 0.1324 0.0939 0.0863 | crimes~l lackte~p -------------+-----------------crimeschool | 1.0000 lackteachsup | 0.1923 1.0000

As expected, the endogenous variable parinvolv was noticeably correlated with involveparen, parenophsebckschl2, par3teach2, and percencoll (r=.13, -15, -.08, -.12). The endogenous variable involvparen was noticeably correlated with metdetect, lockmongate, crimeschool, and weakly correlated with lackteachsup (r=.11, .16, .14, .05). Assumptions to Identify and Estimate Models “Identification” is a precondition for the application of 2SLS to equations in simultaneous systems; a structural equation is identified only when enough of the system’s predetermined variables are omitted from the equation in question to allow that equation to be

24

STEPHEN CHEMSAK

distinguished from all others in the system (Studenmund, 2006). There are two conditions that need to be satisfied: the Rank Condition and the Order Condition. Following Studenmund (2006, p. 497), I here note and simply assume the Rank Condition is satisfied in the present research. 2 The Order Condition requires that the number of predetermined (exogenous plus lagged endogenous) variables in the simultaneous system is greater than or equal to the number of slope coefficients in the equation of interest (Studenmund, 2006 p. 498). Put another way, the Order Condition requires that the number of exogenous/predetermined variables excluded from an equation must be greater than or equal to the number of endogenous variables on the right hand side of the equation. The two following equations/models (1.1 and 1.2) would allow for the application of 2SLS because the number of exogenous variables excluded (4 and 3 respectively) is greater than the number of endogenous variables on the right hand side of each equation (1 in each case). OLS Regression Mis-specified for parinvolv 3 In the first equation (Model 1.1), the first endogenous variable, parinvolv, is regressed on all variables that theory proposes it has a causal relationship with (see causal flow model at beginning of paper) in order to contrast these results with the 2SLS model for parinvolv, which will be specified later.

Studenmund notes that most researchers examine just the order condition, that the Rank Condition is covered in “advanced econonometric text[s]” (p.497). 3 Although logistic regression would be the preferable method for the models specified in this paper, as these models use dichotomous dependent variables, the assumption is made here that the results using such a model would not differ greatly. 2

2. KEEPING THE PEACE IN OUR SCHOOLS

25

Model 1.1 . reg

parinvolv

parenophsebckschl2

par3teach2

percencoll

Source | SS df MS -------------+-----------------------------Model | 26.1235479 4 6.53088697 Residual | 520.954374 2767 .188274078 -------------+-----------------------------Total | 547.077922 2771 .197429781

involvparen, beta

Number of obs F( 4, 2767) Prob > F R-squared Adj R-squared Root MSE

= = = = = =

2772 34.69 0.0000 0.0478 0.0464 .43391

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------parinvolv | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| Beta -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------parenophse~2 | -.0491791 .0092379 -5.32 0.000 -.1143131 par3teach2 | -.002745 .007729 -0.36 0.723 -.0074911 percencoll | -.0018517 .000338 -5.48 0.000 -.1042828 involvparen | .1485193 .0208358 7.13 0.000 .1326834 _cons | .4013701 .033716 11.90 0.000 . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Model 1.2 . reg

involvparen metdetect lockmongate crimeschool

Source | SS df MS -------------+-----------------------------Model | 26.805402 5 5.36108041 Residual | 409.827715 2766 .148166202 -------------+-----------------------------Total | 436.633117 2771 .157572399

lackteachsup

parinvolv, beta

Number of obs F( 5, 2766) Prob > F R-squared Adj R-squared Root MSE

= = = = = =

2772 36.18 0.0000 0.0614 0.0597 .38492

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------involvparen | Coef. Std. Err. t P>|t| Beta -------------+---------------------------------------------------------------metdetect | .2530451 .056298 4.49 0.000 .0840165 lockmongate | .1031166 .0153304 6.73 0.000 .1262863 crimeschool | .0704089 .0132282 5.32 0.000 .1020466 lackteachsup | .0145914 .0147213 0.99 0.322 .0186749 parinvolv | .1195559 .0164934 7.25 0.000 .133825 _cons | .3154312 .0597191 5.28 0.000 . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OLS Regression Mis-specified for involvparen In Model 1.2, the second endogenous variable, involvparen, is regressed on all variables that theory proposes it has a causal relationship with, again, in order to contrast these results with the 2SLS model that will be specified later. The results of Model 1.1 and 1.2 will be discussed in comparison with the 2–Stage Least Squares Model at the end of the paper. However, briefly, it is noted that we find that in each equation, only two predictor variables, par3teach2 and lackteachsup, are not signifi-

26

STEPHEN CHEMSAK

cantly related to the endogenous variables, controlling for the exogenous variables and the other endogenous variable in the model. First Stage/Reduced-Form Regression for parinvolv In Models 2.1 and 2.2, the endogenous variables are individually regressed on all the exogenous variables. Reduced-form equations such as these yield coefficients called impact multipliers. The reduced form is used because 1) it does not violate the third classical assumption, 2) impact multipliers can be usefully interpreted, and 3) they can assist in estimating simultaneous equations (Studenmund, 2006, p. 480). Structural Equation for parinvolv: Two-Stage Least Squares Because the OLS models created are biased in the estimation of simultaneous equations, they violate the third of the classical assumptions of OLS (Studenmund, 2006, p. 485), which says that the error term of all predictor variables is not correlated (p.89)--in the following equations, instrumental variables are substituted for the endogenous variables where they are predictor variables. Variables

Table 1: parinvolv OLS 2SLS

parenophsebckschl2 par3teach2 percencoll involvparen

-.0491791* -.002745 -.0018517* .1485193*

-.048762* -.0024824 -.0018771* .1733923

Constant

.4013701*

.3154305*

Difference between 2SLS and OLS 0.0004 0.0003 0.0000 (became nonsignificant) 0.0249 -0.0859

Table 2: involvparen

Variables

OLS

2SLS

metdetect lockmongate

.2530451* .1031166*

.2649499* .096855*

Difference between OLS and 2SLS 0.0119 -0.0063

2. KEEPING THE PEACE IN OUR SCHOOLS

crimeschool lackteachsup parinvolv Constant

.0704089* .0145914 .1195559* .3154312*

.0742088* .0160828 .2530543* .2624915*

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0.0038 0.0015 0.1335 -0.0529

In the first table above, controlling for the other independent variables in the respective equations, a positive change in category of parents or guardians attending open-house or back-to-school night (parenophsebckschl2:0–25% to 25–50% etc.) is associated with a .05 (OLS and 2SLS) greater probability that parents of the school are reported to be involved in school discipline programs (parinvolv). The percent of students expecting to attend college (percencoll) is associated with a .002 greater likelihood that parents are reported to be involved in school discipline programs (parinvolv). There is one difference in the statistical significance of the coefficients between the mis-specified OLS models and the two-stage least squares models: Involvparen is not a statistically significant predictor of parinvolv when involvparen is instrumented, as involveparen was in the mis-specified OLS model. In the second table, we find that visitors reported being required to pass through a metal detector (metdetect) is associated with a .3 (both OLS and 2SLS) greater probability that schools is reported to have parent groups involved in student discipline (involvparen). School gates being locked (lockmongate) is associated with a .1 greater probability that the school has discipline programs involving parents (involvparen). A change of one category in the level of crime (crimeschool) is associated with a (.07) greater likelihood that the school is reported to have safety programs involving parents (involvparen). Parent involvement (parinvolv) is associated with a .2, and.3 (OLS and 2SLS respectively) greater likelihood that the school is reported to have a school discipline program involving parents (involvparen).

Hausman Specification Test 1

Rejecting the null hypothesis provides would provide evidence that the 2SLS model is the better model, that there is “added value” from using 2SLS; the Hausman test, if its null-hypothesis is rejected, indicates there probably is no simultaneity bias (X causes Y, Y causes X at the same time). However, in both of these Hausman test cases, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected (p=.8, p=.16>.05). Thus, the Hausman test does not provide evidence that the 2SLS models are the better models.

CONCLUSION

Once parent involvement in school discipline programs is instrumented, there is no statistically significant effect on the likelihood that schools will offer school safety programs. Despite this result, the Hausman test provides no evidence that the 2SLS is a better model. However, because 2SLS theoretically should be the superior model, and because there is the risk of committing a type I error and overstating the results by relying on the mis-specified OLS model, 2SLS is used here as the model of choice for reporting the following conclusion: Confirming the original hypothesis of this paper, yet likely to the chagrin of teachers, administrators, and education policy-makers, there is no evidence in this analysis that the provision of school discipline programs involving parents has a statistically significant relationship to parent participation in such programs. Yet this finding is in line with a body of educational research (Coleman, 1966; Heyneman and Loxley, 1983; Lareau, 2000) that shows that family factors often have a powerful relationship – often an even more powerful relationship than do school factors – to what are generally considered positive measures, indicators, or outcomes of education.

WORKS CITED

Bauch, P. and Goldring, E. (1995). Parent Involvement and School Responsiveness: Facilitating the Home-School Connection in A Durbin-Wu Hausman test would have been attempted but could not be found in the copy/version of Stata being used. 1

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Schools of Choice. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 17 (1), 1–21 Becker, H. and Epstein, J. (1982). Parent Involvement: A Survey of Teacher Practices. Elementary School Journal, 83, 85–102. Coleman, J. (1966). Equality of Educational Opportunity. United States Department of Education. Comer, J. and Haynes, N. (1991). Parent Involvement in Schools: An Ecological Approach. Elementary School Journal, 91(3), 271– 77. Eccles, J. and Harold, R. (1993). Parent-School Involvement during the Early Adolescent Years. Teachers College Record, 93(3), 568– 587 http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=169 Heynemann, S. and Loxley, W. (1983). The Effect of Primary School Quality on Academic Achievement Across TwentyNine High and Low-Income Countries, American Journal of Sociology. Hoover-Dempsey, K., Bassler, O., and Brissie, J. (1987). Parent Involvement: Contributions of Teacher Efficacy, School Socioeconomic Status, and other School Characteristics. American Educational Research Journal, 24 (3), 417–35. Lareau, A. (2000). Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Intervention in Elementary Education. Lanham, Maryland: Rowen and Littlefield. Studenmund, A. (2006). Using Econometrics. Boston: Pearson. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Child Care Bureau (2004). Estimating Supply and Demand forAfterschool Programs: A Tool for State and Local Policymakers. Retrieved March 30, 2008 from http://www.nccic.org/afterschool/SupplyDemand.pdf National Center for Education Statistics (2000). School Survey on Crime and Safety, 2000. Retrieved March 1, 2008 from http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/tables/sc_2000_tab_30.asp Walker, H. (1995). Antisocial Behavior in School: Strategies and Best Practices. Pacific Grove, PA: Brooks/Cole Publishing. Ward, C. (1998). Student Discipline and Alleviating Criminal Behavior in the Inner City. The Urban Review, 30(1), 29–48.

CHAPTER 3 FAMILY ECONOMY TO GLOBAL ECONOMY: THE EARLY CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT AND ITS RELEVANCE IN THE MODERN WORLD SERGEY TROSTYANSKIY ABSTRACT This article aims to elucidate the early Christian understanding of economy. It also attempts to test its utility in clarifying contemporary concerns associated with the ethical aspects of economy. It starts with a brief historical contextualization of the subject matter. It attempts to explicate the meaning of “economy” in both classical and patristic thought, and to delineate the contents of economic science of the early church. The author argues that the early Christian thinkers had a definitive understanding of the subject. Their “science of housecraft” or “household management” had two structural elements, one – supplied by various ancient thinkers and properly substantiated by Aristotle, and another one – developed by the fathers in accord with classical and ancient Jewish conceptions. A brief survey of Aristotle’s theory in this context intends to substantiate the link between classical and patristic economic thought. A tension between the two elements is then apprehended as constituting a unique feature of patristic thought, one that allowed the fathers to properly accentuate their ethical and soteriological concerns. The author classifies patristic thought on 31

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SERGEY TROSTYANSKIY the subject as subtle. He argues that the fathers can enhance our understanding of it and perhaps answer certain concerns of our time. Even so, he also notes that there exist certain conceptual gaps between ancient and modern economic theories. A brief review of modern (i.e. post-Enlightenment) economic theory is offered to highlight discontinuity between the two theories. In order to validate his hypothesis, the author chose two patristic texts, one representing Alexandrian catechetical school of the third century, and another one – Cappadocial imperial theology of the fourth century. Thus, the brief surveys of Clement of Alexandria’s short treatise on wealth and of St. Basil the Great’s sermon on the same subject aim to provide evidence to support the author’s hypothesis. The author concludes by accentuating both the utility and the limits of patristic economic theories.

The question about the understanding of economy by the early church was recently posited. 1 This question has indeed multiple dimensions, including those that concern economic justice (i.e. an attitude towards wealth and poverty), household justice (an attitude towards women, children, and slaves), and in general, the structure of economy on the level of a household, a village, a particular state (i.e. city-state), and the global community. These aspects are indeed key concerns of our day and age since some historical rudiments of social and economic inequality, of abusive economic powers (oligarchy, etc.), etc. remain integral parts of our own economic and societal structures to these days. Thus, the aforementioned questions make sense within the context of our own culture and society. Indeed, these concerns are largely premised on postenlightenment thought, taking as cornerstone the idea of social convention and thus understanding society and its economic foundations as being socially constructed realities, that is – the results, as imperfect as they may be, of our own efforts to assure the wellbeing of the citizens. We can clearly see that post-enlightenment thought is at work in these days’ social and economic theories. BaFor more information on the subject see (2014) Hennie Stander, Economics in the Church Fathers. 1

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sically, they entail the possibility (or even necessity) of change by establishing new economic and societal conventions. This idea is by no means new and does not belong to the post-enlightenment phronema exclusively; it was also entertained in the ancient world, though without becoming predominant. 2 However, while the conventional structure of reality is posited by “modern” (i.e. postenlightenment) thought, the elements of this reality are still apprehended as possessing some sort of natural capacities and rights. The basic foundation of the model is perhaps found in the idea of natural rights of individual human beings that should stand as foundational pillars of their communal life, laying hold of societal and economic formations. 3 The idea of natural rights is also quite archaic as far as its origins are concerned. 4 Thus, in some ways nothing is really new. A tension between “natural” and “conventional,” however, provides a modern thinker with conceptual tools necessary to apprehend constantly adjusting social and economic structures (by the means of establishing new conversions) according to a certain developmental flux (associated with the introduction of new factors of production, production relations, modes of production, etc.), 5 so as to again assure the well-being of the citizens under new conditions. Hence, if the conditions for “free trade,” “equality,” etc. are created, why do we still have multiple trade restrictions (arising out of nepotism) and oligarchy intrinsic to our societal and economic structures? This indeed should be eliminated through social action and policy change. This basic schema of society belongs to our day and age. And we question the validity of certain elements of current societal and economic structures accordingly. Even so, if we are to explore apparently similar concerns of the ancient, we may not find them to be in concord with those that belong to us. Hence, the set of questions recently posited clearly mark off our own concerns from those of other societal and economic units scattered across history. Plato, Republic 2. This idea was entertained in the 17th century by John Lock. See Two Treatises on Government. 4 Seneca, De beneficiis 3. 20. 5 Let us use the Marxist terms in this case. 2 3

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How is it that our society turned to be an oligarchy, justified inequality, etc.? This is no good. In this context it may appear natural to go back to the patristic tradition so as to question the great authorities of Christianity about these concerns of ours. However, if an early church theologian is to hear our questions and concerns, s/he will not, at first, understand their meaning. At most, s/he would be capable of grasping only certain aspects of the questions, those that are perhaps of a minor significance for contemporary thinkers. I may suggest that the reason for the existence of a certain cognitive gap is historically determined and thus needs to be explained. Otherwise, one may wind up being totally confused and disappointed about the state of conditions, and possibly even question the patristic authority on the subject in hand as a result of not being able to find “right” answers to some sensitive questions. Now, “economy” is the primary subject of concern of this article. Let us then ask about the meaning of this word, as far as patristic thought is concerned. Indeed, there are various meanings attached to this term. First, we may recall the notion of the maintenance of household, i.e. of making a household subsistent and prosperous. In this context, the issues of acquisition and disbursement of possessions are relevant to the subject at stake. The question also concerns the relation between the members of the family (in its extended meaning). For any ancient thinker this would include the relation of husband/master to his wife, children, and the slaves. 6 Indeed, the very presence of slavery in the list is a spoiler which immediately invalidates any discourse in the eyes of the moderns. But let us set this aside for now. Aristotle delineated “three elements of household government, the first being the rule of the master over slaves, of which we have spoken before, the second that of the father over children, and the third that of the husband over the wife; for (it was also seen to be part of the householder’s duty) to rule both his wife and his children as beings equally free, but not with the same character of rule. His rule over the wife is like that of a magistrate in a free state, over his children it is like that of a King.” Aristotle, Politics in W.D. Ross, Aristotelis politica (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957; repr. 1964), 1259a.37–41. 6

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At first glance, thus, the word economy for an ancient thinker would first indicate a set of issues pertaining to the subject of household management. However, there is a more extended application of economic concepts, that which concerns exchange and trade between various households, associations of households (villages, colonies, etc.), and ultimately that between the states. It would include the notions of coinage of money, international trade, interest, etc. 7 This application of the term perhaps refers to what we may call political economy. Therefore, we may distinguish between different levels with which the question is concerned, namely private (household) and state activities. 8 Let us first clarify the terms. Here we may use Aristotle’s definitions as basically expressive of the main semantic clichés of ancient thought on the subject in hand. He defined household or house as: “the association formed to supply the wants of each day in the course of nature.” 9 This is the simplest and most foundational unit of economic thought. He then defined village as: “the association formed of several households originally for the supply of necessities not limited to those of the day.” 10 Indeed, the association formed of several villages, according to Aristotle, is the complete state (i.e. citystate). As far as patristic thought is concerned we may immediately note that this apparently “most significant” level of economy (i.e. state economy) is either of a minor concern for the fathers, or it is completely absent from their theoretical agenda. As far as the level Aristotle, Economics. in H. Tredennick & G. C. Armstrong, eds. Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Books 10-14), Oeconomica, and Magna Moralia (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1935), 2. 1. 8“Now there are four kinds of economy, (1) that of the king (Royal Economy: ἡ βασιλική), (2) that of the provincial governor (Satrapic Economy: ἡ σατραπική), (3) that of the city-Political Economy (ἡ πολιτική), and (4) that of the individual (Personal Economy: ἡ ἰδιωτική). This is a broad method of division; and we shall find that the other forms of economy fall within it.” Ibid., 1345b.12–14. In the terms of modern economy the first three kinds of economy are basically classified as political economy. 9 Aristotle, Politics 1252b.13–14. 10 Ibid., 1252b.15–16. 7

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of private household is concerned, however, we may trace certain interest on the part of the fathers of the church. Even so, this interest lies predominantly in ethics. It concerns practical actions associated with the acquisition and use of wealth and with the attitude to poverty. There is indeed just another layer of concern associated with the household managements on the part of God or with God’s providential care for his creation. There was an overwhelming interest in this area by the fathers. What is the rationale for the lack of interest in economy as a whole, as one may say, taking into account that the state is the whole of which particular households are parts? And, according to Aristotle, the whole is prior to the parts and the parts cannot exist without the whole. 11 What is then the reason for such a disconcerted attitude to political economy and perhaps to the issues of economic and social justice in general? In this context we may immediately note that the modern question indeed related to the first type of economy, i.e. state economy and its structure. This question is deeply imbedded in the collective phronema of post-enlightenment thinkers. Perhaps the question does not have any significance for an ancient thinker? In any case, even this first brief observation immediately indicates that there is a certain conceptual gap between the ancient and modern ideas of economy. What is it that governs human society and economy? Modern theories often present human collective mind as being responsible for the existence of social structures (as their cause) and their governance (as their active agent). Indeed, the ancients would find this assumption inconceivable. The same sentiments about a radical incompleteness of conventional theory to account for social life was also expressed by various modern thinkers who argued that there should be something else behind a mere convention to susThus, we learn from Aristotle that: “[t]he State also in its real nature comes before the House and our individual selves; for the whole must necessarily come before the part. For, if the whole be removed, there will be no foot or hand except in the equivocal sense in which we speak of a hand of stone; for the natural hand, when its powers have been destroyed, will be a hand only in that equivocal sense.” Ibid., 1253a. 18– 24. 11

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tain economic and social activities of the people. Some suggested the laws of nature as a possible candidate, thus returning to classical pre-enlightenment thinking. 12 Some others proposed an invisible organizing hand of the market as some sort of agency that stands behind social and economic structures (thus, assuming, in a sense, the role of God or of the law). 13 Its seat is arguably located somewhere in human social nature; even so, its works transcend human intentionality while benefiting humankind socially and economically. What about the ancients? What would the ancients assume as formative for an existing social and economic order? The answer is indeed – God. In particular, God’s providential care for the world. Indeed, the predominant concern of the Church, as we just learned, was associated with the household managements on the part of God, i.e. with the economy of salvation. It was this type of economy that was thought of as the whole of economy (and not the state economy as the majority of modern thinkers assume). An ancient thinker would indeed argue that the (societal) cosmos is a well organized and perfectly structured living being. It is created and maintained by God the Word, the second hypostasis of the Trinity, i.e. the hypostatic Intellect. This cosmos (a beautiful body) is complex. It is a whole made of parts. The positions of parts within the whole thus make a difference for the being of the whole. And each part or element of the whole cosmos is allotted its own share of goodness and beauty defined by its position within the whole. Even so, the harmony and well-being of the whole was distorted by the original sin. There was thus a certain rearrangement of parts in which certain parts or elements changed their position. This needs to be fixed so as to restore the original harmony. The Word of God, the cause and an active agent of the cosmos, See (1980) John Mitchell Finnis, Natural Law and Natural Rights. Thus: “By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.” Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations 4. 2. 9. 12 13

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was sent to “that which was his own” (John 1:11) so as to re-create the world and restore its original beauty and order. Now, even if the Word of God through his incarnate presence “readjusted” the structure of the cosmos, thus opening up the road to salvation and reunion with God, the redemptive process is, nevertheless, a long lasting procedure. Moreover, since the original harmony was distorted by sin, and the process of “fixing” the issue has to stretch over the centuries, we may not expect a perfect correspondence between the actions and subsequent rewards or punishments. Thus, there is no concord between the deeds, merits, etc. and what is received in exchange; a new position of a particular being is determined not merely by the deed of a person, but also by her/his ancestors, etc. 14 This indeed complicates the situation and requires a very subtle theodicy to explain the issues of unexpected inequality, injustice, and, in general, of an improper “position” of some parts within the whole. The ancients did the job well, carefully elaborating on classical accounts of theodicy. One particular aspect of God’s economy is associated with actions and intentionality of human beings. It was taken for granted that the multifold structure of a human being perfectly replicates the structure of the whole cosmos as it was created by God. Here different phases of a human being are framed within the schema of ruling and subjugated elements. Thus, the higher phase of the soul (i.e. λογιστικόν) rules the lower phases, i.e. spirited (θυμοειδές) and appetitive (ἐπιθυμητικόν), and they all together dominate the body. This classical (here I used Plato’s terms; however, Aristotle’s conception of the soul, as far as the subject in hand is concerned, is similar to the one presented) schema was fully incorporated into Christian thought. Thus, the fathers argued, if the arrangement of phases is distorted, and if, for instance, the body rules the soul, the ruling part thus being subjugated to its subordinate, the improper inclinations manifest themselves in improper actions. The natural order, as a consequence, is distorted. This is indeed of no surprise because the original sin had already distorted the order. Even so, the salvific works of Christ and the moral choice of a concrete inThis is perhaps the reason behind Augustine’s affirmation that slavery is no crime in the eyes of God. Augustine, De civitate Dei 19. 15. 14

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dividual are the starting points of the economy of redemption. A natural scope of application of the sphere of human intentionality is the household in relation to itself (its own members) and other households. Now, the household is the most basic and foundational unit of society. Being such, it also reflects the structure of the whole cosmos. The harmony of the ruling and subjugated parts, or its lack, is most clearly exhibited on the level of private household. This is why the significance of this level of “economy” is crucial for our understanding of the entire redemptive schema established upon the salvific economy of Christ and on human moral choice. To sum up: it is thus not unexpected that, within the frame of reference of the ancient church, a predominant concern was indeed associated with the household managements on the part of God, i.e. with the economy of salvation. And thus, the entire subject area of economics was marked off by primarily soteriological and ethical concerns. Now, it is the moral choice of a particular human being that is at stake. It thus appears natural that the issues of private household management were of primary significance for the fathers of the church. It is indeed the choice associated with the use of possessions that was thought of as being capable of determining the after-life destiny of a particular human being. Thus, household management on the level of a basic economic unit was thought of as having a key role in the global economy (i.e. the economy of salvation). We may well illustrate the ancient understanding of economy by making references to Aristotle’s theory. The church fathers had an unambiguous attitude towards economy: one supplied by various ancient thinkers and properly substantiated by Aristotle. We may call it – Aristotelian. In this light it would be necessary to provide the reader with a brief review of Aristotle’s economic theory and its ethical implications. Then, we shall see how the early church internalized this theory and applied it to the most pressing issues associated with household management. However, before turning to Aristotle, we may also briefly delineate certain aspects of ancient Jewish thought crucial for our agenda of elucidating the early Christian understanding of the subject in hand. Those aspects were primarily associated with the idea of caring for the poor and needy through charitable donations and the remission of debt. Indeed,

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the development of Christian philanthropy was significantly influenced by Judaism. Now, I chose two texts to illustrate patristic thought on the subject in hand, namely, Clement of Alexandria’s treatise entitled, Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? and Basil the Great’s Sermon to the Rich. They were written in different centuries under different circumstances. Even so, they both bear the marks of a particular attitude to the issues of economy on the level of private household and in its relation to the economy of salvation. It is the latter part that is unique to patristic literature, the former one being inherited from classical literature.

ARISTOTLE’S CONCEPTION OF HOUSECRAFT

There are various traces of economic thought that one can find in classical and Hellenistic literature. However, the most coherent and the only systematic account of it (at least as far as we know) was offered by Aristotle in various treatises. We shall focus on his Economics, Ethics, and Politics. In these treatises the issues of household management (ἡ οἰκονομικὴ) are explicitly posited and theoretically apprehended. To these treatises we shall now turn. As we saw above, Aristotle thought of the household as the association that provides its members with all necessary means of subsistence to assure their well being. This association is indeed complex. It consists of two component parts, man and his property. Indeed, a proper structure of the household is premised upon a proper distribution of ruling and ruled principles. 15 Thus, man (or his intellect) is the ruling principle; he orders and beautifies his possessions which include animate (i.e. wife, children, and slaves) and inanimate (land, tools, money, etc.) assets. In this context it is of no surprise that the subject of economics embraces the rules of association between the husband and wife/children/slaves along with those more familiar issues of acquisition and disbursement of possessions, trade, etc. It even extends the scope of its application as Thus, reflecting the structure of the cosmos and of the soul in which the intellect rules the soul and the soul rules the body; or a higher phase rules the lower phases or elements of the same being. 15

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far as to include the rules that control sexual intercourse along with those that pertain to the issues of adornment. This extension may appear at first insignificant. And it is indeed such in the eyes of a modern thinker. Even so, in the eyes of the ancients (especially – of the fathers) those issues lay at the very core of the science of economics. Now, the notion of justice is the key one for Aristotle in this context. 16 It basically embraces all aspects of economic thought, having various ramifications for each part of household management. Justice in this context (of economy) is a kind of mean: “because it relates to an intermediate amount, while injustice relates to the extremes.” 17 Injustice is also classified by Aristotle as: “excess and defect, viz. because it is productive of excess and defect.” 18 In this context Aristotle’s conception of “golden mean” 19 (foundational for his ethics and social thought) finds its application in relation to the rules of association 20 wherein it is intrinsically tied to another key conception of Aristotle, that of virtue. 21 Hence, modAristotle in this context argued that “all men mean by justice that kind of state of character which makes people disposed to do what is just and makes them act justly and wish for what is just.” Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics in I. Bywater, Aristotelis ethica Nicomachea (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1894; repr. 1962), 1129a.7–9. Even so, he also noted that the notions of “‘justice’ and ‘injustice’ seem to be ambiguous, but because their different meanings approach near to one another the ambiguity escapes notice and is not obvious as it is.” Ibid., 1129a.26–28. He, then, specified the meanings of the terms by stating that “the just, then, is the lawful and the fair, the unjust the unlawful and the unfair.” Ibid., 1129a.33–34. 17 Ibid., 1133b.33 – 1134a.1. 18 Ibid., 1134a.12–13. 19 See Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 2. 20 “For if, on the one hand, the Ruler is not to be temperate and just, how is he to be a good ruler? If on the other, the subject (is to lack these qualities), how is he to be a good subject?” Aristotle, Politics 1259b.39 – 1260a.1. 21 He also argued that “this form of justice, then, is complete virtue, but not absolutely, but in relation to our neighbor.” Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1129b.25–27. Hence, he continued, “a ruler is necessarily in relation 16

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eration in particular, and excellence in general, determine the rules of conduct as far as household is concerned. Moreover, as far as various households enter into a relation of exchange of goods or services, the conception of reciprocal (though not without qualification) and proportionate exchange comes to play and governs the rules of conduct. 22 Thus, economic justice is the pillar and ground of household management. Just another key concept revolving around the notion of justice needs to be mentioned in this context because of its overall significance for the subject in hand. This is the conception of equality. 23 The bottom line of Aristotle’s argument was that if there is no equality in any kind of action, then things go out of propor-

to other men and a member of a society. For this same reason justice, alone of the virtues, is thought to be ‘another’s good,’ because it is related to our neighbor; for it does what is advantageous to another, either a ruler or a copartner.” Ibid., 1130a.2–5. 22 Thus, we learn from Aristotle that “[t]he just, then, is a species of the proportionate (proportion being not a property only of the kind of number which consists of abstract units, but of number in general). For proportion is equality of ratios…” Ibid., 1131a.29–31. 23 As Aristotle argued, “both the unjust man and the unjust act are unfair or unequal; now it is clear that there is also an intermediate between the two unequals involved in either case. And this is the equal; for in any kind of action in which there’s a more and a less there is also what is equal. If, then, the unjust is unequal, just is equal, as all men suppose it to be, even apart from argument. And since the equal is intermediate, the just will be an intermediate. Now equality implies at least two things. The just, then, must be both intermediate and equal and relative (i.e. for certain persons). And since the equal intermediate it must be between certain things (which are respectively greater and less); equal, it involves two things; qua just, it is for certain people. The just, therefore, involves at least four terms; for the persons for whom it is in fact just are two, and the things in which it is manifested, the objects distributed, are two. And the same equality will exist between the persons and between the things concerned; for as the latter the things concerned – are related, so are the former; if they are not equal, they will not have what is equal, but this is the origin of quarrels and complaints – when either equals have and are awarded unequal shares, or unequals equal shares.” Ibid., 1131a.10-24.

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tion, balance being thus broken. It, in turn, gives rise to quarrels and squabbles. And indeed, since just is a species of the proportionate and proportion is equality of ratios, 24 it would follow that the lack of thereof is detrimental for any sensible conception of economy. Unequal distribution of wealth was indeed seen as the root cause of social evil since then. Aristotle also spoke about particular types of justice thus delineating the species of justice. He argued that, one kind is that which is manifested in distributions of honor or money or the other things that fall to be divided among those who have a share in the constitution (for in these it is possible for one man to have a share either unequal or equal to that of another), and one is that which plays a rectifying part in transactions between man and man. 25

This taxonomy was indeed important for the fathers. While the former (i.e. distributive) type of justice basically was thought of as controlling the whole schema of the social cosmos (through the Word’s providential care of all things, thus extending its application from distribution of honor/money/etc. to an allotment of a particular place in the social cosmos to all rational beings) so as to keep it balanced and proportionate, it is the latter one that corrects and straightens that which has gone out of proportion. In a sense, this corrective or rectifying justice was assigned a special role in the economy of salvation thus extending the sphere of its application from the court of law of the city to the court of law of God. Indeed, it is the same taxonomy that is at work in contemporary social ethics and economics, one whose utility is quite overwhelming in defining that which is “her/his own” in the global schema of distribution, both according to nature and merits. What is especially important in the scope of this brief review of Aristotle’s economics is the conception of acquisition and disbursement of wealth. This conception was internalized by all later thinkers and, in a sense, determined the development (or lack thereof) of economic thought till modern time. We shall thus look 24 25

See fn. 21. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1130b.30-33.

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at this conception and track its various ramifications for the subject in hand. Aristotle speaks of the acquisition of wealth or possessions as a key element of household management (ἡ οἰκονομικὴ). 26 It appears that since “property (ἡ κτῆσις) is an integral part of the household (τῆς οἰκίας), the art of acquiring property (ἡ κτητικὴ) is also an integral part of the management of the household (τῆς οἰκονομίας); for without the absolute necessaries of life it is impossible to live and live happily.” 27 Among the kinds of properties we find animate and inanimate. Indeed, it is assumed that the householder has some piece of land which is given to him as a result of the distribution of land between the citizens (“among those who have a share in the constitution”). However, it is also necessary for the householder to have “the proper instruments ready to hand if the work required is to be brought to completion.” 28 In particular, he speaks of “an article of property (τὸ κτῆμα) as an instrument for living” and immediately introduces the notion of slavery. He classified the slave as an animate article of property. 29 This type of property was normally acquired at war. We can immediately note that an essential part of the art of building a household, i.e. housecraft, was associated with the conception of slaves, i.e. their nature, function, and management. The issue of slavery in antiquity is a sensitive topic indeed. On an average, the ancients justified the use of the slave labor. Even so, this As Ricardo Crespo rightly noted, “Oikonomiké is the Greek adjective usually Aristotle used to refer to anything which is related to the use of wealth in order to achieve the Good Life. He does not use it with corresponding nouns. Thus, it is in fact a substantivated adjective.” Ricardo Crespo, “‘The Economic’ According to Aristotle: Ethical, Political and Epistemological Implications.” Foundations of Science (2008) 13: 281–294, 282. 27 Aristotle, Politics 1253b.23–25. 28 Ibid., 1253b.25–27. 29 In another place he defined “slave” as “an instrument adapted for active use and that can be set by itself (κτῆμα δὲ ὄργανον πρακτικὸν καὶ χωριστόν.).” Ibid., 1254a.16. In another place he also spoke of the slave as being “really a part of the master, being a sort of animate but unattached part of his body.” Ibid., 1255b.11–12. 26

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formal approval was not unanimous. We learn from Aristotle about various jurists who objected to it. Aristotle’s assertion that “[i]t is then … evident that there are some persons by nature free and others slaves, and that to these latter the state of slavery is both advantageous and just,” 30 was challenged by various jurists on the following grounds: There is such a thing as a man who by law also (as well as by nature) is a slave and in a state of slavery: the law that I mean being a sort of agreement according to which men assert that what is conquered in war belongs to the conqueror. Now it is this form of “justice” (or legality) which many jurists indict, as they would a public speaker, on the ground of illegality, maintaining that it is monstrous for the object of violence to be in a state of servitude and subjection to him who has the power of using violence, and who is superior in brute force. Some persons take this view, others the opposite, even among philosophers. 31

Though some jurists objected slavery on legal grounds, nevertheless, the predominant economic and social theory was in favor of it. Indeed, the ethical implications of slavery, in the eyes of Aristotle, were associated not as much with the acquisition of slaves (through pursuing a “just war”), as with their use as articles of property or instruments. Hence, the master (or his intellect) has to use slaves in a most appropriate way (so as to insure the utility of the instrument) and avoid any improper usage. However, the acquisition of slaves, as opposed to many other tools, comes from war. He argued in another place that “[t]he art of war (πολεμικὴ) will naturally in a certain sense be an art of acquisition (κτητική). 32 It is thus important for the existence of the household and for the well-being of its members. Now, we learn from Aristotle that genuine wealth consists of acquiring all necessary means or tools or properties to maintain the Ibid., 1254b.39–1255a.2. Ibid., 1255a.5–12. 32 Ibid., 1256b.23. 30 31

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household. 33 And they are not unlimited. There is a limit to acquiring possessions which is determined by nature (i.e. by its limited supply of things); moreover, the worth of possessions is determined by their utility. Even so, feeble human beings at times succumb to wealth in its limitless dimension trying to acquire as much as possible. However, since the balance between the acquisition and use or utility of possessions is distorted, such a practice should be forbidden. It was for this reason that Aristotle at times juxtaposed the art of household management (ἡ οἰκονομικὴ) and the art of getting rich (ἡ χρηματιστική). He spoke of a subdivision, which is thought by some to be actually equivalent to household management, and by others to be a very large part of it, the truth of which statement we must examine into. I allude to that which is generally called the art of making money. 34

He posited an aporia of whether “the art of making money is the same as that of ruling a household, or is a subdivision of it, or subservient to it.” 35 His conjecture regarding this aporia was that “the art of ruling a household is not the same as that of making money … for it is the business of the one to procure (τὸ πορίσασθαι), of the other to use (χρήσασθαι).” 36 This means that all possessions are necessary conditions for building the household. Even so, the purHe defined it as “an abundance of instruments needful to manage households and states.” Ibid., 1256b.36–37. 34 Ibid., 1253b.12–14. He spoke about a “class of the art of acquisition (κτητικῆς) which above others men call, and rightly call, the art of making money (χρηματιστικήν), and it is by reason of this that there is thought to be no limit of riches and property (κτήσεως); and this many men look upon as one and the same with that already described [i.e. the acquisition of property in accordance with nature], because the two border closely on each other. But it is neither the same as that aforementioned, nor yet very widely removed from it. In reality one of them exists by nature, and the other does not, but rather comes through a certain experience and art.” Ibid., 1256b.40–1257a.5. 35 Ibid., 1256a.2–5. 36 Ibid., 1256a.11–13. 33

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suit of riches “is not the function of the art of household rule.” 37 Thus, the art of household management is mainly associated with the acquisition and use of possessions and not with the pursuit of riches. Otherwise, the danger of turning the means or instruments into the ends becomes immediately manifest. Aristotle found the cause of the latter in “the eagerness for simply living instead of for living well.” 38 However, in other passages, he also spoke of two types of chrematistics, one unlimited and unnatural, and the other one – natural, limited and subordinated to economics. We can indeed observe at this point that the art of getting rich comes about at a more advanced stage of societal developments, when multiple households establish relations of exchange determined by the existence of a surplus in particular produces and by the lack of others. 39 At this point of economic development various households use barter to fulfill the necessities of life. He noted that this kind of exchange is neither contrary to nature nor is it any form of the art of money-making, for it was adopted to fill up the measure of natural self-completeness. Still it is out of this form that the other rose, as might have been expected. 40

Thus, barter is a natural means of exchange that allows a particular household to attain the state of self-sufficiency (αὐτάρκη). Indeed, the meaning of self-sufficiency in this context does not imply isolation, unqualified independence, etc., but, rather, indicates the state of conditions associated with completeness, well-being and happiness. 41 In this context Aristotle also delineated two modes of use of property. He argued that “of every article of property (κτήματος) the mode of use (ἡ χρῆσις) is twofold: both modes treat the thing Ibid., 1257b.31. Ibid., 1257b.41–1258a.1. 39 Thus, “in the earliest association (that is the family) it is clear that there is no part for it to play; but there is a part as soon as the association has become wider.” Ibid., 1257a.19–21. 40 Ibid., 1256b.7–11. 41 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1097b. 8–11. 37 38

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as what it is, but do not do so in the same sense: one is the proper, and the other the not-proper use of the article.” 42 He illustrated it with the example of a shoe. A proper mode of use of a shoe is to wear it. However, one can also use it as an object of barter. Even if barter corresponds with the order of nature when, for instance, a shoemaker has more shoes that he needs and lacks some other good, a shoe, while being exchanged for, say, olives, does not immediately serve its proper function. Thus, this practice should be confined within the limits of satisfying the necessities of life, not extending its application to the acquisition of riches. Indeed, this type of activity while being in accord with “nature,” nevertheless, can give rise to the art of money-making or of becoming rich. Hence, the issues associated with the not-proper mode of use of possessions, one that may lead to a perverted application of it, is well accentuated by Aristotle. Now, trade involves some measuring units to assure an equal exchange. The main function of money is to make goods commensurate so as to equate them. Hence, the use of money was introduced at a more advanced stage of societal developments when trade (and its advanced forms associated with import and export) came into existence. Aristotle finds the use of money (νομίσματος) necessary in importing and exporting produces. Though money seems to facilitate trade and have a certain utility in the household management, the matter of fact is that unnatural and improper chrematistics is intrinsically tied to the use of money and, even more so, to the interest attached to it. In this context he distinguished between compulsory and non-compulsory forms of making money, classifying the former one as natural and properly belonging to the art of household management, while denying such a function of the latter one. 43 An improper chrematistics is associated with lending money and charging interest. Interest is the means of Aristotle, Politics 1257a.6–8. Aristotle argued in this context that “the subject of the compulsory form [natural], that it is distinct from the other [i.e. non-compulsory], and belongs naturally to the art of household rule, where it concerns food, not being, as the other form, without any limit, but having a fixed boundary.” Ibid., 1258a.14–18. 42 43

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increasing the volume of money which does not involve any actual input of labor. In this light, Aristotle classified interest as the most unnatural means of making money. In general, the issues of improper chrematistics represent the root core of Aristotle’s social and economic ethics. Just another important ethical aspect of household management is associated with fairness and equality. To be just is, in the first place, to be lawful and fair (or equal: ὁ ἴσος). 44 On the contrary, an unjust man is grasping, unfair (ὁ ἄνισος), and, in some cases, unlawful. In this context Aristotle argued that: since the equal is intermediate, the just will be an intermediate. Now equality implies at least two things. The just, then, must be both intermediate and equal and relative (i.e. for certain persons). And since the equal intermediate it must be between certain things (which are respectively greater and less); equal, it involves two things; qua just, it is for certain people. The just, therefore, involves at least four terms; for the persons for whom it is in fact just are two, and the things in which it is manifested, the objects distributed, are two. 45

The distributive justice, at the time of Aristotle, was associated with awarding assets to the citizens according to merits, even though there was a considerable disagreement about the meaning of “merit” (for some identified it with the status of freeman, some with wealth or with noble birth, and some others with excellence). In general, the distributive justice does not imply a voluntary transaction (and hence, does not necessitate a moral choice on the level of a particular household). However, in such voluntary economic transactions as “sale, purchase, loan for consumption, pledging, loan for use, depositing, letting,” 46 etc. the issues of fairness and equality are crucial and determine our moral choice. In general, “the just is the proportional; the unjust is what violates the proportion. Hence one term becomes too great, the other too small, as “The just, then, is the lawful and the fair, the unjust the unlawful and the unfair. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1129a.34–1129b.1. 45 Ibid., 1131a.15–20. 46 Ibid., 1131a.3–4. 44

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indeed happens in practice.” 47 Thus, the issues of unequal distribution of assets, especially in cases that involve trade, were the key concerns of Aristotle. This is the reason why a significant portion of his economic thought deals with rectifying justice and the means of restoring proportion and equality in economic transactions. In case of unequal transactions, the judge restores justice by equalizing gains and loses. 48 Now, the quality of actions of the human beings, including those that concern household management, is sometimes assessed based on the results. Good results are produced by good actions, and bad results – by bad ones. However, in order for us to evaluate a particular action we may also pay attention to intentionality. According to Aristotle, the moral worth of actions is mainly determined by the voluntary choice. This is especially important when a particular action is judged. Thus, though the outer form of an action may appear vicious and unjust, the acting agent (i.e. who is an efficient cause of the action) may not necessarily be unjust. Aristotle tells us in this context that “acting unjustly does not necessarily imply being unjust.” 49 For instance, a man may have sex with a married woman while being conscious of who she was. Even so, “the origin of this act might be not a deliberate choice but passion. He acts unjustly, then, but is not unjust.” 50 Hence, dispositions and states of the soul along with deliberation are the foundations for all actions, including those concerned with economics. And they are judged accordingly. On the other hand, Aristotle also spoke of acIbid., 1131b.16–19. Aristotle argued in this context that “the judge restores equality; it is as though there were a line divided into unequal parts, and he took away that by which the greater segment exceeds the half, and added it to the smaller segment. And when the whole has been equally divided, then they say they have “their own” – i.e. when they have got what is equal. The equal is intermediate between the greater and the lesser line according to arithmetical proportion. It is for this reason also that it is called just, because it is a division into two equal parts…and the judge is one who bisects.” Ibid., 1132a.24–32. 49 Ibid., 1134a.17. 50 Ibid., 1134a.19–21. 47 48

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tions whose end is in themselves (that are done for their own sake) as worth more that of those whose end is in something else. And indeed, all virtues (even if they do not lead to happiness) are pursued by human beings since their end is in themselves. Hence, in the schema of actions πρᾶξις appears move valuable than ποίησις. Some modern scholars, in this context, distinguished between “immanent actions” and “transitive actions” in Aristotle’s thought classifying the former ones as superior. 51 And indeed, such “immanent actions” or “states” of the soul as contemplation, love, etc. are done for their own sake and may not lead to production of something else. In general, the moral worth of an action is determined primarily by the inner states and intentions, and less so by the result that they produce. Hence, we can delineate three main ethical concerns of Aristotle associated with economics: (1) an improper chrematistics, (2) a perverted use of assets that either does not take into account nature (i.e. natural application of possessions) or leads to improper chrematistics, and (3) an inequality in transactions. These things deprive a man and his associates of the well-being. Moreover, it is dispositions and intentionality that should be looked at in order to properly access the value of human economic activities. This economic theory thus briefly and schematically delineated here gave rise to our understanding of more general concerns associated with the destiny of human beings, moral choice, etc. Having thus highlighted certain significant notions of Aristotle as far as they pertain to the issues of economy, we shall also briefly survey certain aspects of the ancient Jewish approach to household management. Indeed, Aristotle’s theoretical foundation coupled with ancient Jewish ethical stands towards the poor and needy shall help us understand the fathers’ attitude to the most pressing issues of their time and detect their proper philosophical underpinnings.

See (1963) Francis Nugent, (2008) Ricardo Crespo, and (2009) Jan Peil and Irene van Staveren. 51

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THE ANCIENT JEWISH CONCEPTION OF CARING FOR THE POOR

There are various important observations on the nature and structure of economy that one can find in ancient Jewish literature. In general, an egalitarian structure of the ancient Jewish society demanded a particular arrangement of the elements of the household and necessitated a slightly different (i.e. from that of the ancient classical societal matrix) relation between the households. This structural feature also required a different approach to the issues of household management. Indeed, the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) did not intend to offer a systematic and coherent account of economy. I assume that the first systematic approach to the subject was associated with the Midrash tradition basically unknown to the fathers of the church. 52 Even so, there are multiple unequivocal references to the subject in hand in the Tanakh. An important aspect of the Jewish approach to the subject, one that influenced Christian thought, was associated with an attitude towards the poor and needy which assumed the necessity of charitable donations and the release of debt. This aspect indeed had a significant ethical import. Assuming that all households are equal and deserve an equal participation in wealth, it is important to maintain the balance between the more and the less prosperous households. Otherwise, the structural integrity of the entire system will be subverted. Therefore, the Scriptures demand the following: “Defend the poor and the orphan; deal justly with the poor and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:3–4).” We also learn about similar precepts from the Prophets. More important is the notion that connects charitable actions with the afterlife fate of human beings. Thus, “If you shall pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the eternal will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring 52

See (2015) Gregg Gardner.

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of water, whose waters fail not (Isaiah 58:10–11).” Indeed, the link between the divine and human economies is here substantiated. In addition, we learn from the Scriptures that “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. This is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the Lord’s remission has been proclaimed (Deuteronomy 15:1–2).” Thus, in order to counterbalance an ever increasing gap between the more successful and less successful households, the release of debt is introduced. It helped protect this egalitarian society from creating multiple strata within the society based on economic and social parameters of the heads of household. Now, the utility of this ancient Jewish thought which was intrinsically tied to the ancient Jewish societal and economic structures was in some ways overwhelming for the fathers of the church. Even so, in some other ways, an application of this conception within the schema of the Imperial social and economic matrix was limited. Thus, a constantly recurring theme of sharing possessions and giving to the poor (and not as much that of releasing debt) in early patristic literature should be taken into account. Even so, it was indeed a difficult task for the fathers to explain to their flock why donations are necessary. In short, certain elements of Jewish societal and economic thought influenced the early Christian understanding of the subject. However, the utility of the moral precepts to give to the poor, etc. was limited by a very stratified (i.e. socially and economically diverse) Imperial schema. Having briefly reviewed the ancient Jewish understanding of the necessity to care for the poor and having emphasized its significance for the development of the early Christian economic thought, we can now move to Clement of Alexandria, a notable thinker of the late second – early third centuries, so as to illustrate our hypothesis about the origins and contents of the early Christian economic thought.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA’S UNDERSTANDING OF HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

Now, Clement’s treatise on the Rich Man was written in the early third century AD, at the time when Christianity was not yet formally institutionalized as the state religion. At this time the main agen-

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da of Christian apologists in Alexandria was to offer an account of faith to the pagan intelligentsia, one that could persuade them in the truth of Christian faith. The agenda was two-fold. First, a coherent set of doctrinal statements had to be offered, one that could have an appeal to pagan intellectuals. Hence, it had to be tied to classical thought through the web of references to its most significant figures. 53 The end of this endeavor was to establish a sense of continuity of intellectual traditions, i.e. pagan and Christian, presenting Christianity as an ultimate completion of classical thought. Just another aspect of the same agenda was to provide the reader with a proper hermeneutics of the Holy Texts, one that could explain certain sayings of Jesus and the apostles regarding the matters of faith. In particular, Jesus’ sayings on the acquisition and use of possessions, on wealth and poverty, etc. had to be properly interpreted so as to make them attractive to the intellectuals whose faith commitments were either indeterminate or leaning towards Christianity. Indeed, a practical missionary goal is explicit in the writings of Clement. 54 The scope of this little treatise is exegetical. It intends to interpret certain sayings in a coherent way. The content of the treatise is the ways of attaining salvation. Thus, its primary goal has apparently very little or nothing to do with economic concerns. However, while touching upon some exegetical issues and interpreting the sayings of Jesus, Clement presents to us his understanding on the most basic issues of economy or household management as far as they relate to God’s economy. Thus, this treatise is invaluable for our understanding of the early church’s understanding of economy. Let us now look at the treatise and its conceptual underpinnings. Clement commences his treatise by presenting to the reader the puzzling words of the Savior that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the For more information on philosophical underpinnings of Clement’s thought see (2005) Eric Osborn’s Clement of Alexandria. 54 For more detail on Clement’s time and historical horizons see R.B. Tollinton, Clement of Alexandria: A Study of Christian Liberalism (London: Williams & Norgate, 1914), 303–333. 53

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kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:24) and that “If you would be perfect, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21). What do these words mean? Clement immediately notes that the words are indeed expressive of some truth, but their rhetorical form is an allegory. What is its allegorical meaning then? What would it mean to a pagan intellectual of the time? Perhaps it would immediately remind him of Cynic philosophy (of the Cynics propagating simple life without possessions and free from attachments)? 55 Clement indeed tells us that these sayings are addressed to those who surrender to the world, clinging “to the present life as if it alone was left to them.” 56 Therefore, the surface level meaning of the sayings (their “somatic” form, so to say), tells us something about a man attached to the world and not caring for the soul (that is, of its afterlife fate). Hence, the surface level meaning is about the renunciation of wealth. In this context Clement notes that “the renunciation of wealth and the bestowment of it on the poor or needy” 57 is by no means a new thing. Various ancient philosophers already spoke about it. However, Clement also tells his audience that if they are to understand the meaning of the sayings, they should not immediately think of pagan philosophers whose thought on the subject was well attested. He then asks: “Why then command as new, as divine, as alone life-giving, what did not save those of former days? And what peculiar thing is it that the new creature the Son of For more information on the subject see (1996) Luis Navia, Classical Cynicism: A Critical Study. 56 Clement of Alexandria, Liber Quis dives salvetur (Τίς ὁ σωζόμενος πλούσιος). PG 9:616B. English translation in (1885) Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2. eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. 57 He also reminds us of some pre-Socratic philosophers and speaks in a pejorative way (in the plural of the followers of Anaxagoras, etc.) of Anaxagorases (Anaxagoras – a pre-Socratic Philosopher), the Democriti (Democritus – a pre-Socratic Philosopher), and the Crateses (Crates of Thebes – a cynic philosopher) who already thought of renunciation of wealth and the bestowment of it on the poor or needy. 55

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God intimates and teaches?” 58 He, at first, finds the rationale for this in the new meaning. Thus, it is not the outward act which others have done, but something else indicated by it, greater, more godlike, more perfect, the stripping off of the passions from the soul itself and from the disposition, and the cutting up by the roots and casting out of what is alien to the mind. 59

Hence, the Savior does not refer to the outward act but to dispositions or “immanent actions.” Indeed, Clement’s argument reminds us of an old proverb saying that with the passage of time old things become new, since what he attempts to present as new is really a classical account of the subject in hand. Here indeed Jesus is presented as a philosopher whose thought is deeply rooted in classical tradition. He continues by saying, For although such is the case, one, after ridding himself of the burden of wealth, may none the less have still the lust and desire for money innate and living; and may have abandoned the use of it, but being at once destitute of and desiring what he spent, may doubly grieve both on account of the absence of attendance, and the presence of regret. For it is impossible and inconceivable that those in want of the necessaries of life should not be harassed in mind, and hindered from better things in the endeavor to provide them somehow, and from some source. 60

Then, he implores the audience instead of thinking of some marginal philosophers to rather shift their attention to more commonplace philosophical doctrines, including those that take a more affirmative stand on wealth and possessions. He notes that the kingdom of heaven is not quite cut off from the rich if they (1) obey the commandments and (2) develop dispositions to attain salvation. These are thus the necessary conditions of their salvation. He concludes that no one is excluded from the Savior’s “list” Clement of Alexandria, Liber Quis dives salvetur. PG 9: 616B. Ibid., PG 9: 616B-C. 60 Ibid., PG 9: 616C-D. 58 59

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while having faith in Christ. However, the new converts to Christianity should neither think of the Law of Moses as sufficient for understanding the sayings of Jesus and for attaining happiness and eternal life. Otherwise, the descent would not have been necessary and the rich man would have been saved by the Law alone. On the contrary, it has to be “the good, that which is now above the law, which the law gives not, which the law contains not,” 61 i.e. Christ himself. The outward act of compliance with law or faith by itself does not mean much if perverted dispositions remain. Hence, again, the immanent aspect of an action is magnified. Here the key notion is attachment to possessions. If one abstains from the use but does not eradicate the passion, then the end is not achieved. Even so, in order to attain salvation one ultimate condition should be satisfied, one of which Christ just spoke in his sermon on the rich man. But what is it? Jesus’ answer was the following: sell what you have and give to the poor, etc. (Matthew 19:21). Hence, we have two necessary conditions for salvation and one which is both necessary and sufficient. But how shall one understand this condition? Clement’s answer was – not in a carnal sense, not for its face value. Thus, the words of the Lord should be interpreted according to their hidden (spiritual) meaning. Now, the question of possessions and their use comes about. Sell your possessions. And what is this? He does not, as some conceive off-hand, bid him throw away the substance he possessed, and abandon his property; but bids him banish from his soul his notions about wealth, his excitement and morbid feeling about it, the anxieties, which are the thorns of existence, which choke the seed of life. For it is no great thing or desirable to be destitute of wealth, if without a special object – not except on account of life. 62

This passage is quite in accord with Aristotle: possessions are necessary means of household maintenance. Even so, the utility of possessions is restricted to moderate use. However, if the appetitive faculty of the soul is inflated by the lust for unlimited acquisi61 62

Ibid., PG 9: 613C. Ibid., PG 9: 616A.

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tion or by inappropriate use of possessions, the soul is then led to multiple evils. In this case the balance is distorted and the extremes now come to play. The first step in Clement’s interpretive strategy is thus to affirm the natural goodness of possessions and their necessity for household management. But this would apparently contradict the words of the Lord. What are we to do in this case? Clement’s answer was again that if one is to interpret the sayings of the Lord in the carnal sense, multiple impossibilities will immediately arise. If, for instance, one is to deny the natural goodness of possessions and their necessity for household management, then he will end up in an aporia. “For if no one had anything, what room would be left among men for giving? And how can this dogma fail to be found plainly opposed to and conflicting with many other excellent teachings of the Lord?” 63 Thus, wealth is necessary to fulfill the commandment of giving to the poor. Otherwise, the commandment will become self-contradictory. 64Indeed, the Savior himself approved of wealth! He bids Zaccheus and Matthew, the rich tax-gathers, entertain Him hospitably. And He does not bid them part with their property, but, applying the just and removing the unjust judgment, He subjoins, “today salvation has come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham.” 65

The Lord thus granted salvation to the tax collectors and “so praises the use of property as to enjoin, along with this addition, the giving a share of it, to give drink to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, Ibid., PG 9: 617A. Though Clement’s argument is linked here with the words of the Lord, thus perhaps suggesting the Jewish origins of the conception of charitable donations, it is, nevertheless, Aristotle’s theory of liberty that is more explicitly exhibited in this context. As we learn from Aristotle that the acquisition of possessions is “a necessary condition for having the means to give.” Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1120b.2. Thus, Clement’s argument here appears to be rather a replica of Aristotle’s statement. 65 Clement of Alexandria, Liber Quis dives salvetur. PG 9: 617A-B. 63 64

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to take the houseless in, and clothe the naked.” 66 Indeed, the notion of charity here is intrinsically connected with both pagan and Christian ethics of philanthropy. Thus, he continues, it is impossible to supply the poor without having some assets. Otherwise, “the Lord will be … exhorting to give and not to give the same things, to feed and not to feed, to take in and to shut out, to share and not to share…” 67 This is indeed impossible. Clement concludes by saying that [r]iches, then, which benefit also our neighbors, are not to be thrown away. For they are possessions, inasmuch as they are possessed, and goods, inasmuch as they are useful and provided by God for the use of men; and they lie to our hand, and are put under our power, as material and instruments which are for good use to those who know the instrument. 68

Thus, possessions are good. They are useful instruments of household management. Moreover, their utility can be extended to benefit a larger community of households. They are not to be thrown away. Clement speaks of wealth as an instrument for good deeds. It has to be used skillfully. The evil associated with wealth does not come from wealth itself (which is “destitute of blame”) but from its unskillful or improper use. A more general inference of Clement’s thought is that an existing schema of economy is good and beneficial to those who make right use of possessions. He posits the question: “Are you able to make a right use of it?” If the answer is yes, then “it is subservient to righteousness.” 69 If, on the other hand, one makes a wrong use of it, he is “a minister of wrong.” 70I may suggest that in this treatise Clement presents to us a picture of Jesus allegorically delineating Aristotle’s conception of economy and its ethical implications. Hence, the hidden (spiritual or “noetic”) meaning of the Lord’s words refers to more conventional economic theories, especially that of Aristotle. Ibid., PG 9: 617B. Ibid., PG 9: 617B. 68 Ibid., PG 9: 617C. 69 Ibid., PG 9: 617C. 70 Ibid., PG 9: 617C. 66 67

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What are the conditions or rules for the right use of possessions? Clement’s answer is that wealth has to be subservient. It may by no means become a ruling principle. Hence, wealth or possessions, of itself has neither good nor evil, being blameless, ought not to be blamed; but that which has the power of using it well and ill, by reason of its possessing voluntary choice. And this is the mind and judgment of man, which has freedom in itself and self-determination in the treatment of what is assigned to it. So let no man destroy wealth, rather than the passions of the soul, which are incompatible with the better use of wealth. So that, becoming virtuous and good, he may be able to make a good use of these riches. The renunciation, then, and selling of all possessions, is to be understood as spoken of the passions of the soul. 71

He thus concludes that wealth by itself is neither good nor evil. It has to have proper utility. Then it is justified. The root core of evils associated with the possession and use of wealth is the passions of the soul. Hence, he accentuates the virtue of “right use” of wealth and infers that the renunciation of wealth, as far as the sayings of Jesus are concerned, means renunciation of the passions of the soul, those that lead people to improper use of wealth, thus turning it to evil. Here again, “immanent actions” are the main concern of Clement. The instrument itself is ethically neutral. It is the use of possessions, and even in a greater degree, an inner disposition (or “immanent action”) that may not actualize itself in transitive actions, that is at stake in evaluating the goodness of actions. Now, it is the soul that imputes value to any objects thus making them either good or bad. [A]nd if the soul makes a good use of them (ἡ ψυχὴ χρῆται καλῶς), they also are reputed good, but if a bad, bad.” 72 Hence, even if certain restrictions are placed on the transitive action, but dispositions for it remain in the soul; and if the soul’s dispositions are perverted (tending to make possessions into the ruling principle), then the soul is charged for doing evil 71 72

Ibid., PG 9: 617C-D. Ibid., PG 9: 620A.

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things. Hence, Clement exclaims, remove the passions from the soul and wealth will become beneficial for both its possessor and the entire community. In general, it is the soul that makes good things good and evil things evil. Here the use of things is determined by the dispositions of the soul. Thus, immanent actions should be adjusted first so as to determine the quality of transitive actions in order to benefit all. Clement also clearly delineated the puzzles associated with the lack of concord between dispositions and actual occurrences. He argued that, [i]f therefore he who casts away worldly wealth can still be rich in the passions, even though the material [for their gratification] is absent – for the disposition produces its own effects, and strangles the reason, and presses it down and inflames it with its inbred lusts – it is then of no advantage to him to be poor in purse while he is rich in passions. 73

Thus, even if the wealth is absent but the lust for it is present in the soul, there is no advantage of being poor on the phenomenal level (or on the level of appearance), since the soul remains rich in passions. Under this scenario the act of giving away possessions will look involuntary. In general, un-actualized passions rather that actual deeds determine Clement’s classification schemata. In this context he speaks of a “rich poor” and “poor rich.” One important implication of Clement’s discourse is that wealth or possessions in general are neutral and serviceable. Hence, it would be at least irrational to rid of them. Moreover, the act of ridding of the possessions, under this scenario, is also suggestive of its involuntary quality. Thus, if the passions or lust for wealth are not eradicated, an external action of ridding of possessions would not mean much. Moreover, to cast away that which is morally indifferent and serviceable may indicate that the owner aims to “set on fire the innate fuel of evil through want of the external means [of gratification.]” 74 He finally infers that 73 74

Ibid., PG 9: 620A-B. Ibid., PG 9: 620B.

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SERGEY TROSTYANSKIY [w]e must therefore renounce those possessions that are injurious, not those that are capable of being serviceable, if one knows the right use of them. And what is managed with wisdom, and sobriety, and piety is profitable; and what is hurtful must be cast away. 75

Even so, he notes, external things are not hurtful by themselves. Therefore, “the Lord introduces the use of external things, bidding us put away not the means of subsistence, but what uses them badly. And these are the infirmities and passions of the soul.” 76 We can restate Clement’s “argument” in the following way Maj. What is hurtful must be cast away Min. External things are not hurtful Ergo. External things must not be cast away Now, what is hurtful? Here a new middle term is introduced: Maj. What is hurtful must be cast away Min. Bad use of external things is hurtful Ergo. Bad use of external things must be cast away Now, what is the root cause of the bad use of external things? Just another middle term is now introduced: Maj. What is hurtful must be cast away Min. Passions of the soul impute “hurtfulness” into things Ergo. Passions of the soul must be cast away We thus have the following conclusions: 1. External things must not be cast away 2. Bad use of external things must be cast away 3. Passions of the soul [those that determine the quality of use] must be cast away

Now, in the light of this reasoning, Clement attempts to exegete the Savior’s command – Come, follow Me (Matthew 19:21). The spiritual meaning of the command is to make the soul pure (“that is, poor and bare”). This also pertains to the meaning of the saying 75 76

Ibid., PG 9: 620B. Ibid., PG 9: 620B.

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regarding “the pure in heart” (Matthew 5:8). In this context, he argues, poor means pure. Possessions are the gifts of God; it is the lustful soul that is unclean and thus “rich” in worldly attachments. Hence, that (soul) is unclean which is rich in lusts, and is in the throes of many worldly affections. For he who holds possessions, and gold, and silver, and houses, as the gifts of God; and ministers from them to the God who gives them for the salvation of men; and knows that he possesses them more for the sake of the brethren than his own… is able with cheerful mind to bear their removal equally with their abundance 77

Clement advocates for possessions without attachment, wherein the soul is the ruling principle and not a slave of possessions; wherein a man “does not carry them about in his soul, nor bind and circumscribe his life within them.” 78 This procedure allows Clement to delineate two types of riches: (1) one that is unnatural, wherein a man is “possessed” and “acquired” by the riches (and thus subjugated to them; hence, the natural harmony between the ruling and subjugated principles here is subverted), and (2) the other one associated with casting away the riches (i.e. casting attachments away from the soul) so as to make the soul pure and thus poor. It is in this way that, spiritual poverty is blessed. Wherefore also Matthew added, Blessed are the poor (Matthew 5:3). How? In spirit. And again, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after the righteousness of God (Matthew 5:6). Wherefore wretched are the contrary kind of poor, who have no part in God, and still less in human property, and have not tasted of the righteousness of God. 79

Thus, the poor is wretched because he neither shares in God’s bounty, nor in human wealth. Thus, the poor in possessions is wretched, whereas the rich man who is poor in spirit is blessed. Ibid., PG 9: 620C-D. Ibid., PG 9: 620D. 79 Ibid., PG 9: 621B. 77 78

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In this context Clement again reminds us that the sayings of Christ should not be interpreted awkwardly or carnally, but, rather, in a scholarly way, taking into account the spiritual contents of the sayings. He tells us again and again that salvation does not depend on external things but on the virtues of the soul and on faith. For it is not on account of comeliness of body that any one shall live, or, on the other hand, perish. But he who uses the body given to him chastely and according to God, shall live; and he that destroys the temple of God shall be destroyed. 80

Thus, the body is a possession given to men by God; it should be by no means destroyed but preserved. In this light we may think of “a poor and destitute man” as being found intoxicated with lusts; and we may also apprehend “a man rich in worldly goods [as] temperate, poor in indulgences, trustworthy, intelligent, pure, chastened.” 81 He thus juxtaposes a “lustful poor” to a “moderate rich.” Moreover, Clement reminds us that it is the soul that is to live (i.e. attain the state of immortality). Virtues save the soul and vices kill it. The soul is thus the self of a human being. Therefore, the road to salvation is associated with states and dispositions of the soul “in respect of obedience to God and purity, and in respect of transgression of the commandments and accumulation of wickedness.” 82 It would then follow that he, then is truly and rightly rich who is rich in virtue, and is capable of making a holy and faithful use of any fortune; while he is spuriously rich who is rich, according to the flesh, and turns life into outward possession, which is transitory and perishing, and now belongs to one, now to another, and in the end to nobody at all. 83

Thus, there are two types of rich people: (1) true, and (2) spurious. Richness in virtue is true richness; spurious richness is richness in Ibid., PG 9: 621C. Ibid., PG 9: 621D. 82 Ibid., PG 9: 624A. 83 Ibid., PG 9: 624A-B. 80 81

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passions directed to outward possessions. Consequently, he also delineates two types of the poor: (1) genuine and (2) spurious. Now, the question about the referent of the Savior’s words is again posited. To whom his sayings about abandoning possessions are directed? Clement’s answer is the following: [t]o him who is poor in worldly goods, but rich in vices … [to him] who is not poor in spirit and rich toward God…” 84 And again the meaning of possessing here is that of the attachments of the soul. Thus, getting rid of possessions means in this context – becoming pure in heart. How should one then fulfill the command? By turning your visible substance into money? Not at all. But by introducing, instead of what was formerly inherent in your soul, which you desire to save, other riches which deify and which minister everlasting life, dispositions in accordance with the command of God; for which there shall accrue to you endless reward and honor, and salvation, and everlasting immortality. 85

Thus, to both poor and rich in possessions this command is addressed. Indeed, proper exegesis determines our ability to comprehend the meaning of the saying. If taken in its carnal form, the saying may cause distress to “the wealthy and legally correct man, not understanding these things figuratively, nor how the same man can be both poor and rich, and have wealth and not have it, and use the world and not use it…” 86 Whereas the real meaning of the saying addresses the issue of how “to use things indifferent rightly and properly, and so as to strive after eternal life,” 87 a carnal exegesis, on the contrary, attempts to read into the saying a mere condemnation of wealth, an agenda totally alien to any sensible thinker. Clement illustrates his exegetical approach by just another saying of Christ, namely: ‘[w]ho so hates not father, and mother, and children, and his own life besides, cannot be my disciple (Luke Ibid., PG 9: 624B. Ibid., PG 9: 624C. 86 Ibid., PG 9: 624D. 87 Ibid., PG 9: 625A. 84 85

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14:26).” 88 The inference is that the “right interpretation” removes what is unworthy of God and explains the conflicting passages (that appear contradictory to those practicing “carnal exegesis” of Christ’s allegorical sayings). A more general conclusion that Clement arrives at is that, the Savior by no means has excluded the rich on account of wealth itself, and the possession of property, nor fenced off salvation against them; if they are able and willing to submit their life to God’s commandments, and prefer them to transitory objects… 89

Thus, a wealthy man (as far as his phenomenal state of conditions is concerned) is poor (as far as his inner life is concerned) if he is moderate, exercises self-command, uses his ruling principle in a right way, and seeks God alone, “such a poor man submits to the commandments, being free, un-subdued, free of disease, unwounded by wealth.” 90 However, if this is not the case, “sooner shall a camel enter through a needle’s eye, than such a rich man reach the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:25). 91 Finally, Clement presents the Savior as the physician “who cuts out the passions thoroughly by the root,” since “nothing is more pernicious to the soul than uninterrupted pleasure.” 92 We may draw some general conclusions from this brief survey of Clement’s treatise. Firstly, its general problem is exegetical. Even so, it gives us the most explicitly stated thoughts on possessions, their use, utility, etc. All these concerns belong to the subject area of household management. Now, Clement’s approach to economics clearly exhibits some distinctive marks of Aristotelian thought. Clement identified the main issues of wealth as pertaining to improper chrematistics and crisis. He identified the root cause of all evils with the dominant role of an appetitive faculty of the soul which does not take into account an instrumental role of possesIbid., PG 9: 628A. Ibid., PG 9: 632A. 90 Ibid., PG 9: 632C. 91 Ibid., PG 9: 632C. 92 Ibid., PG 9: 645D. 88 89

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sions (as the means of well-being), but, instead, turns them into ends. He did not talk about inequality in transactions which is just another key element of Aristotle’s economic theory. Even so, the most essential parts or elements of Aristotle’s economic thought are clearly exhibited in the treatise. Clement thus presented Jesus as allegorically preaching Aristotle’s theory. Jesus is a great philosopher who reveals to the pagan mind its most essential aspects. The message preached to the pagan intelligentsia is – do not be afraid of the Lord and do not read marginal philosophical theories into his sayings. A proper exegesis of the sayings tells us that he propagated the most respected philosophical doctrines relating to household management, in many ways enhancing Aristotle’s doctrines, but by no means contradicting them.

ST. BASIL THE GREAT’S UNDERSTANDING OF HOUSECRAFT

Having thus reviewed Clement’s understanding of economy we may now turn to the fourth century and see how one of its most significant philosophers/theologians understood the same subject. Now, Basil the Great in his Sermon to the Rich gives us just another example of classical economic thought in the service of Christian rhetoric. He basically takes the same sayings of the Savior (Matthew 19:21 and 19:24) and attempts to exegete them. Even so, this treatise is a sermon. Hence, it does not assume the necessity of all intellectual subtleties associated with the subject. Rather, it has a more direct moral import. It was written during the time when Christianity was institutionalized as a state religion. The sermon was delivered in the sixth decade of the fourth century, during the time of a major drought in Asia Minor, one that caused a great distress to the community of believers. Though Basil aims to persuade his flock to be open to charity and share in excess of produces from the previous years, he also delineates his understanding of the issues of acquisition and use of wealth, etc. Thus, this sermon is extremely valuable for our understanding of the church’s understanding of economics. To this sermon we shall now turn. Basil commences his sermon with the words of the Lord (Matthew 19:16–24). He then describes the reaction of the rich man to the words of the Lord. He scolds him for moral inconsistency and confused behavior, since “all his good intent is cast under judgment by this: that he does not focus on what is truly

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good, but rather looks to what pleases most people.” 93 As a result, “he goes away grieving, darkened by the passion of avarice.” 94 He blames the man for preferring his “own enjoyment to the consolation of the many.” 95 He argues that as much as this man exceeds in wealth, so much he falls short in love of God and fellow human beings. Basil even exclaims that possessions now stick to him closer than his limbs to the extent of being inseparable from him. Now, the question of the utility of possessions is asked. After all, what is the use of wealth (Ἀλλὰ τί χρήσῃ τῷ πλούτῳ;)? Do you wish to wrap yourself in fine apparel? Surely two lengths of cloth are sufficient for a coat, while the covering of a single garment fulfills every need with regard to clothing. Or would you spend your wealth on food? A loaf of bread is enough to fill your stomach. Why then do you grieve? Of what have you been deprived? Of the glory that derives from wealth? Had you not sought glory from the dirt, you would have discovered the true glory like a shining beacon leading you to the Kingdom of Heaven. Nonetheless, having wealth is dear to you, though you gain from it no advantage whatsoever. And the futility of chasing after what is worthless is obvious to everyone. 96

Here the issue of the utility of possessions that exceed necessities of life (and turn means into ends) is posited. Basil argues in this context that possessions that do not correspond with the necessities of life (and do not facilitate well-being) are futile. Then Basil switches the gears from pure economic concerns to the economy of salvation and in this light introduces his “paradox of distribution.” It is stated in the following way: St. Basil the Great, Homilia in Divites (Ὁμιλία πρὸς τοὺς πλουτούντας), PG 31: 280A. English translation in C. Paul Schroeder, St. Basil the Great on Social Justice (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2009), 42. 94 Ibid., PG 31: 280A (42 in translation). 95 Ibid., PG 31: 281C (43). 96 Ibid., PG 31: 284A (44). 93

3. FAMILY ECONOMY TO GLOBAL ECONOMY When wealth is scattered in the manner which our Lord directed, it naturally returns, but when it is gathered, it naturally disperses. If you try to keep it, you will not have it; if you scatter it, you will not lose it. “They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever” (Psalms 112:9).” 97

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Hence, the best way of saving the riches is to distribute them among the needy, if looked from the perspective of the economy of salvation. By distributing you save possessions (perhaps by transforming tangible assets into intangible), by laying hold on wealth you lose it. Now, the limits of possessions is accentuated by Basil and indeed restricted to their utility. However, he notes, the rich also try to accumulate possessions that lack any utility. Thus, “it is not on account of food or clothing that wealth is sought most.” 98 This practice should be prohibited. And indeed, “some device has been concocted by the devil, suggesting innumerable spending opportunities to the wealthy, so that they pursue unnecessary and worthless things as if they were indispensable, and no amount is sufficient for the expenditures they contrive.” 99 Basil provides the response of the rich to this allegation by saying that it is perhaps necessary to “divide up their wealth, one part for the present needs, and another for future,” and to “put aside one portion for themselves, and another for their children.” 100 This is indeed reasonable. But what is next? Then, he notes, they say that it is necessary to allocate some assets to the expense accounts. However, what kind of expense is at stake? He argues that if the allowance for daily expenditures is to “exceed the level of mere necessities,” 101 they are spent on household extravagance, showy visits to the city, exotic voyages, etc. However, such a use of possessions is totally inappropriate since it goes way beyond the Ibid., PG 31: 284A-B (44). Ibid., PG 31: 284B (44). 99 Ibid., PG 31: 284B (44). 100 Ibid., PG 31: 284C (44). 101 Ibid., PG 31: 284C (44). 97 98

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task to fulfill the necessities of household (provide it with the means of subsistence) so as to make it self-sufficient. On the contrary, an excessive and unintended use of possessions, one that does not take into account the natural utility of possessions, is unnatural and unpleasant to the Lord. However, at times, there is no use of wealth at all. What happens to it? If “the wealth still overflows, it gets buried underground, stashed away in secret places.” A justification of this practice to the rich is the following: “what’s to come is uncertain, we may face unexpected needs.” Basil finds this justification unsound. He notes that there is a certain penalty for this attempt to protect themselves from some possible contingencies in the future while treating the fellow human beings who are in need in an inhumane way. Thus, they fail to justify this practice. Moreover, “as you are burying your wealth, you entomb your own heart. ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (Matthew 6:21).” 102 Here Basil argues that attachments and dispositions of the soul tie it to their objects. If the object is buried in the ground, the soul is buried with it. This, in a sense, determines the soul’s fate. More importantly, if the money is buried in the ground, its value, associated with its virtuous use, is ruined. And “the Kingdom of Heaven does not receive such people, for ‘it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God’ (Matthew 19:24).” 103 In general, Basil reminds us that, “it befits those who possess sound judgment to recognize that they have received wealth as a stewardship, and not for their own enjoyment.” 104 Hence, the allocation of money should be restricted to needs not excess. Indeed, Basil is a lot more affirmative of selling all possessions. Thus, he understands the saying as having predominantly ethical import. Even so, this import is crucial in the light of the economy of salvation. Now, Basil again shifts the gear and moves to the subject of unequal trade. The command to sell possessions makes sense in the light of fair trade. But feeble human beings do not always underIbid., PG 31: 285C (46). Ibid., PG 31: 288A (46). 104 Ibid., PG 31: 288B (46). 102 103

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stand the matter in hand and think that they can sell and buy and hence gain, and get an equal exchange. Even so, in reality, they lose. Thus, You are not disappointed when you must spend gold in order to purchase a horse. But when you have the opportunity to exchange corruptible things for the Kingdom of Heaven, you shed tears, spurning the one who asks of you and refusing to give anything, while contriving a million excuses for your own expenditures. 105

What is the real worth of things acquired? A temporary pleasure and the agenda of securing some future necessities are incomparable with salvation. Hence, we have a clear example of unfair trade wherein the rich man loses, or gets less. Indeed, this sounds almost like buying salvation by giving away money, which is not the case. Then he accentuates the importance of charity. What then will you answer to the judge? You gorgeously array your walls, but do not clothe your fellow human being; you adorn horses, but turn away from the shameful plight of your brother or sister; you allow grain to rot in your barns, but do not feed those who are striving; you hide gold in the earth, but ignore the oppressed! 106

One of the reasons for this perverted state of conditions is associated with an improper arrangement of ruling and subjugated principles within the household. Indeed, the notion of “covetous wife” is introduced. If she is to become the ruling principle, a natural and limited οἰκονομικὴ will definitely turn into improper chrematistics and pervert χρῆσις, thus stirring up the love of luxuries, increasing hedonism, etc. Such women contrive to procure precious stones and metals of all kinds – pearls, emeralds, sapphires, and gold – working some into ornaments and weaving some into their garments, while aggravating the disease of avarice with every form of

105 106

Ibid., PG 31: 288B (47). Ibid., PG 31: 288C (47).

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Then, there will be no time to take care of the soul while serving a woman’s lusts. Thus, “as storms and surges at sea scuttle ships with rotten hulls, as the evil dispositions of spouses drowns the weaker souls that live with them.” 108 This is thus a classical account of a subjugated principle turning into a ruling one. As a result, when the rich man hears the words of the Lord he goes away grieving, whereas when he hears the command of giving “‘give what you have to a woman of luxury’ – that is, to stonecutters, woodworkers, mosaicists, painters – you rejoice as though gaining for yourself something money cannot buy.” 109 Thus an exchange of money for unnecessary and useless goods is welcomed but an exchange for salvation is denied. The reason is the perverted arrangement of ruling and subjugated phases in the household, causative of improper dispositions, etc. Instead, an excessive wealth should be spent to cover the needs of the poor. Basil again and again accentuates the necessity of almsgiving. This is the only use of excessive possessions that is justified. Now, Basil moves to states and dispositions of the soul as causative of perverted οἰκονομικὴ. An inflated appetitive faculty of the soul moves it in a direction of excess. Then, “this constant accumulation does not quell the craving, but only further inflames your appetite.” 110 He hears the rich telling that he is actually poor. Basil’s response is that “a pauper is someone who lacks many things, and the insatiability of your desire makes you lack many Ibid., PG 31: 289A (47). Ibid., PG 31: 289B (48). 109 Ibid., PG 31: 289C (48). 110 Ibid., PG 31: 292B (49). 107 108

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things indeed.” 111 Hence, his definition of poverty is that of lack. Even so, this understanding is quite in accord with that of Clement since both rich and poor can suffer from the desire to acquire as much as possible. Thus, dispositions towards an uncontrolled and unlimited χρηματιστική and χρῆσις can be detected in both. Here again the primacy of immanent action is made explicit by Basil. Moreover, since the natural resources are limited, the rich has to wedge wars to acquire more possessions. The lust of possessions thus functions as, the cause of war, for which purpose weapons are forged… Because of wealth, kinsfolk disregard the bond of nature, and sibling contemplates murder against sibling. Because of wealth, the desert teems with murders, the sea with pirates, and the cities with extortionists. Who is the father of lies? Who is the author of forgery? Who gave birth to perjury? Is it not wealth? What ails you, people? 112

Wealth is thus the cause of war which not only insures the acquisition of tools and possessions, but also divides families, causes them to compete with one another, etc. Basil completes his sermon by again scolding the rich man for misusing wealth for carnal employment and for false expectations that it will secure his future which is not under his control. We may now draw some general conclusions from this brief survey of Basil’s sermon. Though its scope pertains to the exegesis of scripture, this sermon gives us an unequivocal account of the fourth century understanding of certain pressing economic issues. Here Basil derives the main problem associated with the notion of possessions (i.e. their acquisition, use, abuse, etc.) from the classical thought on the subject, one that was most explicitly expressed by Aristotle. Basil pays less attention in the sermon to the issues associated with the acquisition of wealth (though he introduces it briefly in his discussion of the causes of war), but makes an emphasis on its use. Thus, it is not as much about an unlimited and improper chrematistics, as it is about a perverted crisis. Moreover, Basil also 111 112

Ibid., PG 31: 292B (49). Ibid., PG 31: 297B-C (53).

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alludes to the issues of equal and unequal transactions, basically suggesting that a proper approach to wealth may grant the Kingdom of Heaven to its possessor (thus, representing an equal or fair exchange of assets). For this reason, the tension between the human οἰκονομικὴ and the divine economy of salvation always underlies Basil’s speculations on the subject. Basil makes an appeal to common sense and thus interprets the sayings of the Lord either literally or ethically, choosing a proper rhetorical strategy that may be in accord with the genre of his treatise (i.e. a sermon). Thus, the “spiritual/allegorical” hermeneutics, one that played the prominent role in Clement’s treatise, is not present here. Even so, the premises that Basil chose for his sermon correspond well with those of Clement. Overall it seems that they both read the same or similar literature (economic and ethical manuals of the time) and attempt to incorporate classical thought into the Christian economic and ethical matrix. However, we may clearly see that the Jewish economic matrix (with its more egalitarian ethical precepts) is more fully at work in Basil’s discourse.

FROM ANTIQUITY TO MODERNITY: POSTENLIGHTENMENT ECONOMIC THOUGHT AND ITS RELATION TO THE EARLY CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF ECONOMY

The early Christian approach to economy and its ethical implications is an important part of our own history. Are any of the elements of such an approach still at work in our modern world? Do we still follow the patristic economic precepts? Apparently, we no longer do so. A radical chance in attitude towards economy is associated with the post-Enlightenment thought. 113 It deconstructed the classical/patristic economic model by critiquing its basic principles and establishing the new rules regulating household management. I shall point out to at least four important changes. The post-Enlightenment thought was represented by such eighteenth-nineteenth century thinkers as Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham, and John Stuart Mill, among others. 113

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Firstly, the post-enlightenment vision of the subject started with the critique of the possibility of any limitations imposed on chrematistics. In a sense, it justified an unlimited acquisition of possessions. However, in the context of a limited supply of stockpile (provided by nature and accumulated by human beings over time) this approach led the post-enlightenment thinkers towards the justification of war (as the art of acquisition) and slavery. Indeed, the entire colonial endeavor of various European states received its moral justification and the confirmation of its economic validity. Secondly, this vision of economy justified an unfair (colonial) trade based on the ideal of getting more goods for less or no money (or other goods in cases where barter was practiced). The same principle stands behind various transactions of our time and is manifested in multiple commercial slogans, for instance: pay less get more. But who is covering the difference? At times the difference in price is faked (i.e. non-existent despite it being presented as real). Otherwise, it is the third “enslaved” world (e.g. a teenage Bangladeshi girl) that compensates the difference in price by its “free” labor input. Thirdly, this vision “deified” the idea of what is now called the time value of money. In other words, the interest attached to the use of money, one that requires no labor input (this same interest that Aristotle criticized in his treatises), was lifted up as a basic principle of post-enlightenment economic thought. And finally, this vision denied any soteriological value of household management, it now being promoted as a mere phenomenal reality with no supernatural, or noumenal, or intelligible, or divine import. It no longer thought of economic activities as being redemptive in some ways. Consequently, a different set of moral precepts was created so as to make ethics correspond with this new economic pattern. And indeed, the whole economy turned into the global economy wherein the most viable units of economic exchange turned into political (i.e. national) and later corporate (i.e. transnational) units.

CONCLUSION

Having thus reviewed Clement’s and Basil’s understanding of the subject, and having briefly delineated a radical discontinuity between patristic thought and early modern thought, we can return to

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the original question about the early church’s understanding of economy and its ethical implications. Can this thought address more recent issues of economic/social justice? Can we find “right answers” in early patristic thought on the subject? It appears that early patristic thought can indeed address certain issues typical to contemporary economy, especially those related to improper chrematistics and improper crisis. Indeed, according to the early Christian account of the subject, our modern corporate schema is not designed to benefit all. Hence, the idea of well-being is restricted to the elites. It opens up the gate for an unlimited acquisition and improper use of our limited assets. Hence, a few receive the most and the rest – a little. It may also inform us about a proper role of the higher faculties (i.e. about the role of the intellect in our modern economy) responsible for controlling an unlimited appetitive faculty of the modern corporate environment. This role of controlling an appetitive faculty could have been performed by the ruling agency of the state. However, the state seems to fail in this respect. What about Adam Smith’s “invisible hand of the market”? Smith argued that by eliminating trade barriers, price restrictions, increasing competition, etc. this mythical “market” will lead the humanity to its economic well-being. Smith’s idea was indeed actualized to a certain degree and we can contemplate its fruits in our own time. The creation of a “self-regulating” market indeed resulted in the creation of a prosperous economy. However, did this economy bring into existence the promised common good? Did it turn individual interests into a common interest? I think it did not. It really benefited a few. What about the fathers’ account? Can it help us find a proper agency responsible for bringing in concord individual and common interests? I think it cannot, since their economic imagination restricted itself within the limits of individual households. Moreover, patristic thought, following the ancient Jewish moral precepts, can also inform us about the necessity of mutual (communal) help in creating sustainable and prosperous economy. However, patristic thought restricted an application of those issues to the level of private households, thus abstaining from the issues of political economy (so typical of contemporary corporate economic environment). Here the whole of economy is again the economy of salvation. And all moral worth of economic activities (and of their soteriological impact) is allocated to the level of private household. One significant advantage of this approach is that

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it provides us with a paradigm that allows for apprehending some basic economic actions as salvific in some ways. Now, all theoretical concerns of this day and age are largely premised on the issues of state (or even global) economy, on the notions of equal rights of the human beings, etc. They assume that all human beings deserve an equal distribution of assets, an equal treatment, etc. Unfortunately, patristic literature cannot offer much in this respect to satisfy modern concerns associated with the subject. Here and there we find some “diverging” (from the mainstream thought) patterns, at times speaking about “family justice,” and at times arguing that all human beings are equal by nature (thus, apparently attempting to intellectually combat social disproportions within the family, be that an attitude towards women or slaves). Even so, the main problem still revolves around the same classical aporiai and their possible solutions. Moreover, one may not find the answers in patristic literature to the questions capable of objecting to certain proposals offered by the neo-liberal intelligentsia of our time, i.e. those justifying corporate concerns and presenting the state as being economically irresponsible for the well-being of the citizens, offering the citizens no essential care, etc. Thus, there is an extent in which very valuable and extremely subtle patristic thought can be utilized in discussions of our time. My conclusion of this chapter is that perhaps we should not read modern concerns into patristic thought.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aristotle. Politics. in W.D. Ross, ed. Aristotelis politica. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957; repr. 1964. ———. Economics. in H. Tredennick & G. C. Armstrong, eds. Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Books 10–14), Oeconomica, and Magna Moralia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1935. ———. Ethics. in I. Bywater, ed. Aristotelis ethica Nicomachea. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1894; repr. 1962. ———. The Complete Works. ed. Jonathan Barnes, 2 Vols. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995. Augustine. De civitate Dei. ed. Josephus Strange. Coloniae, Belgium: Herberle, 1850.

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Basil the Great. Homilia in Divites. in J.P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca 31: 277D – 304C. ———. To the Rich. in C. Paul Schroeder, trans. St. Basil the Great on Social Justice. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2009. Clement of Alexandria. Liber Quis dives salvetur. in Migne, Patrologia Graeca 9: 604A – 652C. ———. Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2. eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885. Crespo, Ricardo. “‘The Economic’ According to Aristotle: Ethical, Political and Epistemological Implications.” Foundations of Science (2008) 13: 281–294. Finnis, John M. Natural Law and Natural Rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. Gardner, Gregg. The origins of organized charity in rabbinic Judaism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. Lock, John. Two Treatises on Government and a Letter Concerning Toleration. New Haven, Conn.; London: Yale University Press, 2003. Navia, Luis. Classical Cynicism: A Critical Study. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1996. Nugent, Francis. “Immanent Action in St. Thomas and Aristotle.” The New Scholasticism 37 No. 2 (1963): 164–187. Osborn, Eric. Ethical Patterns in Early Christian Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976. ———. Clement of Alexandria. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Peil, Jan & van Staveren, Irene. Handbook of Economics and Ethics. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2009. Plato. Republic. eds. B. Jowett and L. Campbell. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1894. Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, De beneficiis. Brepols Publishers, 2010. Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations. London: J.M. Dent; New York: E.P. Dutton, 1910.

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Stander, Hennie. Economics in the Church Fathers. in Paul Oslington, The Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Tollinton, R.B. Clement of Alexandria: A Study of Christian Liberalism. London: Williams & Norgate, 1914.

CHAPTER 4 WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR BEAUTIFUL LAND? CLIMATE CHANGE AND TERRORISM TENNY THOMAS INTRODUCTION

Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth… these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all (Ban Ki-Moon, 2015).

Climate is a long-term driver of ecological change, but the rapidity with which climate is projected to change over the next century may push the limitations of ecological adaptability, to the detriment of biodiversity. The scientific community has warned that if greenhouse gas emissions keep increasing, the planet will reach a point of no return. Global warming will become catastrophic and irreversible. The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish. Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years (Pope Francis, 2015).

A recent report by the International Climate Change Taskforce, cochaired by Republican U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe, concludes that climate change is the “single most important long term issue that the planet faces.” It warns that if average global temperatures in81

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crease more than two degrees Celsius – which will likely occur in a matter of decades if we continue with business-as-usual – the world will reach the “point of no return,” where societies may be unable to cope with the accelerating rates of change. Existing threats to security will be amplified as climate change has increasing impacts on regional water supplies, agricultural productivity, human and ecosystem health, infrastructure, financial flows and economies, and patterns of international migration.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND TERRORISM

The potential for catastrophic natural disasters is real and its impact will be devastating and global. Climate change, and the attendant environmental conflict it generates, has the potential to know no political boundary, no ethnic or racial boundary, and no creed or religious boundary. Climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. If we are going to see an increase in drought and flood and extreme weather disturbances as a result of climate change, what that means is that peoples all over the world are going to be fighting over limited natural resources. If there is not enough water, if there is not enough land to grow your crops, then you’re going to see migrants of people fighting over land that will sustain them, and that will lead to international conflict. The impacts of climate change may cause instability in other countries by impairing access to food and water, damaging infrastructure, spreading disease, uprooting and displacing large numbers of people, compelling mass migration, interrupting commercial activity, or restricting electricity availability. These developments could undermine already-fragile governments that are unable to respond effectively or challenge currently‐ stable governments, as well as increasing competition and tension between countries vying for limited resources. These gaps in governance can create an avenue for extremist ideologies and condition that foster terrorism (Department of Defense, 2014).

Climate change impacts food, water and energy security, which can create conditions that may increase the likelihood of state instability. In ungoverned spaces, given the right political, economic, social and environmental conditions, terrorism can thrive. Specific threats

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to human welfare and global security include: (Janet Sawin 2005, 100–119).  Climate change will undermine efforts to mitigate world poverty, directly threatening people’s homes and livelihoods through increased storms, droughts, disease, and other stressors. Not only could this impede development, it might also increase national and regional instability and intensify income disparities between rich and poor. This, in turn, could lead to military confrontations over distribution of the world’s wealth, or could feed terrorism or transnational crime.  Rising temperatures, droughts, and floods, and the increasing acidity of ocean waters, coupled with an expanding human population, could further stress an already limited global food supply, dramatically increasing food prices and potentially triggering internal unrest or the use of food as a weapon. Even the modest warming experienced to date has affected fisheries and agricultural productivity, with a 10 percent decrease in corn yields across the U.S. Midwest seen per degree of warming.  Altered rainfall patterns could heighten tensions over the use of shared water bodies and increase the likelihood of violent conflict over water resources. It is estimated that about 1.4 billion people already live in areas that are waterstressed. Up to 5 billion people (most of the world’s current population) could be living in such regions by 2025.  Widespread impacts of climate change could lead to waves of migration, threatening international stability. One study estimates that by 2050, as many as 150 million people may have fled coastlines vulnerable to rising sea levels, storms or floods, or agricultural land too arid to cultivate. Historically, migration to urban areas has stressed limited services and infrastructure, inciting crime or insurgency movements, while migration across borders has frequently led to violent clashes over land and resources. The parallels with terrorism are compelling. Traditional responses to security threats cannot address the root of such problems, and related impacts could persist even if global emissions are cut dramatically over coming decades because of the significant lag time

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between cause and effect. As with terrorism, we know that changes will occur, but not when or where they will strike, nor how damaging and costly they will be. Climate change already claims more lives than does terrorism: according to the World Health Organization, global climate change now accounts for more than 160,000 deaths annually. By the time the world experiences the climate equivalent of September 11th, it could be too late to respond. Climate change is expected to cause massive problems related to migration. People have already begun to seek refuge, with the world’s first climate refugees – a family from the Polynesian island nation of Tuvalu – having been granted residency in New Zealand in 2014 due to rising tides. In 2014, a staggering nearly 60 million people sought refuge in other countries due to war, poverty, resource scarcity, natural disasters and other problems, according to the UN Refugee Agency. Unfortunately, climate change threatens to displace an estimated 187 million people by 2100 if weather trends continue to follow the patterns anticipated by climate scientists.

ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE AS TERRORISM

“We are gathered here today in the spirit of peace for the good of all human beings and for the care of creation. At this moment in history, at the beginning of the third Millennium, we are saddened to see the daily suffering of a great number of people from violence, starvation, poverty and disease. We are also concerned about the negative consequences for humanity and for all creation resulting from the degradation of some basic natural resources such as water, air and land, brought about by an economic and technological progress which does not recognize and take into account its limits.” (Saint John Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew 2002)

The term ‘eco-justice’ or ecological justice is a relatively emerging concept. Ecological justice refers to constructive human responses that concentrate on the link between ecological health and social justice (Hessel 1996, 12). Ecological justice therefore seeks to attend to the well being of human-earth community as well as promote human dignity and ecological integrity. Since humanity is an integral part of creation, social justice goes hand-in-hand with ecological justice. The contemporary ecological crisis is the most inex-

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haustive anthropogenic catastrophe in human civilization yet, with its adverse waves sweeping across the globe, even to generations unborn. The exigency to protect and care for creation is increasingly inevitable and religion has an indispensable responsibility in unison with societal institutions to foster a collaborative dialogue towards an authentic resolution. Within Christianity, especially in the Orthodox churches there is a dire need for a continuous and mutual engagement of ecotheological paradigms, at the level of both orthodoxy and orthopraxis, for the enhancement of an ongoing renewal of Christian ecological responsibility. My article will focus on the Church’s response to the ecological problems as terrorism, especially the climate change we face today. My reasons for choosing the topic are three fold: first, the ecological crisis is the most serious contemporary problem facing us. Second, Christianity is blessed to have two leaders, in the persons of Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who have been extremely sensitive to these concerns throughout their ministry, concentrating on raising ecological awareness and protecting the natural environment a primary goal of their pastoral mission. Third, I want to raise the environmental awareness among local communities in Northeast United States of America, especially in New York and Raleigh-Durham where I teach and minister. I. Insertion/Experience The protection of the environment as God’s creation is the supreme responsibility of human beings, quite apart from any material or other financial benefits that it may bring. Threats to the environment are a common experience in everyday life as we observe and often experience the impacts of a multitude of ecological effects not only in this country but also, and especially, in other countries where environmental consciousness is less prevalent. Such affronts to the natural environment include: toxic water, suffocating air, despoiled land, diminishing forests, polluted oceans and rivers filled with pesticides, chemicals and plastic, and an avalanche of waste. The human influence on the climate is evident from a variety of observations and analyses, and it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed temperature patterns and increases since the mid-twentieth century. The present generation is obliged to be concerned about

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impacts of the ecological crisis on the coming generations. How will our actions of today affect the generations to come – our children and grandchildren? Do we have the right to exploit the earth’s resources selfishly and carelessly? To quote the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report: “Most aspects of climate change will persist for many centuries even if emissions of carbon dioxide are stopped.” It is not too late to respond – as people, as parishes, and as a planet. We could steer the earth toward our children’s future. However, we can no longer afford to wait; we can no longer afford not to act. The use and preservation of natural resources has been transformed into irrational abuse and, often, complete destruction, leading occasionally to the downfall of great civilizations. Climate change is already beginning to transform life on Earth. Around the globe, seasons are shifting, temperatures are climbing and sea levels are rising. And meanwhile, our planet must still supply us – and all living things – with air, water, food and safe places to live. If we do not act now, climate change will rapidly alter the lands and waters we all depend upon for survival, leaving our children and grandchildren with a very different world. In 1999, WWF’s Network on Religion and Conservation held a session in which the idea for the institution of a special Day for the Creation was put forward and in the following year the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew issued a message calling for thanksgiving and supplication for all creation to be offered annually on 1 September, the first day of the Church year. He called for this day to be one of earnest prayer for the salvation and protection of the earth. To this end, the renowned Orthodox hymnographer Monk Gerasimos of the Little Skete of Saint Anne on Mount Athos composed an “Office of Supplication to our God and Savior Jesus Christ Who loves Humankind for our Environment and for the Whole Creation.” II. Social Analysis Global warming is the biggest of all environmental dangers at present, maintain many environmentalists. Ironically, the great fear thirty years ago was of global cooling, for scientists recognized then that the earth is nearing a downward turn in its millennia-long cycle of rising and falling temperatures, correlated with cycles in solar energy output. Now people fear that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide, called a “greenhouse gas” because it traps solar heat in the

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atmosphere rather than allowing it to radiate back into space, will cause global average temperatures to rise. The rising temperatures, will melt polar ice caps, raise sea levels, cause deserts to expand, and generate more and stronger hurricanes and other storms. The environmental “attitude-behavior gap” shows no signs of narrowing and may even be increasing. Recent research continues to show Americans hold “pro-environmental” attitudes (Newholm 2005; Oreg and Katz-Gerro 2006), yet per capita energy consumption has increased 2.4 percent between 1990 and 2005 (International Energy Agency 2008), and recycling rates for aluminum cans and plastic beverage bottles have decreased 31percent and 37 percent respectively, between 1992 and 2006 (Container Recycling Institute 2010). It is very difficult to explain why people express pro-environmental attitudes while failing to engage in pro-environmental behavior on a consistent basis. According to research disseminated by the IPCC, the effects of global climate change have already been documented on “physical and biological systems on all continents and in most oceans” and “climatic effects on human systems are emerging” (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007). Scientists forecast the impact of these effects to be very serious, including increased risk of extinction for 20 – 30 percent of assessed plant and animal species, changing weather patterns, and rising sea levels. Climatic transformations would affect global food production especially in low-lying plains and river delta areas. Rising sea levels could totally submerge some islands and cause rampant coastal flooding on larger landmasses. About 40 percent of the world’s population and close to 50 percent of the U.S. population live within 60 miles of a coast (McGranahan, Balk, and Anderson 2006).

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Climate change has major social and economic implications. The negative impacts of climate change push those living on the margin closer to the edge and can hamper the development pathways of entire regions by impeding the fight against poverty, disease, and hunger. In addition, policies and interventions to both mitigate and adapt to climate change entail significant distributional, poverty and social impacts. For example, improved land use planning to adapt to changing hazard trends could lead to the reallocation of investments in less flood prone areas, which in turn may produce employment losses in some areas and employment gains in others. Climate actions could also impact agricultural and forestry activities, e.g., by limiting activity at certain times of the year in some areas. This in turn might impact vulnerable segments of society, e.g., indigenous peoples, who depend on forests for their livelihoods (World Bank. 2010a).

ECONOMIC LOSS AND DAMAGE

Climate change is already affecting economies around the world. Climate change is affecting businesses and economies at home and around the world. If action is not taken to curb global carbon emissions, climate change could cost between 5 and 20 percent of the annual global gross domestic product, according to a various government report. In comparison, it would take 1 percent of GDP to lessen the most damaging effects of climate change, the report says. Local communities and businesses will feel these global costs: Some examples are listed below. a) In southern New England, lobster catches have plummet-

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ed because of heat stresses and growing parasite threats due to rising sea temperatures. b) Ski resorts located in the lower altitudes of the Swiss Alps have difficulty obtaining bank loans because of declining snow. c) In Lake Erie, climate change may significantly lower lake levels, altering shoreline habitats and costing millions for the relocation of ports and shore infrastructure. Globally, more intense hurricanes and downpours could cause billions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure. Declining crop yields due to prolonged drought and high temperatures, especially in Africa, could put hundreds of thousands of people at risk for starvation. High sea temperatures also threaten the survival of coral reefs, which generate an estimated $375 billion per year in goods and services (World Bank. 2010a).

HEAT-RELATED ILLNESS AND DISEASE Climate change brings health risks to the world’s most vulnerable communities. As temperatures rise, so do the risks of heat-related illness and even death for the most vulnerable human populations. In 2003, for example, extreme heat waves caused more than 20,000 deaths in Europe and more than 1,500 deaths in India. Scientists have linked the deadly heat waves to climate change and warn of more to come. In addition to heat-related illness, climate change may increase the spread of infectious diseases, mainly because warmer temperatures allow disease-carrying insects, animals and microbes to survive in areas where they were once thwarted by cold weather. Diseases and pests that were once limited to the tropics – such as mosquitoes that carry malaria – may find hospitable conditions in new areas that were once too cold to support them. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that climate change may have caused more than 150,000 deaths in the year 2000 alone, with an increase in deaths likely in the future. III. Moral Reflection The earth, and, with it, all the cosmos, reveals its Creator’s wisdom and goodness (Psalm 19:1–6) and is sustained and governed by his power and loving kindness (Psalm 102:25–27; Psalm 104; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3, 10–12). Men and women are created in the

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image of God, given a privileged place among creatures, and commanded to exercise stewardship over the earth (Genesis 1:26–28; Psalm 8:5). The image of God consists of knowledge and righteousness, and expresses itself in creative human stewardship and dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26–28; 2:8–20; 9:6; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). Our stewardship under God implies that we are morally accountable to Him for treating creation in a manner that best serves the objectives of the kingdom of God; but both moral accountability and dominion over the earth depend on the freedom to choose. The exercise of these virtues and this calling, therefore, require that we act in an arena of considerable freedom– not unrestricted license, but freedom exercised within the boundaries of God’s moral law revealed in Scripture and in the human conscience (Exodus 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 5:6–21; Romans 2:14– 15). The Church considers the ecological crisis to be a moral problem as well as an issue of Christian faith, and thus it calls for ecological responsibility. The Church’s clarion call for ecological conversion and consciousness involves a genuine effort to re-articulate a proper human self-understanding within creation. In the last decade of the twenty-first century, through scientific studies, it has become increasingly evident that humans are a determining factor in the threat to the future well being of the earth. This is discernible mostly in the misuse of science and technology, and the prevailing modes of production and consumption that adversely impact the universe. The severe deterioration of life through human predatory activities and the despoliation of the earth are contributing to a fundamental alienation of the interdependence between humans and creation. Consequently, human self-understanding in relation to creation becomes the terminus ad quo of a truly authentic Christian response to the ecological crisis. John Zizioulas considers the ecological problem to be a spiritual one and a crisis of culture, which has to do with the loss of the sacrality of nature (Zizioulas 1997, 25). He asserts that what we need is “not an ethic, but an ethos. Not a program, but an attitude and a mentality. Not a legislation, but a culture.” Humans are living at a time when communion with the ‘other’ (God, humans and creation) is becoming extremely difficult. Zizioulas observes that the ecological problem “is due to a crisis between the human being and the otherness of the rest of

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creation. Man does not respect the otherness of what is not human; he tends to absorb it into himself. This is the cause of the ecological problem” (Zizioulas 1994, 18).

COURSE OF ACTION

Man is God’s steward, not the dominator, of creation. The Lord placed him in the Garden of Eden “to cultivate and care for it (Genesis 2:15).Man has to cultivate nature in order to find remedy to his original nakedness, but he must do so in such a way as not to destroy the original good and beauty of creatures. Responsible stewardship means, hence, to “serve the good of human beings and all of creation as well (Acton Institute, 2005). In the light of this vision we recommend action in the following areas: what each individual can do; what the Churches can do; and what the governments can do. In individual parishes in respective areas where there are Orthodox churches, the following three suggestions were recommended to each parish:

i) What the Government can do – the government has taken some of the actions implemented in Church and the churches have asked the government not to pursue short-term economic gains at the expense of long-term ecological damage. The Church has suggested that the government groups together into an independent Department all the agencies, which deal at, present with ecological issues. This Department promotes an awareness of the fragility and limited carrying capacity of India’s ecosystems and advocate measures designed to support ecologically sustainable development. Obviously the Department should have an important contribution to make to related Departments like, Education (DECS), Health, Natural Resources (DENR) and Agriculture. The Department also is encouraged to research into the ecosystems and the problems they face in the future. The Department started publishing a state of the environment report for each region and for the country as a whole each year. Above all, the Church offers funding to the Department to insure that its policies and programs are implemented. ii) What the Religious Institutions can do – like every other group, Religious Institutions as a community is called to conversion around this, the ultimate pro-life issue. Until very recently many religions have been slow to respond to the ecological crisis.

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There is a great need to live the theology of creation, which will be sensitive to our unique living world, our diverse culture and our religious heritage. The fruits of this theology must be made widely available through preaching and catechetical programs. The prayers and services must deliberate the beauty and pain of the world, human connectedness to the natural world and the on-going struggle for social justice. Religious institutions must encourage the administrators of the religious schools and secular schools run by various organizations to give special importance to the theme of peace, justice and the integrity of creation in their schools. Setting up a Care of the Earth ministry at every level of religious organization, from the basic communities, through every structure and offices of the religious organizations right up to the national level. Individual organizations have initiated programs of environmental education at all levels in religious institutions. This has the organizations involved in local initiatives, such as organizing recycling programs, conserving energy in buildings, and encouraging less use of the car. Institutions are also holding educational gatherings covering fields from theology to environmental sciences, in order to aid the religious community in further practical involvement in environmental and bioethical issues. These involve members and non-experts in scientific and ecological fields. These initiatives have mobilized many young and old towards projects of environmental action. iii) What each individual can do – As every individual has a stewardship responsibility towards the environment, one needs to be aware of what is happening in his or her respective areas. Individuals are not to remain silent when ones sees their environment being destroyed. Individuals can organize people around local ecological issues.

CONCLUSION

For what has been said so far, we can conclude that the human’s relationship to the environment is a matter of justice. It may be the case that concern for the environment will be “the next step in the church’s still-evolving social doctrine. That doctrine already takes very seriously the good ordering of our earthly life and makes it an essential part of our religious obligations. Now that teaching must demonstrate a full commitment to environmental concerns” (Mur-

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phy 1989, 2).We are all in need of an ecological conversion – man is the “master of all earthly creatures,” and, accordingly, that “all things on earth should be related to man as their center and crown” (Gaudium et Spes # 12). Responsibility for the protection of the environment requires mature moral evaluation and action. There are real dilemmas, issues, and tensions that emerge as we reflect upon the environmental challenges before us. Moral evaluation is needed and corrective measures must be taken where needed. In a consumer society, personal habits of overconsumption and waste have adverse environmental and social impacts. While some of us consume more than we need, others do not have enough to sustain life. The waste and pollution we create and the challenges of equitably distributing the earth’s resources are fundamental matters of environmental and social justice. The true costs of our common habits of material consumption must be examined. While the population of the United States is 4% of the world’s population, our nation consumes almost 25% of the world’s goods. Faced with this reality we should all reflect on the call of Pope Paul VI that it is more important “to be more than to have more.” In his Angelus Address given at Castel Gandolfo on 25th August of that year (2002) John Paul II introduced the idea of an ecological vocation: Human beings are appointed by God as stewards of the earth to cultivate and protect it. From this fact there comes what we might call their ‘ecological vocation’, which in our time has become more urgent than ever. These themes of ecological conversion and ecological vocation have been important in the education of the Christian community to begin to see ecology as central to Christian witness in the world. The care for and protection of Creation constitutes the responsibility of everyone on an individual and collective level. Naturally, the political authorities of each nation have a greater responsibility to evaluate the situation in order to propose actions, measures and regulations that will convince our communities of what must be done and applied. Yet, the responsibility of each individual is also immense both in one’s personal and family life but also in one’s role as an active citizen. As Patriarch Bartholomew declared jointly with saint John Paul II: “It is not too late. God’s world has incredible healing powers. Within a single generation, we could steer the earth toward our children’s future. Let that generation start now” (Chryssavgis 2009, 281).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources Paul VI, Gaudium et Spes, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_cou ncil/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-etspes_en.html. John Paul II, SollicitudoreiSocialis http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/ documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_30121987_sollicitudo-reisocialis_en.html. John Paul II, “Peace with God the Creator, Peace with all Creation,” (January 1, 1990). http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/p eace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_19891208_xxiii_world-dayfor-peace_en.html. John Paul II, Angelus, http://www.vatican.edu/holy_father/john_paul_ii/angelus/2 002/documents/hf_jp-ii_ang_20020825_en.html John Paul II and Patriarch Bartholomew I, “Common Declaration On Environmental Ethics.” Rome –Venice: June 10, 2002. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2 002/june/documents/hf_jp_ii_spe_20020610_venicedeclaration_en.html. Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals /documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-inveritate_en.html. Patriarch Bartholomew. 1997. “Orthodoxy and Ecological Problems: A Theological Approach,” The Environment and Religious Education: Presentations and Reports, Summer Session on Halki 1994. ed. Deutron Tarasios, Militos Editions. Zizioulas, John. 1989. “Preserving God’s Creation: Three Lectures on Theology and Ecology,” King’s Theological Review12. ———. 1990. “Preserving God’s Creation,” King’s Theological Review13.

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———. 1994. “Preserving God’s Creation: Three Lectures on Theology and Ecology,” King’s Theological Review12. ———. 1997. “Ecological Asceticism: A Cultural Revolution,” Sourozh67. Secondary Sources Acton Institute, “The Catholic Church and Stewardship of Creation” http://www.acton.org/ppolicy/environment/ theology/m_Catholic.html, visited Jan. 20, 2005. Chryssavgis, John (ed.). 2009. Cosmic Grace, Humble Prayer: The Ecological Vision of the Green Patriarch Bartholomew. Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans Publishing. Drew, Christiansen and Grazer, Walter. Eds. 1996. “Renewing the Earth” in And God Saw that it was Good: Catholic Theology and the Environment. Washington D.C.: United States Catholic Conference. Gregorios, Paulos. 1986. Lecture on the Gospel and the Earth to Evangelical Christians at the Au Sable Forum. Harrison, T. Newholm, & D. Shaw (Eds.), 2005. The Ethical Consumer. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Hessel, Dieter T. 1996. “Introduction: Why This Field Guide?” in Theology for Earth Community: A Field Guide. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. Ki-moon, Ban. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/banki-moon-climate-change. Accessed July 2016. McDonagh, Sean. 1994. Passion for the Earth: The Christian Vocation to Promote Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. McGranahan, Gordon, Deborah Balk and Bridget Anderson. 2006. “Low coastal zone settlements.” Tiempo No 59. Mich, Marvin L. 2011. The Challenge and Spirituality of Catholic Social Teaching. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. Miller, Richard W. 2010. God, Creation, and Climate Change: A Catholic Response to the Environmental Crisis. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. Murphy, Charles. 1989. At Home on Earth: Foundations for a Catholic Ethic of the Environment. Crossroad, NY: The Crossroad Pub-

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lishing Co. Sawin, Janet. “Global Security Brief #3: Climate Change Poses Greater Security Threat than Terrorism,” in State of the World 2005: Redefining Global Security, (The World Watch Institute, 2005), 100–119. Skira, Jaroslav. 2003. “The Ecological Bishop: John Zizioulas’ Theology of Creation.” Toronto Journal of Theology no.19, 2. ———. 2011. “Destined Before the Foundation of the World: Creation and Incarnation in Georges Florovksy and John Zizioulas,” AΘHNA. Tal, Alon. 2006. Speaking of Earth: Environmental Speeches that Moved the World. New Brunswick NJ: Rutgers. United States Catholic Conference. 1991. Renewing the Earth. An Invitation to Reflection and Action on Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching, http://www.usccb.org. World Bank. 2010a. Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change. Social Synthesis Report. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Department of Defense, Adaptation Roadmap, 2016 – http://www.factcheck.org/2015/11/sanders-on-climate-linkto-terrorism/. Accessed July 2016.

CHAPTER 5 PERSONALIZED MEDICINE IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD ANNAH KURIAKOSE INTRODUCTION

Not too long ago, personalization was considered a luxury, specifically of the wealthy. In our fast-paced, information-based age, it has morphed into an expected facet of everyone’s everyday lives. Nearly every technology we use today has some element of personalization: Siri greets us by name, Garmin navigates to our homes without prompting, Amazon tailors its suggestions to preferences for products we have browsed or bought in the past. Today, it is possible to get a decent sense of a person’s preferences and habits based solely on the information collected by the technology they use, without ever meeting them. Almost every electronic device on the market now is designed to be customized or to learn – that is, to interpret inputs and respond accordingly. The advantage of personalization is in its predictive capability; if the machines we use “know” us, they can preemptively provide us with solutions we seek, prior to us asking for them. In essence, one size no longer fits all and the world around us is adapting to that fact. It should come as no surprise, then, that this customization extends beyond pure consumerism. For example, in education, there is an everincreasing push to personalize, or “differentiate” lessons based on students’ learning styles. In the same way, individualization of services has permeated the healthcare industry as well. This chapter is intended to provide a brief overview of the burgeoning field of personalized medicine, or P4 medicine and some of its current and future challenges in the context of a globalizing world. 97

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Personalizing medicine, or the tailoring of treatment to the predicted outcomes for individual patients, is not a new concept. Its history dates back to the era of Hippocrates (circa 400 BC), to his assessment of a patient’s “humors,” or body fluids – blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm – in determining the appropriate treatment for an ailment. In modern medicine, however, the research and medical communities largely owe the exponential progress made in personalized medicine to the field of genomics, or the sequencing of humans’ genetic makeup. As Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs puts it, “The concept of personalized medicine is not new. […] What is new is that paradigmatic developments in science and technology offer new promise for developing targeted therapeutics and for predicting who will respond to a medical therapy or who will suffer ill effects” (Personalized Medicine Coalition, 2014, p.24).

One of those paradigmatic developments is the Human Genome Project, (HGP). Completed in 2003, the HGP is a genetic map of the 20,000–25,000 genes that make up human DNA, by which we can obtain precise information about an individual’s risk factors for many genetic diseases, as well as potential responses to medical intervention. Combine that with the power of today’s unprecedented technological capability and we arrive at P4 medicine, or medicine that is predictive, preventive, personalized, and participatory. Essentially, P4 medicine “combine[s] cheap, ultrafast, medical-grade genome sequencing with massive computing power,” according to Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler in Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think 1. This shift translates to lower costs and greater access to services that were once out of reach for all but the extraordinarily wealthy. The $100 million genome of 2001 is now available, at a comparable level of accuracy, for 0.001% of the cost (Diamandis, 2011, p. 202). Such accessibility catapults this information into an attainThe book describes disruptive technologies’ ability to liberate resources, putting a world of abundance, in which the basic needs of every human are met, within our reach. 1

5. PERSONALIZED MEDICINE IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD 99 able commodity for the middle-class. In the table below 2, published by the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC), the lowering cost of gene sequencing is illustrated.

Eventually, the initiative to sequence individuals routinely will “yield a myriad of useful predictions, changing medicine from passive and generic to predictive and personalized. In short, each of us will know what diseases our genes have in store for us, what to do to prevent their onset, and, should we become ill, which drugs are most effective for our unique inheritance” (Diamandis, 2011, p. 202). The availability of massive amounts of highly individualized information has ramifications on a broader scale as well. The PMC 2014 report states, “When thousands and ultimately millions of genome sequences are made available securely to researchers, a tremendous gap in human genetic variation data will be filled…Personal genomes will provide a powerful tool to identify those rare genetic variants and a more accurate means to predict disease susceptibility and treatment response” (p. 19).

This accumulation of information, then, leads to personalization for future patients and diseases. The PMC’s stated mission is to “[promote] the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine concepts, services, and products to benefit patients and the health system” (personalizedmedicinecoalition.org), specifically through education and advocacy. Their report (4th ed.) identifies various benefits to personalizing medicine, including reducing trialFrom the Personalized Medicine Coalition’s 4th report (2013). Reproduced with permission. 2

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and-error prescribing of medications, increasing patient adherence to treatment, and helping control the cost of healthcare (p. 8). If the goal is to extrapolate this benefit to the general public, the utility of the information yield from genomics is dependent on our capacity to store and analyze it. Perhaps the biggest game changer in modern healthcare has been the implementation of digital health information storage. Electronic data collection, in both research and patient care, has allowed the medical community a new level of access to patient information manipulation, including patient stratification and pattern recognition. The era of “globalization” – characterized by the immediate availability and mobility of virtually unlimited amounts of information – has vast repercussions on this information, up to and including the way people are treated for disease. For one, the ease of communication among the scientific community worldwide has allowed collaboration on and access to research done anywhere in the world. This, in turn, leads to exponential growth in research and development of medications, medical interventions, and medical procedures. In addition, as mentioned earlier, the personal information that can be accessed and stored provides an immense amount of biological data that can be used to better predict and treat disease.

P4 MEDICINE: A NEW ERA IN HEALTHCARE

Personalized medicine, otherwise known as individualized medicine, stratified medicine, or pharmacogenomics (Keogh, 2011, p 12) is a model of medical intervention that acknowledges and incorporates an individual’s genetic and environmental histories to determine the most effective and least harmful intervention for a given illness. The term P4 medicine was a phrase first coined by Dr. Leroy Hood, the president of the Institute for Systems Biology. “The convergence of patient-activated social networks, big data and their analytics, and systems medicine has led to a P4 medicine that is predictive, preventive, personalized, and participatory […] It will increasingly focus on wellness rather than disease” (Hood, 2013, abstract). This approach may have roles at various stages of a patient’s illness or wellness course, as evidenced by the four P’s in P4 medicine.

5. PERSONALIZED MEDICINE IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD 101 The First “P”: Predictive Medicine Just as with personalization in any other area, the advantage personalized medicine confers is in its predictive capability. “The goal of predictive medicine is to anticipate future health problems, providing the opportunity to intervene and prevent the development of debilitating disease,” states the summary of the proceedings of the 8th International Symposium of the International Society for Strategic Studies in Radiology (Bradley, 2011, p. 572). Imaging technology is one area of rapid growth in medicine recently, with important implications for predicting disease at earlier, easier-totreat stages. One of the diseases for which this has been accepted worldwide is breast cancer, with mammography being the primary screening technique. It is routinely administered to women past a certain age, regardless of medical history, in places where the technology exists and can be offered. In addition, however, as we know a gene for breast cancer is hereditary, and increases the likelihood of a carrier developing breast cancer, we also use personalization in counseling and follow-up for patients who may have family histories. The Second “P”: Preventive/Pre-emptive Medicine The second P, preventive or preemptive, refers mainly to this screening process for disease. Medical prevention is categorized into three tiers. Primary prevention involves screening a patient for disease. Secondary prevention involves early treatment or lifestyle modification to stop a disease from becoming symptomatic in a person who has been identified with it. Tertiary prevention involves rehabilitation of mind and body to prevent damage by the identified disease. Ideally, populations utilize more primary prevention and less tertiary prevention, which means diseases are identified earlier, and (preferably non-medical) interventions are implemented before symptoms manifest. The National Prevention Strategy (NPS), released by the US Surgeon General in 2011 with the goal of providing a wellness plan for Americans, addresses the economic benefit of preventative versus curative approaches. With the healthcare industry spending billions on curative and life-extending treatments and illness-related disabilities, prevention is incentivized more than ever in this country. Many insurance providers fully reimburse preventative visits,

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with the rationale that patients who obtain preventative check-ups, screenings, and required vaccinations are far less likely to be given a late-stage diagnosis for any preventable disease, and therefore will not contribute as heavily to disease burden in the future. In nearly every category of major disease, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, effective prevention lowers the cost of treatment for chronic disease (NPS, 2011, p.51). While prevention and cure are not exactly a zero-sum game, it is certainly clear that if we prevent disease, treatment and disability-related expenses decrease. To give some concrete examples, the National Prevention Strategy estimates that $9,800 per person is saved in lifetime costs with tobacco screening, $350,000 in lifetime HIV treatment with every prevented HIV infection, and $84–$103 million with just a 1% reduction in weight, blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol risk factors for Americans. Medical research now can provide us with accurate screening options for many preventable and genetic diseases. Much research is devoted to more sensitive and specific screenings to make this cost-effective for the country. 3 The lack of effective screening has to do with the availability of the technology, but also with affordability; the cost-effectiveness of a screening strategy is dependent both on the number of people it may identify as at-risk, as well as the ability to provide the service to the public affordably, with adequate reimbursement to the provider. Some of the biggest medical killers in the United States include cancers, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative diseases. For all of these, earlier diagnosis through more effective screening could provide the option of earlier treatment and, in some cases, even cure. While not every early diagnosis will be associated with a treatment option, there may be alternative benefits to identifying a predisposition to disease, like implementing lifestyle changes. “A genetic diagnosis often permits target prevention or mitigation strategies…[For example,] a patient who learns he or she has inherited cardiomyopathy […] can benefit from suggested lifestyle changes and diseases-monitoring options Sensitivity and specificity refer to the ability of a screening test to identify individuals with and without the disease in question, respectively. 3

5. PERSONALIZED MEDICINE IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD 103 to avoid the risk of sudden death” (PMC, 2014, p. 9). (Environmental risk factors and lifestyle changes are addressed later.) The Third “P”: Personalized Medicine Personalized means that treatments are tailored to the individual and to their specific disease – that is, to exact tumor types, genetic codes, or interactions of genes that are responsible for its manifestation in the human body. The branch of medicine that does this is called systems biology or systems medicine, which leads to “stratification of diseases (division into discrete subtypes) for proper impedance match against drugs and the stratification of patients into subgroups that respond to environmental challenges in a similar manner (e.g. response to drugs, response to toxins, etc.” (Nicholson, 2006, abstract). Stratification based on gene sequencing requires the recognition that every cell may contain up to 40,000 proteins and provides “an analytic approach to genome-wide gene expression to identify common sets of pathways” (Bradley, 2011, p. 575). These common pathways illuminate common responses to treatment, including side effects. It could also mean that individual patients may be selected for certain marketed medications. Personalization not only lends predictive power in determining medication efficacy, it also helps to reduce costs, convalescence time, and suffering associated with side effects or ineffective medication. Leading the charge in applying personalized medicine to individual patients’ treatment plans is cancer research. As cancers are known to be caused by varying combinations of genetic and lifestyle risk factors, therapies targeting specific genes have been underway for years. For example, a chemotherapy agent called trastuzumab was developed following the discovery that a significant number of breast cancer patients over-expressed a common protein called HER2/neu. Now, because a patient can be tested for gene expression, oncologists are able to make an educated guess about whether trastuzumab would be an appropriate choice for treatment. Simply knowing the genetic makeup of patients, however, is not enough to be able to make useful predictions when beginning a treatment. The personalized medicine model presupposes that adequate research on the expected effect of medical regimes, therapies or practices (with respect to patient genetic data) exists, by which to classify patients into meaningful groups. This process of patient

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stratification is vital to the successful delivery of personalized medicine. This means that even before a patient is approached with a recommendation by a healthcare provider, clinical trials must be done, the results correlated with genetic data, and the products and therapies themselves deemed safe and effective. This process is lengthy and costly, but would ultimately allow scientists to build metabolic models that mimic molecular interactions. Genomics, or the process of gene sequencing, and proteomics, the study of the proteins coded, then allow healthcare providers to determine not just what treatment to use for a patient, but information as specific as what dose is to be given or what side effects should be expected. Much of personalized medicine currently consists of examining the differences in the proteins that metabolize, or break down, a given drug (Nicholson, 2006, p. 1). But there is more to the story. Beyond the basic challenge of looking for and correlating a genotype (a person’s genetic makeup) with a phenotype (the physiological manifestation of those genes), Nicholson describes another, underestimated challenge: “[when] considering the wider aspects of human health, it is clear that most major diseases are subject to strong environmental influences, and the majority of people in the world die from what are, in the broadest sense, environmental causes” (p. 1). This is evidenced clearly by the fact that populations around the world, despite very few genotypic differences, have widely different disease profiles, often related to environmental factors. The leading causes of death in developed countries, like the US, include cardiovascular disease (e.g. heart attacks, stroke) and cancers – many of which are strongly correlated with lifestyle factors like diet, tobacco usage, and alcohol consumption. Therefore, it is appropriate to add here that identifying and addressing genetic risk factors will not be enough to reduce overall disease burden, physically and financially, unless the effect of lifestyle on health patterns is also addressed. The progress made in the field of personalized medicine is not limited by genetic breakthroughs, but also by understanding how those genotypic variants perform in their given environmental conditions. This is what Nicholson terms a patient’s conditional metabolic phenotype, “in which both genetic factors and exogenous factors, such as diet, exposure to foreign chemicals and so on, interact to determine the possible outcomes of a drug or dietary intervention.” (2006, p. 3).

5. PERSONALIZED MEDICINE IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD 105 The Fourth “P”: Participatory Medicine The fourth “P” is the most exciting and life-changing for the average patient. As Diamandis and Kotler describe, “Powered by technology, each of us is becoming the CEO of our own health….[Individuals are] tracking everything from sleep cycles, to calories burned, to real-time electrocardiogram signals. Very soon, should one choose to go this route, we’ll have the ability to measure, record, and evaluate every aspect of our lives: from our blood chemistries, to our exercise regimen, to what we eat, drink, and breathe. Never again will ignorance be a valid excuse for not taking care of ourselves,” (2012, p. 202, emphasis added).

As information empowers patients to take control of their own medical decision-making, patient education becomes vital to avoid misconceptions about the scope and potential of personalized medicine. Patients will soon have the ability not only to select a doctor and a treatment plan, but also to opt into gene sequencing, perhaps even without medical indication. This requires extensive education for patients regarding what information may be uncovered and what information may be shared as research, if any. Participatory medicine heralds an era of greater patient involvement than ever before. This shift comes with its own challenges, including concerns surrounding privacy, a need to optimize storage facilities for biological specimens, the training of future leaders in these areas of research, and costs. Challenges to P4 Medicine: Privacy and Informed Consent Just as with evolving technologies, one of the biggest concerns in a world that knows increasingly more about us and our decisions (often without explicit permission) is privacy. In the healthcare industry, myriad laws protect patient confidentiality and healthcare providers receive extensive, mandatory training regarding HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. HIPAA exists, among other reasons, to outline how and why patient information may be shared, transferred, and stored. It provides guidelines for a number of situations, like how, as a provider, to answer a loved one’s question about a patient’s diagnosis, how much information to provide to employers about patients’ medical

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histories, and how to (or why not to) discuss a patient’s care with another physician in common spaces. HIPAA violations are taken seriously and can result in massive fines and even incarceration. However, it is difficult to fully anonymize the information collected, given the nature of research done on biological specimens. The ultimate goal is to optimize and personalize treatment options with specific gene markers, so “traceability is required to link biomarker profiles with the disease phenotype and treatment outcomes of individual patients” (Nofziger, 2014, p. 3). Without this ability, the research itself becomes futile. Therefore, the goal of gathering biological information must be balanced with protecting the source patients. As personalized medicine becomes less a hypothetical of science fiction and more a reality of every patient’s care, these concerns are compounded by the paradox of too much information. The data that helps to determine how a patient will respond to a certain treatment will also reveal other – perhaps unwanted – information regarding the patient’s genetic makeup and risk for disease. In this situation, the importance of confidentiality and the necessity of informed consent become paramount. Informed consent, or the process by which patients have the right to decide how their information is used, shared, and studied (Artene, 2013, p. 4), is to make the patient aware of “the nature of biobanking, the line of work in which the samples he has donated might be involved in, and, very importantly, how the outcome of the research, to which his samples have been subjected, might affect him in the future,” up to and including “stigmatization, discrimination, and other forms of harassment” (p. 4).

STORAGE OF BIOLOGICAL SPECIMENS: BIOBANKING

A second consideration in personalized medicine, particularly for it to be implemented on a public scale, is the storage of molecular specimens. In order to study the molecular interactions that underpin personalized intervention, there must be a standardized way to collect, store, archive, process, and distribute biological specimens, or “biospecimens.” This is achieved through a biobank, or “a longterm storage and conservation facility for biospecimens to support future scientific research” (Artene, 2013, p. 1). It also refers to the storage of the information provided by such specimens, including demographic and clinical data. The flow of information and mate-

5. PERSONALIZED MEDICINE IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD 107 rial must be highly regulated, as both the specimens and the data fall within protected health information. A review by Artene, et al, on biobanking (2013) includes the following information circuit diagram to illustrate information flow. 4

TRAINING OF HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

Another of the challenges in employing genomics regularly in providing healthcare is in training physicians in the necessary background and skills. Providers must not only understand disease and treatment, they must also be knowledgeable about the field of ge4

Reproduced with permission (open access article).

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nomics and about ongoing clinical trials in order to provide patients with the most logical and, ultimately, effective therapies for them. With the availability of genetic testing, clinical consultations and medical decision-making look vastly different from the old model of a single clinician diagnosing and treating a patient. More specialized skill sets are required for this type of consulting. “Geneticists and molecular diagnostic directors are responsible for working with providers to request appropriate genetic testing, including the selection and succession of tests. […]. In this role, these professionals can provide expertise in evaluating the appropriateness of requested tests and in assisting in the selection of cost-effective and accurate tests […] Optimal implementation of personalized medicine calls for the leaders in this field to have a mastery of skills not previously required” (Mason-Suares, 2016, p. 4).

Ultimately, the success of this specialized field of medicine lies in the medical community’s ability to educate its members in the field of genomics and personalized medicine.

COST OF P4 MEDICINE

Finally, no discussion of the implementation of new technologies would be reasonably complete without a consideration of cost. Health information can easily be stored digitally; biospecimens, on the other hand, require space and certain environmental conditions in order to be preserved until the time of testing and beyond. Biobanking requires “[capital] redirected towards infrastructure, operating costs, sample acquirement, personnel, and costs which are included into a business model based on limited experience and scare data. Simply put, biobanking still represents a young medical sector, and models on which to build a value proposition to be presented to possible investors are, indeed, very limited” (Artene, 2013, p. 3).

This is compounded by the fact that investing in a biobank is a hugely long-term commitment, as the collection of specimens may take years to decades.

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CONCLUSION

The successful implementation of personalized medicine requires collaboration and cooperation between various stakeholder groups, including but not limited to medical practitioners, researchers, legislators, and most importantly, patients. P4 medicine, as Dr. Hood puts it, “is a result of two convergences: systems medicine and the digital revolution” (Hood, 2013, p. 11). He goes on to acknowledge that the exponential growth of technologies to facilitate this process have created the ability to store and stratify patient information on an enormous scale, vast information networks that allow collaboration from every corner of the world, and the opportunity for individuals to track, respond to, and participate in their own health via affordable personal devices. With advances in both systems biology and technology, many of the pieces of the puzzle are already well underway: the Human Genome Project and advances in proteomics and genomics allow us to extract more information than ever before from any patient, and facilities like biobanks and faster processing speeds than ever allow the storage and study of these massive quantities of data. Concerns and costs remain, which prevent it from becoming immediately implementable in all cases. However, in an age of more and faster information than ever before, that day is certainly closer.

REFERENCES Artene, S., Ciurea, M. E., Purcaru, S. O., Tache, D. E., Tataranu, L. G., Lupu, M., & Dricu, A. (2013). Biobanking in a Constantly Developing Medical World. The Scientific World Journal, 2013, 1–5. doi:10.1155/2013/343275 Bradley, W. G., Golding, S. G., Herold, C. J., Hricak, H., Krestin, G. P., Lewin, J. S., . . . Thrall, J. H. (2011). Globalization of P4 Medicine: Predictive, Personalized, Preemptive, and Participatory – Summary of the Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium of the International Society for Strategic Studies in Radiology, August 27–29, 2009. Radiology, 258(2), 571– 582. doi:10.1148/radiol.10100568 Personalized Medicine Coalition, The Case for Personalized Medicine, 4th ed., Washington, DC, (2014). Diamandis, P. H., & Kotler, S. (2012). Abundance: The future is better than you think. New York: Free Press.

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Hood, L. (2013). Systems Biology and P4 Medicine: Past, Present, and Future. RMMJ Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal, 4(2). doi:10.5041/rmmj.10112 Keogh, B. (2011). Era of Personalized Medicine May Herald End of Soaring Cancer Costs. JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 104(1), 12–17. doi:10.1093/jnci/djr536 Mason-Suares, H., Sweetser, D., Lindeman, N., & Morton, C. (2016). Training the Future Leaders in Personalized Medicine. Journal of Personalized Medicine JPM, 6(1), 1. doi:10.3390/jpm6010001 National Prevention Council, National Prevention Strategy, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2011. Nicholson, J. K. (2006). Global systems biology, personalized medicine and molecular epidemiology. Mol Syst Biol Molecular Systems Biology, 2. doi:10.1038/msb4100095 Nofziger, C., Papaluca, M., Terzic, A., Waldman, S., & Paulmichl, M. (2014). Policies to aid the adoption of personalized medicine. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery Nat Rev Drug Discov, 13(3), 159–160. doi:10.1038/nrd4257 Personalized Medicine in Brief. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://www.personalizedmedicinecoalition.org/About_Us/A bout_PMC

CHAPTER 6 NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD K. K. KURIAKOSE JOHN WINTHROP AND WILLIAM PENN IN COLONIAL AMERICA

The pursuit of justice with nonviolence has had a long tradition in United States history. The primary motive of some prominent Christian messengers who immigrated to the new land was to establish the kingdom of God, with nonviolent means. Among those immigrant groups, the purpose of colonization for the British Puritan immigrants was ‘Jeremiad’ (Gabbard, p. 18). John Winthrop (1588–1649) leads the Puritans in this movement. Their fundamental principal was that God had called on them to build an ideal community in the New World. The ideal community would be rooted in the Biblical teaching of “love your neighbor as yourself.” In the mid-Atlantic, while on the ship called Arbella, Winthrop made an inspiring speech on the purpose of the voyage to the new land. In his sermon, he illustrated God’s purpose for the Puritans to dedicate themselves to the development of an ideal community in the new land. 1 They settled in the New England area, and their calling was to create Heaven on Earth. They saw status, property, and God in the light of brotherhood. An attitude, a value system, and an ideological commitment governed in shaping the form and http://www.Forerunner.com/forerunner/xo526_BiosJohn_Winthrop.html 1

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character of individuals and of the communities. Winthrop’s motive was a purely religious concept; however, this lasted hardly a century as the seed of individualism shattered the ideal community, and collective responsibility was challenged. Eventually, the collective commitment declined, while “the opportunities of the new world broke the spine of the ideal community” (Callow, p. 38). A later movement lead by William Penn (1644–1718) had the same goal as that of Winthrop’s Puritans; however, the message was sharpened with pacifism. Charles II of the Stuart dynasty of England, as payment of a debt, granted Pennsylvania as a colony in 1681 to William Penn. In addition to debt payment, another factor in this endowment was that the Quakers had growing political power in the kingdom. Charles imagined that a refuge in the New World for some of his population would drain away the most troublesome citizens from that community. The land was vacant, and it would add a colony to the Crown at no expense. Meanwhile, paying a debt would also please the aristocratic supporters. Penn decided to cross the Atlantic to conduct a holy experiment where religious freedom and economic fortune would come together. He developed rapport with the Mennonites, the Quakers, and the Labadists in Holland and Germany, and he distributed information about the new colony. Penn emphasized a theology of tolerance – mandatory for the immigrant groups accompanying him to the newly granted colony. Penn dreamed that his colony would become a “Holy Experiment or Experience.” He believed that it was God’s incentive that the King gave land to him, and it was the settlers’ responsibility to wait upon the Lord for insight into immigrating to Pennsylvania and establishing life in the new land. Moreover, he emphasized pacifism as a priority in his agenda. He said if they followed “the Light,” God would bring them peace, prosperity, and piety; his vision was an ideal territory that would glorify the kingdom of God. Penn selected Philadelphia as the capital of Pennsylvania. This Greek word means ‘brotherly love.’ He intended the city to become as New Jerusalem, as the inhabitants followed the will of God. “In Penn’s initial vision, Pennsylvania would inaugurate a new order, where peace among settlers and between Christians and Native Americans would flourish, and its success would prefigure the return of Christ at the end of the world” (Durnbaugh, p. 75). Penn neither asked the majesty for police or army security as the

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 113 other colony founders did, nor would he pay for it. The king, surprised by Penn’s determination, inquired about the security he had against the savages of the land. “Penn replied, I want none of your soldiers. I depend on something better than soldiers, I depend on themselves, on their moral sense even on that grace of God” (Chandy p. 392). Penn’s community sought meaning for “agape” and depended on the “savages” themselves for their security. “Agape” casted out fear while turning enemies into friends. He met with the Native American chiefs to sign a peace treaty of goodwill. Pennsylvania functioned for about seven decades without a police force or army.

MAHATMA GANDHI IN SOUTH AFRICA AND IN INDIA

Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948), the most prominent person in the modern nonviolence movements, was born in colonial India. Gandhi saw that the people of India were suffering from oppression and injustice under their political, social, and economic conditions. He saw that India’s people were overwhelmed by superstition and the caste system on one side and divided by issues such as differences in religion, language, and communalism on the other (Kulke, 1986, p. 286). In that disturbing situation, Gandhi developed his ideas of political liberation for India through nonviolence. The influences on Gandhi’s thinking were Jainism, the challenges of western ideas, the time he lived in Britain, the Bible, and the Gita. His study of world religions had an intellectual and moral influence on him that caused a moral and spiritual evolution in Gandhi. Also, he read Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is Within You. He respected all religions and desired to understand the best in each of them, and this also made an impact in his life (Kripalani, 1968, p. 10). He cross-examined western culture from the perspective of Indian religious customs and practices (Fischer p. 28). The British national life and the western democratic heritage inspired Gandhi. Gandhi became determined to organize the Indian masses and liberate them from British imperialism while embracing a western democratic ideology.

TOLSTOY, RUSKIN, AND GANDHI

After studies in London, Gandhi returned to India in 1891. After two years of legal practice in Bombay, Gandhi moved to South

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Africa as a legal consultant, and he lived there until 1914. He very soon emerged as a political leader for the Indian workers. It was also a time of conversion for Gandhi: the moral influence of Tolstoy, which affected him during his life in London, reached a climax at this time. Another significant event in his life was reading Ruskin. In 1904, Polak, an Englishman, gave Gandhi a copy of Ruskin’s Unto This Last, to occupy him during a twenty-four hour train journey, from Johannesburg to Duran. He read the book on the train, and the train reached Duran the next evening. He could not sleep during the night. Gandhi later wrote in his autobiography that “I determined to change my life in accordance with the ideals of the book” (Gandhi vol. 39, p. 239). Gandhi wanted to implement Ruskin’s ideas, especially the ideal of the simple life and manual labor. Gandhi’s decision to follow Ruskin’s ideas was corroborated by his study of the Gita, theNew Testament, and Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is Within You. He decided to abandon all worldly prosperity and commit himself to a life of poverty. In Ruskin’s philosophy, Gandhi also discovered the idea of using nonviolence as a weapon against injustice and oppression. The use of nonviolent means to attain truth, or Satyagraha, as it is called, was firmly established in Gandhi’s mind by 1908. For Gandhi, non-violence was a weapon that came from a deep love of truth, and Gandhi made it a way of life (Jack, 1956, p. 65). It meant firm love with no desire to use physical force. For Gandhi, nonviolence was not mere tolerance or passivity, but a forceful weapon or technique by which evil and injustice could be countered or defeated.

SATYAGRAHA: SELF-DEFENSE AND NONVIOLENCE

In a world of violence, mankind’s peaceful living and co-existence is challenged and thus requires the development of self-defense skills. Gandhi introduced Satyagraha as a technique to defend liberty and achieve justice. Gandhi introduced this concept first in South Africa in the struggle for justice and freedom. Gandhi defined the term Satyagraha to express the nature of nonviolence; being a force of the soul, it is the way, the truth and the life. “The term Satya is truth, which equals love, and graha is firmness of force. The two basic forces constitute the word Satyagraha. “Satyagraha, therefore, means truth-force or love-force. Truth and love are attributes of

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 115 the soul (Fisher, p. 77).” Gandhi called Satyagraha suffering love and Tapasya (intense devotion) as truth. A weak person never can be a Satyagrahi; Satyagrahi is free from attachment to the body, and it lives by the strength of the soul. Gandhi contended that nonviolence should be the law of the human species; violence belonged to the brute. Also, he stated that in a critical situation or conflict, “it is the duty of a believer in ahimsa to distinguish between the aggressor and defender and side with the defender in a nonviolent manner” (Chandy, 382).

GANDHI AND DYNAMIC NONVIOLENCE

The concept of Ahimsa – the ability to be nonviolent – reached into Gandhi’s heart in theory and practice. The ethical concept, expressed in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, as well as in Tolstoy and Ruskin, attracted him. The friendship of C. F. Andrews and Muriel Lester made a deep impact on Gandhi. The teachings of Christ, his suffering and the Cross attracted, and inspired his thought and practice. Based on what he learned from his interactions with Christian friends and from his own learning, Gandhi said, “Nonviolence in its dynamic conditions means conscious suffering. It is a force more positive than electricity” (Chandy, p. 376). Gandhi, in developing his ahimsa concept, adopted Jesus’ teaching to ‘resist no evil’ (Sermon on the Mount) and to meet the evildoer with love. He thought that rather than destroying or harassing the opponent, it is better to win the opponent over with sympathy; patience and self-suffering are necessary. Gandhi accepted this Christian understanding of ahimsa. He saw it as St. Paul explains in his concept of agape (1 Corinthians 13), applying agape to human beings and society. Agape is a force that brings reconciliation and peace. The Greek word Agape is more comprehensive than the English word ‘love.’ Agape may be defined as truth, justice and love, which seeks for the unfailing will for the highest good of the other person, friend or foe. Gandhi found all such words not as a theory but to practice. Also he had the conviction of “the power and grace of God,” the ability to be nonviolent in any situation.

GANDHIAN COMMUNITIES

Experimenting with nonviolence was the key intention of Gandhi in establishing the Ashram communities; for this purpose, he

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founded communities, first in South Africa, and second in India in 1914. His communities of men and women laid the groundwork for an egalitarian social system and economy. “The Ashrams provided economic and moral support, and they fostered the discipline and awareness necessary for their members to sustain grass root civil disobedience” (Thomson, 1993, P. 4). Gandhi had the opinion that community life based on simplicity and hard work, wedded to nonviolent principles, would lead to positive action in reforming Indian society.

GANDHIAN TACTICS OF NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE

Gandhi became a prominent leader of the Congress party in India by the early 1920s. The party’s goal was to make India free from the British rule. It was a firm determination of Gandhi to agitate the British government through civil disobedience, without resorting to violence. Gandhi had a profound sense of the power and grace of God, which, according to him, was the only way one would be able to be devoted to ahimsa. Gandhi had courage to go and work for reconciliation among fighting people. Once he went to the ruralcommunity, Noakhali, for negotiation and he refused police protection. This was a place of conflict between Muslims and Hindus. Both groups labeled him, “enemy number one.” His mission was difficult; however, suffering love and the power of ahimsa triumphed. The political leaders came forward to praise Gandhi, but he said, “Don’t praise me; my body at the moment is being used by God as His vehicle, that is all (Chandy p. 376).” He had the conviction that ahimsa never compromised with evil; it addressed the evildoer with love. He thought that it was not good to destroy or harass the enemy but to win the enemy over with self suffering, sympathy, and patience. According to Gandhi, truth and love are attributes of God, and Satyagraha is the sole dynamic force capable of achieving and maintaining justice and freedom for both the individual and the community. Truth and love, he believed, determine the ends and means of a just society, and human disobedience to the eternal laws of God and of Rama Rajya (the kingdom of Rama; Rama is the god of bliss according to Hinduism) is the obstacle to a just society. Gandhi held the view that social justice can never be attained by force. The prophets and avatars (incarnations) always taught princi-

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 117 ples such as truth, harmony, brotherhood, and justice, which all pertain to ahimsa. He believed that every worthy objective can be achieved by the path of Satyagraha, as it is the highest force as well as the infallible means, the best means to achieve a just social order. Socialism will not be achieved without Satyagraha. Gandhi contended that to move to the goal of socialism, truth and ahimsa should be incarnate in it. Social evils rooted in political and economic systems can be eliminated with the moral force of Satyagraha. Gandhi used different means to protest against the British government’s authoritarian actions. He adopted strikes, boycotts, and protest marches against the British. Gandhi also encouraged Indians to boycott foreign goods and British governments programs in India. Gandhi, along with many agitators, was arrested several times because of such protests. The British government’s Salt Act breaking was a moving incident in Gandhi’s leadership in the Indian liberation movement. This incident is also recognized as a unique experiment in nonviolent action of Gandhi.

BREAKING THE SALT ACT

The Wall Street crash of October 1929 and the international economic depression hit the farmers in India. In addition, the growing unemployment created unrest among the working class. This made the economic crisis worse. The British government devalued the Indian currency. Putting oil in the fire, the British Viceroy, Irwin levied a new tax on salt that worsened the economic situation of all people across the country. Gandhi wrote a letter to the Viceroy on March 2, 1930. In the letter, Gandhi criticized the Salt Act and informed the Viceroy about a civil disobedience program that would begin in nine days. Gandhi presented his arguments one by one to the viceroy in order to explain that British rule was a curse to Indians. However, in protest, he did not intend to harm any legitimate interest or to insult any Englishman. The British rule destroyed millions of the poor by a system of progressive exploitation and an expensive military and civil administration that India could never afford. Gandhi pointed out that the land revenue was unreasonable, and that it should be modified as well as the entire revenue system. Gandhi’s letter stated that the new tax especially burdened the poor Indian. Salt is the one item that the poor eat more than the rich. Obviously, he wrote ‘the tax saps both their health and mor-

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als.’ Gandhi also said in the letter that the anticipated agitation after March 9 would not include organized violence. The agitation was planned through civil disobedience with the participation of the members of Sabarmathi Ashram and anyone who wished to join them. The goal of this nonviolent action was to convince the British of the wrong steps that they were taking in India. If the government would not remove the Salt Act, Gandhi would proceed with the agitation program. A British Quaker, Reginald Reynold, brought this message to the Viceroy’s office. The letter was acknowledged, but the Viceroy turned down Gandhi’s request. Gandhi decided to go forward with the agitation program. On March 12, 1930, the members of the Sabarmati Ashram joined with the sixty-one year old Gandhi in the historic event of the Salt Break march. There were 78 people of different religious faiths, male and female, young and old in that historic march. They left the Ashram and marched toward Dandi which was on the seashore 200 miles away, and it took 24 days for them to reach Dandi. On the way, peasants welcomed them in the villages, and the group halted for meetings where Gandhi asked everyone to wear Khadi cloth, live pure, and keep clean. He also exhorted them to give up alcohol and drugs, abandon child marriage, and wait for the signal to break the Salt Laws. When they reached at the Dandi beach, thousands of peasants and Congress volunteers welcomed them. Throughout the night, the ashram members prayed, and in the early morning all of them went to the sea. The ashram members and the large crowd were excited to see what would happen. Gandhi stepped forward to break the Salt Law. Immediately, he dipped into the water, and picked up some salt left by the waves. Only the British government had the authority to pick up the salt from the sea. The action of obtaining salt from the sea by lay citizens was a punishable crime. Gandhi had broken the Salt Law, and his courageous act caused a revolution in the country. Breaking the Salt Law caused a wave that reached all corners of the country. Following this incident, the villagers on India’s long seacoast went to the seas and made salt. The Congress leaders appealed for a mass boycott of foreign cloth. The government was irritated, and the police initiated violence. The jails became filled with peasants, Congress volunteers, and political leaders. Gandhi was arrested. About 100,000 persons were detained as political offenders. The Viceroy released Gandhi after a few

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 119 months, and in appreciation, Gandhi wrote a letter of thanks, in which he asked the Viceroy for a meeting. Gandhi made a point to never end a personal or political relationship. He knew how to love his opponent without revenge. The request was granted. The meeting between Gandhi and Irwin was historically decisive; the first meeting was held on February 17, 1931; and communication between them rapidly developed later. Gandhi was invited to London for continued meetings. Gandhi conveyed Indian people’s concern to the British authorities: the growing demand of liberation from British rule!

INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION

There was a growth of vigorous peace movements in Europe and North America by the early 20th century. Some Christian leaders, such as John Bright, Joseph Sturge, and Alfred Nobel, preached their conviction that war and violence was against the will of God; the Quakers were in the forefront. The Hague Peace Conference was held in 1899 and 1907. In the United States, Andrew Carnegie took leadership to establish an organization called the Church Peace Union. It was through this organization that invitations were issued to some 150 Christian leaders to meet in Constance, Southern Germany (near Switzerland), for a pacifist’s conference in 1914. Among these delegates were two remarkable personalities – a German Lutheran, Friedrich Siegmund-Schultz, and an English Quaker, Henry Hodgkin. Friedrich Siegmund-Schultz was a chaplain, whose reading of the New Testament led him to become a pacifist. This inspired Friedrich to develop rapport with the British Quakers. In 1911 he with his wife founded the “SAG,” before its offices were shut down by the Nazi power. At the outbreak of World War I, he met Hodgkin, who came to participate in the Christian peace conference in Constance. At the time when they discovered each other at Constance, two wars – the war between Germany and Austria on the one hand, and Russia and France on the other – were on the way. The delegates at the conference appealed to the state heads to find a way of working for peace instead of waging war, but it was in vain. Both Friedrich and Henry were in transit, with heavy minds, and as they reached the Cologne railway station to return to their countries, they pledged to find a way of working for peace. As they departed, “They shook hands and said,

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‘Whatever happens, nothing is changed between us. We are one in Christ and can never be at war’“. 2 To take the pledge forward, Hodgkin took the initiative to convene a peace conference the following year. Cambridge was their rendezvous, where the Fellowship of Reconciliation was founded. The conference set out the basis of the fellowship. The consensus was rooted in the love that was revealed in the life and death of Jesus Christ. It sought to establish a world-order based on that love. Hodgkin with his fellow Quakers drafted a “Message to Men and Women of Goodwill,” where they appealed, “show courage in the cause of love and in the hate of hate” and affirmed that “faith in God was needed for the future.” Shortly after the Cambridge conference, an organization with the same name was founded in the United States. In 1919, after the end of the war, both organizations agreed to found the International Fellowship of Reconciliation as an umbrella organization for the pacifists in different regions to which they affiliated as members. The IFOR gave a positive drive to the peace movements in the world. It was not to just wage against war; further it was to authentically express the Christian faith in the whole of life, a declaration in the basis of St. Paul’s words, “Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation”(2 Cor: 5:17–19).

The members of the fellowship had the conviction to bear witness to the truth of the Christian message across frontiers and to become messengers of peace. The fellowship grew in membership and received voluntary help from people of different walks of life. They published magazines such as Fellowship’s Monthly Reconciliation and Venturer. They also made occasional peace rallies and demonhttp://riconciliazione.wordpress.com/internazionale/thefellowship-of-reconciliation/ 2

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 121 strations; even today it continues in all continents. In many regions, fellowship members produced stories of nonviolent resistance. In several cases, they witnessed the shedding of innocent blood. There are moving stories about the powerful witness in that time of conflicts and violence. Today, IFOR has branches in over 50 countries, and its headquarters are in Alkmaar, Netherlands. In this chapter, the prominent pacifist leaders in different parts of the world that we discuss happened to be active members of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, the foremost of them being the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. Mairead Corrigan Maguire was born in 1944 as a Roman Catholic in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She started her public life as a voluntary worker in Catholic organizations. Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom when the rest of Ireland was declared independent. The state of Northern Ireland was divided between the Nationalists and the Unionists. The Nationalists tried to use political means to keep the British out of Northern Ireland and unify the state with the Republic of Ireland. But the Unionists wanted Ireland part of the United Kingdom. Both groups sought violent means to achieve their goal, such as setting out bombs, torching people, and hijacking cars and buses. As a result thousands of people were killed, wounded or lost safety by the violent extremists. Mairead founded the Community of Peace People with Betty Williams, advocating a nonviolent resolution of the Northern Ireland conflict in speaking engagement and writing. Both Mairead and Betty had long been upset by the violence in the region; finally, when an IRA soldier killed Mairead’s sister and her three children, Mairead and Betty decided to become active with a peace movement. With the support of a journalist, Ciaran Mckeown, they launched a peace movement in Northern Ireland called the Peace People. Among other activities, the Peace People organized summer camps in other European countries to provide a platform on which young Catholics and Protestants from Northern Ireland could come together. Their first public initiative was to organize a march for peace between the two fighting groups who were engaged violence in the Northern Ireland. They led a mass rally of 35,000 people in the Belfast streets petitioning peace between these two factions. They also worked in the cities and rural communities

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to bridge between the fighting people. They faced serious objection from the Catholics that their venture of establishing peace was onesided and the movement petered out. However, they were convinced that attempts to resolve violence by violence only escalated violence, and the most effective way to end violence was mass education. Although their movement was not able to find a permanent solution for the Northern Ireland crisis, the movement helped people to express their frustration with the violence and fear that shadowed their country. The peace movement with the leadership of Mairead and Betty tapped into Ireland’s longing for peace and gave people hope for a better future. Both women were co-recipients of the Nobel Peace Prizes in 1976. When Mairead Corrigan received the Nobel Peace Prize she was only 32; she is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate to date. Mairead was honored to receive another peace award from the Roman Catholic Pontiff in 1990. She was awarded the Pacem in Terris Award, the name means “peace on earth” and refer to a 1963 encyclical letter by Pope John XXIII. She was awarded in 1992 by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation of Santa Barbara, California, United States, with its Distinguished Peace Leadership Award. To promote the establishment of peace and justice by nonviolent means, she traveled more than twenty-five countries. In 2004, she went to Israel to welcome Mordechai Vanunu’s release from prison; he was in prison for 18 years for disclosing Israel’s nuclear secrets. While participating in a protest in 2007 against the construction of the West Bank barrier outside the Palestinian village of Bilin, Mairead was mistreated by the Israeli security forces. They hit her with a rubber-coated steel bullet and damaged her health with tear gas. In 2006, Mairead with other six women Nobel Peace Laureates founded the Nobel Women’s Initiative; they were Betty Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Jody Williams and Rigoberta Menchu Tum. These women, representing North America and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, bring together a united effort based on their experience working for peace with justice and equality. The goal of the Nobel Women’s Initiative is to support the work of women’s rights movements around the world. Mairead serves as a member of the Honorary Board of the International Coalition for the Decade of the Culture of Peace and

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 123 Nonviolence. As a member of the pro-life group Consistent Life Ethic, she is against abortion, capital punishment and euthanasia.

ADOLFO PEREZ ESQUIVEL

Adolfo Perez Esquivel is a pacifist, member of IFOR, received Nobel Prize in 1980 when he was 49 years old. He was born as a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina. When he was three years old, his mother died and his grandmother raised him through childhood to be responsible. His father was a Roman Catholic and his grandmother was part of the Guarani, an indigenous tribal community. The combination of those two different cultural and spiritual backgrounds led Adolfo to a unique life perspective that influenced and reflected throughout his life. As a boy, he had to help his father, and he held different odd jobs. First he was selling newspapers, and when he was 10 years old, he became a gardener. In spite of financial crisis, he went to school. His eagerness was to become an artist. He was trained as an architect and sculptor. He worked as a teacher in secondary schools, and then he took a professorship of Architecture in a university. He became a well-known artist, and his large-scale murals and artistic pieces are displayed in parks across Latin America and Europe. His belief in God and faith in humankind are reflected in his artistic works. Argentina had a terrible political history in the 20th century. The military troops were quite often overthrowing the governments between 1930 and 1973. The military regime escalated violence in the country with repression, torture, and murder called the “Dirty War.” The brutality of the military government toppled down democratic rights. It aimed at school teachers, artists, professors, activists, journalists, and intellectuals – anyone who could reach a wider audience. People were arrested and would never be heard from again. Many disappeared in the dark of the military regime. Terrible stories were heard of such people. They were thrown out of airplanes over the ocean, tortured or killed. Children were stolen by the military and given out for adoption. Since early 1960s, Perez began working with Latin American Christian Pacifist groups associated with the clergy and bishops in their social and economic programs. The central concern of the movement is to defend human rights of the region’s rural workers as well as trade union members. In a conference at Montevideo in

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1974, Perez decided to relinquish his teaching and co-ordinate the network of Latin American communities promoting liberation of the poor through non-violent activities. A new organization was founded and titled El Servicio de Paz y Justicia (The Peace and Justice Service), which first, became an instrument to support people to safeguard human rights. Second, it became a means to promote an international campaign against the atrocities of the military regime in the region. When Jorge Videla’s military coup launched a systematic repression in 1976, Perez came forward to organize and finance organizations that advocated human rights and also supported the families of the victims. Because of Perez’s leadership in human rights activities across Latin America, he became a target of the military leadership. The Brazilian government detained Perez in 1975. In the following year, he was jailed along with North American and Latin American Catholic bishops in Ecuador. In 1977, he was arrested by the police in Buenos Aires. He was tortured and detained without trail for 14 months. Today Perez is active with his SERPAJ programs. In addition, he started two “Peace Villages” in Argentina to provide training and housing for the homeless and orphans. In recognition of Perez’s efforts for defending human rights, he has been honored with different peace awards. In 1980, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 1999, he was nominated to the Pacem in Terris Award, which is Latin for “Peace on Earth.”

REV. R. R. KEITHAN (1898–1984), REV. K. K. CHANDY (1908–2001) AND DR. A. K. THARIEN (1920–2006): THE SURVODAYA MOVEMENTS AND PACIFISM IN INDIA

Gandhi achieved bringing the concept and practice of nonviolence into the heart of politics, which he experienced both in South Africa and India. He advocated a politics of Sarvodaya, which means “awakening of all in society.” He sought to abolish the exercise of coercive power; a politics of the people, apart from party or social or economic class, thus decentralized politics. He contended that the more this new system grew roots in the politics of the people in India, the more the old politics would shrink until a real withering of the state occurred (Chandy, p. 391). He sought gramswaraj (free-

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 125 dom-enjoying village) based on democracy and Jana sakti (people’s power). Gandhi, like the early Christians, visualized a state without sword; he found sword-strengthened armed forces as instruments of violence, while he promoted a gram swaraj democracy, which safeguards freedom of the people. In the gram swaraj program, selfhelp and self-rule are inevitable. The impact of Gandhian communities and nonviolent influence spread throughout India, crossing religious and local cultures. India is a land of a myriad of religions, and Gandhian non-violent leadership was accepted across the country. Gandhi’s community experiments challenged many Christian leaders of the time; Christian communities were formed in different places in the pattern of Gandhian ashrams like Sabarmathi,Sevagram, and Satyagraga. Christian missionaries as well as Indian Christian leaders were among them who came in line to address Gandhian concerns. Rev. R. R. Keithan was an American Christian missionary who came to India for evangelism. He concentrated on missionary work in Tamil Nadu, was attracted to Gandhian nonviolence and decoded his strategy in his missionary activity. He organized a community named Ashram Fellowship, Kodaikannal, in Tamil Nadhu. The Ashram activities resembled with the Gandhian communities elsewhere in India. “Unity of spirit,” “Community of sharing,” as well as “peace and the way of non-violence” were the master marks of this Ashram. He collaborated largely with the Sarvodaya movement and became a popular leader among the Sarvodaya workers in Tamil Nadu, where the majority of the people involved in this program were Hindus. A group of young medically trained Christians initiated the Christian Medical Fellowship of Oddanchatram, in Tamil Nadhu, in the early 1950s. Dr. A. K. Tharien, Dr. Jacob Cherian, and his wife Dr. Mary Cherian were the pioneers among them who expressed extraordinary commitment to serve the impoverished people. There were no medical facilities for a large remote area around Oddanchatram. Dr. Tharien was an ardent pacifist and a member of Fellowship of Reconciliation, who later served as the president of FOR in India. The hospital community, along with Dr. Tharien, was committed to the principle of nonviolent activities. Keithan was inspired by the programs of the Medical Fellowship and associated with them; they used to organize Survodaya community programs for the local population. The members of the medical fel-

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lowship considered the medical fellowship as an adventure in faith, and became a source of support for nonviolent activities. “Serve in love” and “From each according to their ability and to each according to their need” were the principles of the Medical Fellowship. To help the neighborhood population, they organized outpatient’s medical service and outreach programs. Keithan visited the Fellowship hospital community occasionally for sharing experiences and strengthening their fellowship. Keithan’s attempt was to practice “the law of love and nonviolence” in governing all aspects of individual and corporate lives. He conducted Bible studies and short- and long-term conferences in Kodaikannal Fellowship Ashram where both Christians and non-Christians regularly attended. He organized several programs for the farmers in conjunction with the programs of the Survodaya movement, including “the Land Gift Program” of Vinoba Bave, an ardent follower of Gandhi; Bethaldgundu was another center that Keithan developed for such his activities. Whenever violent incidents occur or social or political problems arose, Keithan saw them as challenge to the Survodaya and nonviolence movements. Strikes, hunger-fast, and agitations were the common strategy to address such situations, and he gave unparalleled leadership. His leadership continued for about five decades and mostly in Tamil Nadhu region. The last few years of his life he lived at Oddanchatram and was taken care of by the Fellowship. Another leader in this effort was K. K. Chandy, who emphasized that the nonviolence of the Cross (Satyagraha) is power; love and power do not contradict. With his friends, he initiated the Society of St. Thomas, known as Christavashram, in Kerala. The Ashram activities accepted Gandhian strategy and communicated with the Gandhian communities to other parts of India. “Unity of spirit,” “community of sharing,” “peace and the way of non-violence,” were the master marks of this Ashram. They collaborated with the Sarvodaya movement and copied their programs. The Ashram community emphasized the ministry of reconciliation and peace-making in their main agenda. Both Keithan and Chandy worked in the same line with non-Christians and received support from many local people. Whenever there were communal tensions or conflicts, especially in Kerala, Chandy worked courageously to establish peace and tranquility in such communities. Sometimes, he appeared in public platforms of different communities with the master marks

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 127 “obedience to agape and the Lord’s command,” “Sheathe the sword,” “love your enemy.” He was convinced that the pacifist position of the early church was an outstanding feature, and it had to uphold this principle as a constant theological idiom. This agape, the nonviolence of the Cross, is the basis of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. For some time, Christava Ashram was the headquarters of this pacifist organization. Chandy became a committed organizer of this pacifist movement in India, and later he also served as the president of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation. As a clergyman in the Church of South India, Chandy successfully demonstrated – in all social spheres – the method of nonviolence, the way of the Cross. His concern was to seek justice, peace, and reconciliation without yielding to injustice and violence in any sphere of life. He initiated the organization of the Youth Christian Council of Action, the Kerala Balagram, and the Gurukul Ecumenical Institute. In all of these, he found “cells” of fellowship and service. Additional relief and rehabilitation programs came about in the Chritava Ashram. His work in the International Fellowship of Reconciliation gave him the opportunity to project his conviction into international thought and action against war and nuclear weapons. Chandy was a courageous man who plunged bravely into public affairs, especially in Kerala. He brought the Christian message into the social and political setting; peace and nonviolence was the central concern.

KAGAWA TOYOHIKO (1888–1960): A FIGHTING PACIFIST IN JAPAN

When Kagawa was a teenager, he was attracted to the message of Jesus Christ. He decided to accept Christianity and was baptized in 1904 by White Myers. He was challenged in studying theology and did some preparatory studies at Meiji Gakuin’s theological department. Then, he moved into Kobe’s Shinkawa slum in 1909 and ministered as an evangelist and also did some social reconstruction work in the community. He continued theological studies at Kobe Presbyterian Seminary where he graduated in 1911. He went to the United States and joined the Princeton Theological Seminary to further his theological studies. In 1917, he returned to Shinkawa, became active in labor movements, and joined the Yuaikai. Kagawa became active in the labor movement, and he worked to safeguard the rights of workers and to resolve labor disputes at

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the Kawasaki and Mitsubishi Shipyards in Kobe. He identified with the poor and was involved in the liberation movements of consumers cooperative and farm cooperative movements. Also, he founded an organization for farm workers entitled Japan Farmers’ Cooperative in 1922. For some time, he associated with the Suiheisha movement, an organization that defended Buraku’s social rights and fought against discrimination. In 1923, there was a disastrous earthquake in Japan, and Kagawa shifted to Tokyo, where he worked with the Friends of Jesus Society. It was a time of change for Kagawa, who became interested in pouring more energy into a religious cause. He was convinced that the gospel of Jesus was the source of peace and reconciliation. He was inspired to promote the Farmer’s Gospel School and the Kingdom of God Movement. He traveled to other countries and preached the Gospel of Jesus. Kagawa was an outspoken opponent of war. Tokyo military police arrested him because of his words, and the government mistreated him. However, after the war, Kagawa continued his participation in different liberation movements: the Japanese Socialist Party, the Christian Movement for Building of a New Japan, and the World Federalists Movement. Kagawa identified with the oppressed and poor, lived in slums, organized the poor laborers and fought to safeguard their rights. He preached and practiced nonviolence. But he was hated and persecuted by both capitalists and Communists. When war broke out Kagawa worked for peace, organized the National Anti-war League. He was described as a “fighting pacifist.” He set out his pacifist conviction before the Japanese. For “Kagawa said, ‘If we do not discount the Gospel, but take it seriously, and live it adventurously we will be able to do far more than Russian Communism ever dreams of doing in building a better world’” (Chandy p. 405). In addition he engaged a lot of time in writing and illustrated his ideas based on the gospel and projecting pacifism; about 150 published books and translating 23 others. His most widely read novel was Shisen of koete (Crossing the Line of Death).

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. (1929–1968): NONVIOLENT ACTION IN THE U.S.

Martin Luther King, Jr., the outstanding leader of the African Americans in the United States, played a prominent role in the Black community’s growing uproar – within a non-violent philoso-

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 129 phy – for civil rights. He led nonviolent demonstrations against segregation, injustice, and inequality of the black people by the white population. He had a magnificent speaking ability that enabled him to impress the American public, and he won the support of both blacks and whites in the struggle for social justice. He led a famous bus boycott in Alabama and then organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He became an unsurpassed leader of the Civil Rights Movement. As racial segregation and discrimination were pervasive in the United States of America and especially in the southern states, he was involved in the struggle for freedom of the oppressed, and he became part of the rising tide of social activism. King based his program of nonviolence on Christian teachings. However, he adopted the idea of nonviolent resistance from the strategy that was formulated and applied by Mahatma Gandhi in India. Gandhi himself adopted the ideas of the Christian values and principles as well as Henry David Thoreau’s ideas in civil disobedience against any evil system (Colaiaco, P. 25). Jesus taught and practiced ‘loving and praying for the enemy and turning the other cheek.’ King was convinced that Gandhian pacifism could be a success everywhere. Gandhi organized a movement of civil disobedience of nonviolent action. Martin Luther King, in his own struggle, copied the same strategy that Gandhi used (Satyagraha – truth force or loveforce) against the regime of British imperialism. King adopted strikes, boycotts, and protest marches in the agitation against the discrimination of the African Americans. Gandhi’s goal, King noted, “was not to defeat the British in India, but to redeem them through love, as to avoid a legacy of bitterness” (Phillips, p. 57). King learned from Gandhi that pacifism means nonviolent resistance to evil and not an idea of nonresistance to evil. He also considered Gandhi an active protester who resisted evil with love, instead of hate. King wholeheartedly accepted the idea of Gandhian nonviolence as a good method to persuade the oppressed people of the United States to struggle for equality. King believed that a nonviolent strategy would not lead to tragedy, but rather it would promote progress toward the goal of desegregation. King explained the Gandhian method to the oppressed people and persuaded them to follow it. He emphasized that it was not a theory, but rather a

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method of action to rectify an unjust social situation (Phillips, p. 62). King also believed that nonviolence was an agent of change, a tool of achievement, a weapon, moreover, as the ‘breast place of righteousness and the armor of truth.’ There was segregation experienced by African-Americans across the country. However, in the Southern states, widespread segregation existed in public schools, transportation, recreation and public facilities such as hotels and restaurants. Many states also used various methods to deprive Black people of their voting rights. King’s civil rights activities began with a protest in Montgomery, Atlanta’s segregated bus system in 1955. Also, militant direct action had become a formidable weapon in the black liberation movement. There was a city law that African-American passengers give up their seats on buses when a white passenger wanted to sit. The segregated people were organized to oppose this practice, and leaders formed an organization to boycott the city buses. King, the president of the agitation program persuaded the African-Americans to adopt a peaceful method, the only weapon they use will be ‘a weapon of protest’ and the protest strategy is not advocating violence. The bus boycotts continued about a year, and in 1956, the United States Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to provide equal, integrated seating on public buses. In 1960, black college students in the south started a sit-in movement in the restaurants. College students entered at the lunch counter that was legally reserved for whites. They ordered food, and the service was denied. They refused to leave the restaurant, and hundreds joined them in the sit-in restaurant movement, in the struggle for equal treatment to African-Americans. Civil rights protests expanded further in various states to secure African-American equality and legal support. Early in 1963, King along with his supporters launched a campaign of nonviolence and passive resistance in Birmingham, Alabama, where racial segregation and discrimination were pervasive. King, with the aids of hundreds of volunteers, launched picketing and demonstrations in the busy business areas of the city, and hundreds were arrested. The Alabama State Circuit Court Judge issued an injunction banning further demonstration. Nonviolent protests continued, though, and King was arrested and sent to Birmingham jail. From the jail, he wrote a reply to a letter written to him by eight leading clergymen to call off the demon-

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 131 stration. He stated in the letter that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Ravitch, p. 325). Without much delay, President Kennedy proposed a Civil Rights Acts before the Congress. The next event in the civil rights movement was a massive march in Washington, and the event is known as March on Washington. The march was intended to highlight African-American unemployment and to urge Congress to pass President Kennedy’s proposed bill. On Aug 28, 1963 over 200,000 Americans including many whites, gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in the capital, and King delivered the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, which eloquently defined the moral basis for the civil rights movement. Congress enacted The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which guaranteed racial equality and equal opportunity in education and employment. This laid down the foundation for a new life to the African American community in the United States. King believed that the strategy of nonviolence was not a theory but a method of action to amend the unjust social situation of the United States. In the struggle to liberate the oppressed people, King’s methodology of combining love with nonviolent, direct action, has proven to be a massive power that has been materializing day by day.

DESMOND TUTU: THE APARTHEID AND NONVIOLENCE EXPERIMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, born in 1931, became a prominent religious leader in South Africa by the early 1970s. The Anglican community recognized this and made him a bishop of Lesotho in 1976. He took it as a challenge to fight against the apartheid system, the social evil that South African people suffered for long time. He mandated a methodology rooted in nonviolence and was inspired by the Biblical message of liberation. He stated, “My passionate opposition to apartheid stems from my understanding of the Bible and the Christian faith” (Tutu, p. 27). He addressed racism without bloodshed and struggled for justice; he followed the same path as Martin Luther King, Jr. did in the United States. As an opponent of apartheid, he used his high profile to campaign for the oppressed. He was active in safeguarding human rights and in improving situations like AIDS, poverty, and racism. Violence, killing, and police brutality toward blacks was spreading in South Africa.

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Apparently, apartheid was the basic reason for escalating violence. The detention of many people without trial became common. Starvation stunted the intellectual and spiritual growth of children. Tutu said “There is no peace in South Africa, there is no peace because there is no justice” (Tutu p. 47). In 1976, violence exploded in a black community in Soweto, near Johannesburg. The people were angry as the authorities denied their continued request for the use of Afrikaans as the language of instruction instead of English. This demand ended in revolt and violence. About 15,000 school children were involved in a strike that reached the streets; over 600 people were killed in the agitation. Tutu was convinced that the church had to play a political role to address the evil system. He said “Apartheid is an evil and immoral system that must be destroyed” (Tutu. p. 49). In 1978, Tutu was elected as the General Secretary of South African Council of Churches. This gave him more popularity and opportunity for the exposure of public media, which he used to plea for safeguarding minority rights. In addition, he pushed for economic sanctions against South Africa, inside and outside of the country, a key issue in South African government’s international business. Because of this policy, in the early 1980’s, the government faced a critical shortage of investment capital. This brought about the threat of apartheid’s dismantlement. Tutu came under the spotlight in 1984, when he was recommended for Nobel Peace Laureate. In 1986, Tutu was elected as the Archbishop of Cape Town. Tutu continued pressuring the government to ensure minority rights. He organized mass opinion for it. He accused the White South African government of failing to make fundamental changes in the apartheid. In 1989, the government declared an election, and Tutu challenged it by bringing apartheid to the top of the agenda in the campaign. Tutu adopted agitation strategies like those of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the United States. He led a march with his supporters to a whites-only beach – an agitation inspired by King’s “sit-in restaurant movement,” where black customers sat in places reserved for whites. Tutu and the agitators were chased with whips off of the beach. President F.W. de Klerk promised that he would speed up reforms to root out apartheid. In 1993, de Klerk announced an allrace election as he had promised. In April 1994, the prominent

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 133 leader of the Black South Africans, Nelson Mandela, was elected as the President of South Africa, and the apartheid reached an end in South African history. Tutu continued serving the South African people, however. In 1995, the government appointed him chair of the South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate apartheid–era crimes. The commission became an innovation in healing apartheid’s damages in the South-African society. Thus, Tutu proved that nonviolence was not only the way to promote social change but also the way to create stability in a community. The change of government was also a change for the South African people. When Nelson Mandela came into power, Tutu preached about the significance of forgiveness. A key concern in the ministry that Jesus left for his disciples before his ascension was made clear when Jesus said to them, “and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). Tutu said to the South African people that forgiveness is not a vague idea, but it has significant meaning in practical politics. It would (only) unite them as one people. He taught them emphatically that the future of the nation depends on this supreme quality that “without forgiveness there is no future.” Thus, Tutu inspired the people for a nonviolent South African community, based on the spirit and message of the Cross. In addition, forgiveness makes individuals as well as community fully human; people relate to one another in a fair, peaceful, and harmonious way. He stated that “In our African understanding, we set great store by communal peace and harmony. Anything that subverts this harmony is injurious, not just to the community, but to all of us, and therefore forgiveness is an absolute necessity for continued human existence” (Kuriakose p. 212).

DISCUSSION

What practical value is there in reviewing different nonviolent movements? Primarily it is important to understand first, the integrity of the nonviolence movement in different global communities at turning points of their history and second, the reason that changed those nations’ destiny while guaranteeing a better political, economic, and social life. Historical review of mass movements could support people in making informed decisions about appropriate steps to address conflicting situations in any time period. The

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ideal objective of this study, we hope, is that the message of Jesus, the incarnated Lord, conveys the message of nonviolence, the way of the Cross. Penn and Gandhi, like the early Church Fathers, visualized a state without a sword. Penn emphasized pacifism as the bottom line of religious and social life, and economic fortune in the new land. Gandhi articulated the ahimsa concept of Hinduism, interpreted the Biblical understanding of agape, and applied them to his mass movements. Both of them succeeded in transforming the enemy into friends. (As the proverb, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”) Penn succeeded in developing a pacifist community in Pennsylvania while making a treaty with the Native Americans. Also, Gandhi never viewed British authorities in India as enemies even though he was agitating the government to safeguard the human rights of all the people of India. Nonviolence is not a mere tolerance or passivity but a forceful weapon or technique by which evil and injustice can be defeated. Gandhi found ahimsa as suffering love. The power of ahimsa will triumph, but will never compromise with evil. Later, he added more tactics such as civil disobedience, boycotts, and protest marches as a strategic idiom of nonviolence action. Martin Luther King, Jr. emulated the same strategy of Gandhi in his struggle against segregation, injustice, and inequality of African Americans in the United States. In the same way, Tutu acted in South Africa. Both King and Tutu adopted the idea of nonviolent resistance from the strategy formulated and applied by Gandhi. They learned from Gandhi that pacifism means nonviolent resistance to evil rather than nonresistance to evil. They also found Gandhi to be an active protester who resisted evil with love instead of hate. King explained and preached the Gandhi method, and he persuaded the oppressed people to follow it. He highlighted that it was not a theory, but a method of action to rectify an unjust social situation. He also found nonviolence to be an agent of change, a tool of achievement, a weapon as the “breast plate of righteousness and the armor of truth (Phillips, P. 62).” In a relatively short time, King found in his own experience how people’s power could increase largely in the Southern States of America. Nonviolence is a social movement where individual discipline and commitment for the cause is absolutely important; the ultimate goal is collective change. It initiates progressive change while the

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 135 enemy becomes a friend, with a shift from ego to community. All the leaders that we reviewed above proved this true, and in their model leadership, accepted the challenges for a better world. In addition, Gandhi advocated the building up of democracy with full participation of the people. Gandhi asserted that physical force and moral power cannot work together. The use of physical power is a weakness, while moral power proceeds from inner strength (Iyer, 1973, P. 192). In a democratic system, political participation of people is crucial. Moral power gives strength to nonviolent political action, and simultaneously, people’s power increases by their political participation. In the democratization of power, Martin Luther King, Jr. observed a conflict between ‘love and power.’ Gandhi commented that a synthesis between the two should be necessary in the process. “The coalition of immoral power with powerless morality, as King termed it, should be overcome by the Satya-graha of the Cross” (Chandy p 392). The invention of atomic weapons became a new challenge to pacifists’ movements around the globe. Gandhi realized the danger of atomic power and for the peaceful co-existence of people. While he believed that truth and love determine the ends and means for a just society, Gandhi contended that human responsibility is to obey the eternal laws of God and principles like truth, harmony, brotherhood, and justice, which all pertain to ahimsa; this is the goal and success for individuals and communities. War or atomic weapons only deteriorate humanity in all aspects of human survival. He suggested that every worthy objective could be achieved by the path of Satyagraha. In addition, all the social evils rooted in human systems can be rooted out by it. Chandy and Kagawa were outspoken opponents of war and nuclear weapons. Kagawa worked with the labors for reconstructing Japanese economic and social justice, and he fought for safeguarding their rights. He preached and practiced nonviolence. When the World War II broke out, he organized the National AntiWar League to protest war; he was described as a “fighting pacifist.” Meanwhile, Chandy was convinced that Jesus was the source for peace, reconciliation, and justice. He loved to work for peace, and he set aside a lot of time for pacifist programs. As a president of International Fellowship of Reconciliation, he sparked the message of nonviolence around the globe, and he preached absolute pacifism. Nuclear disarmament was his top agenda. Another means

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that Chandy used to propagate the message of nonviolence was Arunodyam, a journal published from the Christava Ashram. Conflicts and crisis invoke social consciousness and politicizing. Many of the experiments of the leaders give exciting experiences, which inspire continuing social movements. Individual contributors with unique talent maintain the credibility of such movements. Furthermore, crisis can arise in any community when conflicts arise out of new political, social, or economic struggles. However, the nonviolence strategy in a grass root level has significant value, for the nonviolence wave continues. For instance, in India both R. R. Keithan and K. K. Chandy took the leadership challenge of the Gandhian movement and succeeded to the extent that the nonviolent wave continues to move across the country. “Of course as Gandhi, A. J. Muste and Martin Luther King pointed out, nonviolence as a power and technique for mass action, nationally and internationally, has yet to be developed and applied” (Chandy. p. 392).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barbour, Barbour, Hugh and Frost J William. 1988. The Quakers. New York: Greenwood Press. Colaiaco, James A. 1988. Martin Luther King Jr.: Apostle of Militant Nonviolence. New York, St. Martin Press. Coward, Harold and Smith S. Gordon. 2004. Religion and Peacebuilding. Albany: State University of New York Press. Callow, B. Alexander, Jr. (Ed.). 1982. American Urban History. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chandy. K K.1990. A Quest for Community and Dynamic Nonviolence. Published for The CISRS, Bangalore by ISPCK, Delhi. Corrigan, Mairead. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mairead_Corrigan-Maguire Coward, Harold and Smith, S Gordon. 2004. Religion and Peace Building, Albany: State University of New York Press. Durnbaugh, F Donald (Ed.). 1983. The Brethren Encyclopedia, Vol, 2. Philadelphia: the Brethren Encyclopedia Inc. Esquivel, Adolfo Perez. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/adolfo_P%C3%A9rez_Esquivel

6. NONVIOLENT EXPERIMENTS AROUND THE WORLD 137 Esquivel, Adolfo Perez. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1980/es quivel-bio.html. Fisher, Louis. 1950/ 1983. The Life of Mahatma Gandhi. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers. Gandhi, Mahatma. Vol. 39. Collected Works. Ahmedabad: Navajivan Press, 1972. International Fellowship of Reconciliation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Fellowship_of_R econciliation. Iyer, Raghavan. 1973. The Moral and Political Thought of Mahatma Gandhi, New York, Oxford University Press. Jack, Homer A. (Ed.) 1956. The Gandhi Reader: A Source Book of His Life and Writings: Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Kulke, Herman and Rothermund, Dietmar. 1986. A History of India. London. Croom Helm. Kripalani, Krishna. 1986. Gandhi A. Life. New Delhi: Orient Longmans Ltd. Kuriakose, Karikottuchira. 2004. Nonviolence: The Way of the Cross. Fl: Xulon Press. Lillie, William. 1966. The Law of Christ: The Christian Ethics and Modern Problem. Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press. Miller, Robert William. 1964. Nonviolence A Christina Interpretation. New York: Association Press. Phillips, Donald T. 1999. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Leadership: Inspiration and Wisdom For Challenging Times, New York: Warner Books. Ravitch, Diane. 1990. The American Reader: Words that Moved a Nation. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Thomson, Mark. 1993. Gandhi and His Ashrams. Bombay: Popular Prakashan. Tlhagale, Buti and Mosala, Itumeleng. 1986. Hammering Swords into Ploughshares. Grand Rapids, Mi.: William B Berdmans Publishing Co. Tutu, Naomi. 2007. The Words of Desmond Tutu. New York: Newmarket Press.

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Sunquist, Scott W, (Ed.), 2001, A Dictionary of Asian Christianity, Grand Rapids, Mi: William B Berdmans publishing Co.

CHAPTER 7 THE QUR’ANIC AND PROPHETIC MODEL OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE AND ETHICAL CONDUCT PROFESSOR LIYAKAT TAKIM

In recent times, Islam has been portrayed in the media as a militant religion, one that promotes violence and the killing of innocent civilians. More than ever, there is a need to understand the Islamic perspective of respect for and living with the “other.” It is imperative to voice an opinion on an issue that is of major concern to millions of people, especially for a religion that has often been targeted as violent and extremist. In this paper, I will first delineate the Qur’anic position on coexistence with the “other.” How does the Qur’an expect Muslims to live and interact with the “other”? I will also examine how the Qur’anic vision of a just social order was exemplified in the life of the Prophet of Islam who is, after all, the supreme exemplar in the Islamic tradition.

PEACE AND CO-EXISTENCE IN THE QUR’AN

Historically, the Qur’anic view of engagement with the “other” was shaped by the socio-political milieu in which it was revealed. Islamic revelation found expression in a pluralistic world in which Muslims had to deal with Arab pagans and adherents of other monotheistic religions. To comprehend the Qur’an’s response to the Muslims’ interaction with the “other,” it is essential, at the outset, to examine the moral basis of such an interaction and the Qur’an’s pronouncement on human diversity. 139

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The Qur’anic view of peace and co-existence is interwoven with its view of a universal moral discourse that unites all human beings. According to the Qur’an, human beings are created with an innate disposition (fitra) that leads to knowledge of and belief in God. In fact, the Qur’an posits a universal morality for humankind that is conjoined to values ingrained in the conscience of all human beings (30:30). This suggests a universal, ethical language that all human beings can connect to and engage in. As the Qur’an states, “He (God) has inspired in [human beings] the good or evil [nature] of an act, whosoever has purified it (the soul) has succeeded, one who corrupts it has surely failed.” (91:8–10). The Qur’anic concept of a universal moral order is thus grounded in the recognition of an innate disposition engraved in the human conscience. Through this notion, Islam embraced certain universal human values that could form the basis for interaction with a diverse “other.” The basis of such a universal moral order can also be traced to verses like the following, “Humankind, be aware of your duties to your Lord, who created you from a single soul, and from it created its mate, and from the pair of them scattered abroad many men and women (4:1).” The verse suggests a common genesis and unity of human beings based on God’s creation. It also implies that human beings have to recognize and live with their differences. On the basis of universal guidance and a common human origin, the Qur’an posits the presence of an objective and universally binding ethical and moral standard that is accessible to all intelligent beings. A striking feature of the Qur’anic discourse is the emphasis on the capacity of human beings to use their innate intelligence to comprehend universal truths. It is on the basis of their innate capacity and shared moral values that human beings can deal with others based on the principles of fairness and equity. For the Qur’an, knowledge of the ethical good is grounded on an innate disposition which is ingrained in the human conscience. It is this knowledge that guides human beings towards upright moral conduct. Due to this, the Qur’an commends and exhorts human beings to perform the good rather than describing what it is. It assumes human beings know the good intuitively. For example, the Qur’an uses terms such as salih (moral uprightness) a term which, together with other words from the same root, occurs 171 times in the Qur’an, without defining or describing them. Similarly, the Qur’an does not explain or define zulm (wrongdoing) but sets

7. THE QUR’ANIC MODEL OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE 141 forth the ramifications of vicious behavior. In essence, the Qur’an assumes that good and evil are categories that are known independently of revelation. The Qur’an also emphasizes individual and collective responsibility in the realization of the ethical good. It is because of this factor that we frequently read of al-amr bi’l ma’ruf wa’l-nahy an almunkar, enjoining what is cognitively known as good and prohibiting what is known to be evil. Through this principle, the Qur’an urges human beings to establish the moral good on earth. Those who fail morally become enemies of God as they become agents of corruption and discord on earth. 1 The Qur’an also views human diversity as a basis for understanding and peaceful coexistence. Thus, verse 49:13 states, “O people, We have created you from one male and female (Adam and Eve), We have created you in different communities and tribes so that you may know each other.” Stated differently, human diversity should enhance the recognition of, rather than confrontation with, the other. Fundamental to the Qur’anic conception of peaceful coexistence is the view that human beings are united under one God (2:213). They are to strive towards virtuous deeds (5:48), for the most noble person in the eyes of God is the one who is most pious (49:13). These and other verses command Muslims to build bridges of understanding and cooperation with fellow human beings so as to create a just social order. The ramification of the preceding passages is that, since guidance is the function of God, it is He alone who has the right to decide the “spiritual destiny” of human beings. The Qur’an categorically maintains that the ultimate fate human beings be left to God, the true judge of human conduct. Not even the Prophet has the right to judge the ultimate fate of human beings. As it states, “Upon you [O Prophet] is the deliverance [of the message], upon us is the reckoning [of the deeds] (13:40).” In another verse, the Qur’an states, “Had God willed, they would not have been idolaters. We have not appointed you as a watcher over them, neither Kevin Reinhart, “Ethics of the Qur’an,” in Encyclopedia of the Qur’an, ed. Jane McAuliffe (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 66. 1

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are you their guardian (6:107).” By elevating judgment to the divine realm, the Qur’an accommodates the space for coexistence on the human plane.

THE QUR’AN AND DIALOGUE WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK

In the sectarian milieu of seventh-century Arabia, Muslims encountered other monotheists like Christians and Jews. These encounters generated inter-religious polemics, which are reflected in the Qur’anic verses, especially those that were revealed in Medina. In its discourses with the people of the book, the Qur’an invites them to the notion of a shared religious community based on the belief in one God. Thus, the Prophet is instructed to tell them, “Say! O people of the book! Come to a word common between us and you, that we serve none but God, and that we associate not aught with Him, and do not some of us take others as Lords, apart from God. And if they turn their backs, say, ‘bear witness that we are Muslims’” (3:64). One of the most potent ways to promote peace is by engaging in inter-faith dialogue. The Qur’an also outlines the form that dialogue should take and the way in which it should be conducted. It suggests that Muslim interaction with the other should be accompanied with proper demeanor and attitude. As the Qur’an states, “Do not discuss with the people of the book except in the best way possible, apart from those who are unjust among themselves” (29:46). Furthermore, the Qur’an states, “God does not forbid you from establishing relations of generosity and just behavior with those who have not fought against you over your religion and who have not evicted you from your dwellings. God loves those who act fairly” (60:8). Verses such as these reflect the Qur’an’s response to those who claim that it prohibits Muslims from interacting with nonMuslims. Peaceful co-existence requires that people abstain from abusing and denigrating those who do not share their beliefs. Deriding and mocking others can often engender violence and hatred. Therefore, the Qur’an urges respect for the beliefs of others. The Qur’an further states, “Had God willed, they would not have been not idolaters; and We have not appointed you a watcher over them, neither are you their guardian. Abuse not those to whom they pray, apart from God, otherwise, they will abuse God in revenge without

7. THE QUR’ANIC MODEL OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE 143 knowledge. So We have decked out fair to every community their deeds; then to their Lord they shall return, and He will tell them what they have been doing” (6:107–108). Qur’anic tolerance extends protection not only to Muslims and the people of the book (ahl al-kitab) but even to strangers who openly declare idolatry. As it says, “If one of the idolaters seeks protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the word of God, and after that, send him to a place of safety” (9:6). The verse instructs Muslims not only to protect but also to ensure that no harm comes to the idolaters when they leave Muslim territory, and to send them to a place of safety. The discussion above indicates that the Qur’an envisioned a diverse community that was united under common moral values. Human beings are to coexist in peace and harmony. Diversity and differences in faith were to be judged by God only since, “Isn’t He (God) the best of judges” (95:8)? The Ethical Demeanor of the Prophet Having discussed the Qur’anic ideal of peaceful coexistence based on universal moral values, I will now examine how the Prophet exemplified these Qur’anic ideals. The Qur’an connects ethical values that are ingrained in the human conscience to ethical conduct on earth. The goal of human creation, in the Qur’anic understanding, is to establish a just social order based upon upright moral conduct on earth. The Qur’an presented a challenge to the nascent Muslim community to establish this social order under the charismatic authority of the Prophet Muhammad. The juxtaposition of the temporal and religious realms within the personality of the Prophet meant Muslims could emulate different aspects of his character. The authority that the Prophet Muhammad had was comprehensive in that his charismatic appeal was linked to his spiritual, military, and political powers. Thus, the all-embracing authority of the Prophet meant that to be a Muslim necessitated acceptance of the different spheres of his authority. Many Muslims located their moral ideals within the Prophetic example as they saw the Prophet to be the best example of the perfect human being (al-insan al-kamil). Imitation of the Muhammadan paradigm is predicated on the Qur’anic injunction to emulate the paradigmatic precedent of the Prophet (33:21). The Prophet was

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not only a paragon for the Muslims in general, he was also a spiritual archetype for all humankind. It is this factor that makes him a human being par excellence. Muslims try to instill in their lives a sense of the Prophetic experience by imitating his outer behavior. The Prophet fashioned the moral community of the righteous by outlining principles for ethical behavior and promises for redemption to the faithful. The Prophet himself personified the Qur’anic ethics. Stated differently, what the Qur’an was in book form, Muhammad embodied that Qur’an in a human form. The personification of the Qur’anic ethical ideal is found in the paradigmatic demeanor and character of the Prophet. In the Nahj alBalagha, Imam ‘Ali best sums up this ideal. He states: “He was of all men the most open-handed, most stout hearted, most truthful of tongue, most loyal in the keeping of his trusts, most serene of mind, and the noblest in friendly discourse. Those who saw him for the first time feared him, but those who got acquainted with him loved him. Indeed, a man like him I have never seen.” 2 Such was the pervasive and loving character of the Prophet that even Abu Sufyan is reported to have exclaimed that he had never seen a person who was so loved as Muhammad’s companions loved him. 3 From the brutal and often oppressive tribal milieu, the Prophet tried to carve out a moral environment by living out the Qur’anic ethical ideal. Thus, in another moving statement in the Nahj alBalagha, Imam ‘Ali states that the Prophet would sit like an ordinary person, repaired his own shoes, and washed his own clothes. Even though the Prophet could have lived like a king, he chose to live like a simple person.” He continues, “A simple and austere lifestyle was not imposed on him, rather, his chose to live an austere lifestyle.” 4 Toshihiko Izutsu, Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Qur’an (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002), 75. 3 ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn Hisham, The Life of Muhammad – Sira Rasul Allah (trans. Alfred Guillaume) (London: Oxford University Press, 1955), 428. 4 Nahj al-Balagha, 3rd edition (Karachi: Khorasan Islamic center, 1977), Sermon 163. Shi’is believe that the Nahj al-Balagha comprises the sermons of ‘Ali. 2

7. THE QUR’ANIC MODEL OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE 145 Humility was one of the most outstanding and sublime characteristics of the Prophet. In fact, the Qurayshis were surprised at the Prophet not because he was extra-ordinary but that he was so ordinary. Thus, 25:7 in the Qur’an states: “They (Qurayshis) say, ‘What kind of Prophet is this, he eats food and walks in the street? Why has not an angel been sent with him so that he could also admonish?’” The Qur’anic response was that if angels had been walking on earth, then God would have sent an angel as a messenger (17:95).

THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE PROPHET

Apart from the Prophet’s ethical demeanor, Muslims replicate his spiritual exercises, and his reported inner states, exemplifying his every act. The Prophet possessed the quality of piety in its most universal sense, that quality which attaches human beings to God and makes them profoundly pious. He had a sense of uprightness which inwardly attached him to God, that made him place the interest of God before everything else including himself. Many Muslims attempt to replicate the Prophet’s spiritual journey. Spiritual connectedness to the Prophet is correlated to the degree with which a Muslim imitates his spiritual examples. Emulation of the Prophet in every possible way is an important means to attaining holiness, experiencing something of the charisma of the Prophet, and replicating his mystical states. Imitating the spiritual demeanor of the Prophet also becomes a replication of his mystical quest. In this way, one can experience the divine in the same way that the Prophet did. 5 In addition, as Seyyid Hossein Nasr states, the Prophet had a quality of combativeness, of always being actively engaged in combat against all that negated the Truth and disrupted harmony. Externally it meant fighting wars, either military, political or social ones, the war which the Prophet named the ‘little war’ (al-jihad alasghar). Inwardly this combativeness meant a continuous war against the carnal soul (nafs), against all that in man tends towards See Liyakat Takim, The Heirs of the Prophet: Charisma and Religious Authority in Shi’ite Islam (Albany: SUNY, 2006), chapter two. 5

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the negation of God and His Will, the ‘great war’ (al-jihad alakbar).” 6 Apart from imitating the different states of the Prophet, Muslims also inculcate and express deep love for him. In fact, love for God is expressed by loving His Prophet. Muhammad’s virtues are frequently recounted and blessings invoked on him. It is the love of the Prophet, as it is experienced by Muslims, that is the strongest binding force of all Muslims, be they peasants or kings. Due to the veneration of and love for the Prophet, the daily prayers of Muslims in different parts of the world contain prayers of blessings on the Prophet. Such prayers, as Valerie Hoffman reminds us, are believed to be extremely beneficial to a person’s spiritual well being. 7 The Prophet is also loved as he symbolizes the harmony and beauty that pervades all things, and displays the fullness of virtues which allows those who emulate him to develop and grow in their attributes. As ‘A’isha, the mother of all believers, states in a tradition when she is asked to describe the Prophet, “He lived the Qur’an.” For Muslims, the love of the Prophet is interwoven with the love for God, for the Prophet himself loved God intensely. Thus, in a famous hadith, he is reported to have stated, “O Lord Grant me the love of You, Grant that I love those who love You, Grant that I do the deeds that win Your love, Make Your love dearer to me than myself, family and wealth.” 8

THE PROPHETIC EXAMPLE OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE WITH THE OTHER

The community (umma) that the Prophet established in Medina comprised not only of Muslims but also the Jews who lived in Medina. The Prophet himself articulated and implemented the Qur’anic demand of peaceful coexistence with non-Muslims. One of the Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Ideals and Realities of Islam (London: Aquarian, 1994), 73. 7 Valerie Hoffmann, Sufism, Mystics and Saints in Modern Egypt (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1995), 50. 8 Nasr, Ideals, 72. 6

7. THE QUR’ANIC MODEL OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE 147 earliest Prophetic documents that is extant is the constitution of Medina. In this document, the Prophet envisions the Jews as being an important component of the Medinan community and outlines the rights and obligations of the Jews of Medina. The constitution states, “Whoever of the Jews follows us has the same help and support (as the believers), so long as they are not wronged by him and he does not help (others) against them.” The constitution also states, “The Jews of Banu ‘Awf are a community (umma) along with the believers. To the Jews their religion and to the Muslims their religion. (This applies) both to their clients and to themselves, with the exception of anyone who has done wrong or acted treacherously; he brings evil only on himself and on his household.” Another article of the document states that, “between the Jews and Muslims is sincere friendship and honorable dealing, not treachery. There is help for the person wronged.” 9 Such terms indicate the basis of a pluralistic society that the Prophet envisioned, a society that fully implemented the Qur’anic pronouncement of peaceful coexistence with non-Muslims. There are many other aspects of Prophetic demeanor that exemplify his interaction with non-Muslims, traits that today’s Muslims need to emulate. The Prophet’s character was based on the Qur’anic preference for forgiveness over revenge. He possessed the quality of magnanimity in its fullness. His soul displayed a grandeur which every devout Muslim yearns to emulate. After conquering Mecca in 630 C.E., the Prophet was in a position to exact revenge from those who had opposed and even tried to kill him. Yet, al-Mas’udi tells us, that the Prophet was magnanimous in his victory. He chose to forgive them, stating, “I will speak to you as Joseph spoke to brothers – you are free today.” 10 It was this genre of demeanor that endeared the Prophet to many people. The Qur’anic enunciation of not cursing even the enemies was also exemplified by the Prophet. After Tufayl b. ‘Amr al-Dausi converted, he asked permission from the Prophet to preach to his See Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Medina (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977), 221–4. 10 ‘Ali b. Husayn al-Mas’udi, Muruj al-Dhahab wa Ma’adin al-Jawhar (Qum: Dar al-Hijra, 1983), 2:290. 9

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tribe. When the Prophet allowed him, Tufayl went to his tribe, hoping to convert them. However, he returned after a short period, frustrated that his people had rejected his call. He asked the Prophet to invoke a curse upon them. The Prophet refused to do so and instead asked God to guide them. He said, “O God! guide Daus!” Then he told Tufayl, “Go back to your people and preach to them gently.” 11 Similarly when Mu’adh b. Jabal, a close companion, was going to Yemen to proselytize, the Prophet told him, “Deal gently with the people, not harshly; give them good news, do not repel them.” 12It was through his personal character and gentle preaching that the Prophet was able to reach the hearts of so many nonMuslims.

PEACE AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN ISLAM

An important theme in the Qur’anic view of peaceful co-existence is forgiveness. Retaliation is a strictly defined legal principle that can perpetuate a culture of violence and a cycle of carnage. The Qur’an evidently wants to replace this with a culture of peace. While permitting retaliation, the Qur’an urges the victim to forgive and eschew revenge (2:178). To inject peace in a series of retaliatory measures requires forgiveness as a healing and empowering process so as to restore human relationships. 13 Whereas a punitive response is often considered necessary when harm is inflicted, retribution is to be linked to a restorative process. Thus, verse 2:179 states that, “In [the law of] retribution is a source of life, O people of understanding.” The verse invites people to replace the cycle of violence by considering retributive justice as a process of rehabilitation. In this way, the Qur’an is replacing death caused by retaliation with life through forgiveness. Retributive justice, according to the Qur’an, should aim at redressing the wrongs by making the offender acknowledge responsibility and by encouraging the victim to consider alternatives to the Ibn Ishaq Sira, 175–6. Ibid., 644. 13 Sachedina, The Islamic Roots, 105. 11 12

7. THE QUR’ANIC MODEL OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE 149 perpetuation of violence through retribution. 14 The offender acknowledges the harm his acts have done so that a repaired relationship between the offender and victim can reinstate the dignity of both. 15 Acknowledgement of injury inflicted is the first step in seeking forgiveness. Repentance and a genuine sense of remorse is another. The Qur’an also offers an alternative to violence by recommending the acceptance of blood money as compensation. There is a clearly articulated preference in Islam for nonviolence and forgiveness over retribution. The Qur’an is also concerned about proportionality even in retribution. By stipulating appropriate levels of punitive response when attempting to restore violated rights or correct injustices, it regulates acts of retribution, for these should not exceed the extent of the original injury. 16 On the part of the victim, forgiveness is preferred over retribution as he foregoes the moral right of demanding injury by inflicting more injury. As verse 42:40 states in this context, “… whoever forgives and thereby brings about a reestablishment of harmony, his reward is with God; and God loves not the wrongdoers.” By his acceptance of compensation in the face of repentance and the acknowledgement of the harm that the offender has inflicted, the victim demonstrates willingness to rehabilitate the offender in society. The victim is, in turn, rewarded by God. If forgiveness is merely a religious requirement but is not seen as some form of empowerment then its effectiveness in resolving conflicts may be limited. The act must address a person’s deeper wounds. It is vital that forgiveness be seen and felt as empowering as this would affirm this inner process. The Qur’an describes this as an act of courageous will (42:43). 17 Approaches to conflict resolution appropriate religious values and traditional rituals of reconciliation. Scholars have also recognized the role that culture plays in conflict and peacemaking, and have affirmed the potential contributions of diverse institutions to conIbid., 112. Ibid., 105. 16 On the role of forgiveness as a tool in peace making and relationship building see Gopin, Holy War, Holy Peace, 110-11, 129–130. 17 Ibid., 134. 14 15

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flict resolution. Cultural modes of reconciliation include acceptance of individual and collective responsibility of wrongdoing, attentiveness to face-related issues (public status, shame) and the achievement of restorative justice. 18 Conflicts are also resolved based on local customs such as public acts of repentance, compensation for losses and acts of forgiveness. Frequently, communal leaders and village elders facilitate a process of reconciliation. 19 Muslims have delineated other processes for resolving conflicts in a peaceful manner. These include repentance, 20 sulh (reconciliation), 21 and tahkim (arbitration). 22 A discussion of these is beyond the purview of this chapter.

CHALLENGES FOR MUSLIMS IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES

Muslim discourse on war and peace has been defined primarily by the juridical literature. Especially after the events of September 11, 2001, we are witnessing a period of reinterpretation and redefinition of the notion of jihad in the Muslim community. It has been argued that the Qur’an offers a distinctly modern perspective on tolerance and respect in a multi-ethnic, multi-communal world. 23 The challenge for Muslims in contemporary times is to recover the tolerance and means for peaceful coexistence through the Qur’an rather than the juridical and exegetical understanding which, as Abdul Aziz Said, Nathan Funk, and Ayse Kadayifci, “Islamic Approaches to Peace and Conflict Resolution,” in Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam, ed. Said et al., 10. 19 Ibid. 20 On the role of repentance in cultivating personality changes and humility see Gopin, Holy War, Holy Peace, 118–19. 21 On the role of sulh in peace making see ibid., 136–37; George Irani and Nathan Funk, “Rituals of Reconciliation: Arab-Islamic Perspectives,” in Peace and Conflict Resolution, ed. Said et al., 183. The sulh rituals are often are conducted in public. See Gopin, Holy War, Holy Peace, 136. 22 For details of this see, Gopin, Holy War, Holy Peace, 97; Ahmad Mousalli, “An Islamic Model for Political Conflict Resolution: Tahkim (Arbitration),” in Peace and Conflict Resolution, ed. Said et al., 150-51. 23 Eickelman, “Islam and Ethical Pluralism,” in Islamic Political Ethics, ed. Sohail Hashmi, 115. 18

7. THE QUR’ANIC MODEL OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE 151 noted, were formulated to assert the subjugation of the “other” in a particular historical context. As they engage in a re-examination of traditional exegesis, the point of departure for Muslims has to be the Qur’an itself rather than the multi-faceted and multi-layered scholarly discourse that has accumulated since the eighth century. The moral tenor of Qur’an shows that it wants to engage humanity in a moral discourse where all human beings can connect with the Qur’an and with each other based on universal values. As Sohail Hashmi argues, there are few ethical works that outline the Qur’anic vision of coexistence or warfare. Muslims need to disentangle Islamic ethics from medieval Islamic law and to re-examine the Qur’anic pronouncement on war and peace in light of its ethical axioms. 24 Thus, the challenge for Muslims is to draw on this Qur’anic vision so as to develop just inter-religious and intercultural relationships in a world of cultural and religious diversity. Muslims are also confronted with the challenge of contextual hermeneutics in dealing with the pronouncements of the Qur’an on specific legal issues like hostility and warfare. Verses on jihad must be understood taking into account the particular conditions of persecution and oppression in which they were revealed. Returning to the Qur’an and prophetic traditions in their proper historical context is often circumvented by the juridical interpretations that promoted the hegemonic interests of the Islamic state ignoring, in the name of Islam, the ecumenical and universal message of the Qur’an. Muslim scholars and jurists have to engage in hermeneutic and interpretive exercises to provide a coherent re-evaluation of classical formulations and to reassert the Qur’anic ecumenical and inclusivist vision of peace. Stated differently, Muslims need to go beyond the classical formulation on dhimmis, siyar, and nonbelievers. Boundaries have to be re-mapped since the delineation of dar al-Islam and dar al-harb is no longer applicable. Furthermore, Muslims must articulate a theory of international relations that will incorporate notions of dignity, freedom of conscience, rights of minorities, and gender equality based on the notion of universal moral values. Sohail Hashmi, “Islamic Ethics in International Society,” in Islamic Political Ethics, ed. Sohail Hashmi, 148. 24

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A major impediment to this approach is that many Muslims reject the argument that the juridical decisions were interwoven to the political, cultural, or historical circumstances in the eighth century. They refuse to acknowledge that while the Qur’an is a fixed text, the interpretive applications of its revelations can vary with the changing realities of history. Traditionalists maintain that Islamic law, as it was formulated by the jurists in the first three centuries of Islamic history, was in strict conformity with the divine will expressed in the Qur’an and the tradition. Thus, normative textual sources are treated as timeless and sacred rather than anchored to a specific historical context. This contention of the traditionalists is challenged by the fact that there was much disputation on what constituted the divine will among the classical jurists themselves and that they proffered a wide range of views on the issues they were confronted with. As Muslims search for ways to chart out peaceful coexistence with others, they also need to reevaluate their normative texts. This exercise is contingent on recognizing that Muslims are not bound to erstwhile juridical or exegetical hermeneutics. Communities often construct a paradigmatic interpretation on the text and assert it on the readers. Once it is defined, the authoritative legacy of the text is transmitted to the next group of scholars and becomes entrenched as the normative and “authentic” position. Gradually, the texts construct an increasingly restrictive and specific well-defined position on an issue. The contents of the sacred texts are frequently less important than the social and historical settings in which they are interpreted. 25 The reading of a text is interwoven with the closing of the interpretive process, restricting, thereby, the text to a specific determination. This determination is then submitted as the final and only possible interpretation of the text. 26 In this sense, juridical hermeneutics are no different from the interpretive activities evident in other fields. The interpretive strategy can shape both future Stanley Kurtz, “Text and Context,” in Place of Tolerance, ed. Joshua Cohen and Ian Lague, 51. 26 Khaled Abou El Fadl, Speaking in God’s Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women (Oxford: Oneworld, 2001), 92. 25

7. THE QUR’ANIC MODEL OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE 153 readings and the texts themselves, thus constructing the texts rather than arising from them. Hence, there is a need for Muslims to separate the voice of God from the voice of human beings, and to differentiate between the Qur’anic vision and the socio-political context in which that vision was interpreted and articulated by classical and medieval exegetes. Contemporary Muslims are confronted with hegemonic values of the past and the emerging political reality that often challenges the applicability of those values. The tension between the peaceful and militant strains of Islam can be resolved only through the reexamination of the specific contexts of the rulings and the ways in which they were conditioned by the times. This re-interpretive task demands that Muslims undertake the task of re-evaluating the classical and medieval juridical corpus. In conclusion, it is correct to state that whereas the Prophet’s charisma may have dissipated after his demise, his knowledge, piety, and spiritual legacy have inspired different groups of Muslims to emulate his outstanding examples. The profound characteristics of the Prophet have left an indelible mark on the consciousness of the Muslims. The Qur’an itself bears the perfume of the soul of the person through whom it was revealed. As the great philosopher poet ‘Allama Iqbal said: “You can deny God but you cannot deny the Prophet.” 27

Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1975), 227. 27

CHAPTER 8 MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY THE MOST EFFECTIVE COUNTERTERRORISM FORCE “THE WORLD WORKS WHEN THE WORLD WORKS” BRUCE NISWANDER

As the global human experience continues to evolve at the speed of light in a thousand different directions, it seems that the poorest individuals in every country continue to confront economic conditions that offer little in the way of employment and any chance for improvement in the quality of their future existence. The largest, most profitable companies continue to “downsize” as fast as new technologies provide ever more efficient automating solutions. Global competition has reduced most economic development, job programs to the use of financial incentives to attract profitable companies from other locations. This has become especially true in countries where the national demand for new products and services is too small to support the on-going financial success of promising new start-ups. It is this environment that has allowed global terrorist groups to successfully recruit a growing number of “soldiers” who have lost all hope for a better tomorrow. In the final stages of a life full of personal and professional disappointments, it is easy to rationalize that the “haves” are the cause of a person’s current conditions and should pay them back with the lives of anyone enjoying that “wonderful” existence. Currently, humanity’s biggest decision is whether the majority of all future “efforts” are focused on making sure that the “rich continue to get richer” or do we start trying to help the “poor become less poor”. The answer to that 155

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question will determine whether the ranks of the crazed terrorists continue to grow at alarming rates or whether the masses join together to protect a future that offers true hope that tomorrow will be “better” than today. More specifically, a starting point for addressing this most important of all “global questions” is not in providing more financial support for the largest companies capable of relocating at the first sign of more attractive conditions in other locations. The real solution lies in helping common individuals acquire the basic skills and support necessary to participate in the modern global economy in a meaningful way. That might include creating (or working for) uniquely focused small businesses that leverage proven technologies for addressing pressing “commercial problems” in local neighborhoods, villages and small towns. The beauty of this bottom up strategy is that there can be thousands of solutions in simultaneous development almost immediately at very little cost, providing invaluable jobs and “lessons learned” for future localized development programs. An example of how well this bottom up strategy can work lies in the words from a Finance Minister of a very young country looking to rebound from a violent civil war that destroyed almost everything of value in the country. This Finance Minister stated “We decided to give the rural farming communities new tractors in an effort to promote growth in our agricultural economy. While many said it would be a waste of our country’s preciously limited financial resources, the resounding message was this: with a tractor, a productive day on the farm produced far more in personal benefits than the $50 that was being paid to the rural poor to walk to the city to join in the “political protests”. As the impact of the tractors grew (including the ability to feed a growing number of people with the resulting increase in food production), the protestor price tag went to $100 and then eventually, no one wanted to leave his or her job on the farm to walk to the city for any amount of money.” 1 The chance to earn a living and support a family’s on-going survival from one day to the next is the only force in the world Quote from an unnamed country’s Minister of Finance at a United Nations “Education Session” 1

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today that if properly leveraged has a chance to truly “fix” the world. Nearly every community is struggling to deliver clean drinking water, effective sanitation, affordable health care services, economical food and a force against terrorist activities. In simple terms, the nearly 1 billion unemployed and underemployed citizens of the world 2 waste nearly 2 trillion hours of valuable labor doing “nothing” day after day. If the world is willing to pay for “dirty coal” (i.e. a cheap resource owned by an influential individual or “big” company) to create power at the expense of the environment, why not manufacture and distribute 300,000,000 peddle powered generators to light up every village and local community in the world while saving the environment for future generations. Modern technical advancements have put realistic solutions at our finger tips, the problem is that we as a greed driven species do not have the discipline to “start at the bottom” where the benefits go to the individual rather than some “ultra rich” financier or large commercial entity. The world must begin to “think locally” and “act globally”. Helping neighborhoods and small towns address their local needs in an “entrepreneurial” fashion will provide the spark that will unleash the power of 1 billion people (and 2 trillion wasted hours of labor) just looking to survive. It is easy to envision the impact of leveraging the charitable activities of the “capital” provided by the ultra-wealthy and not for profit foundations to deliver meaningful commercial solutions that create financially sustainable businesses that create “meaningful jobs” that pay “a living wage”. And who knows, if properly structured it may also allow these newly employed individuals to participate in the “ownership of the wealth that they are helping to create”. Narrowing the wealth gap requires an economic development strategy that does not ask anyone to give up what they already own but rather, define a new productive path that helps the average unemployed individual “climb the ladders” of personal wealth with their own hard work and expansion of their commercial skills. The World Bank’s World Development Indicators, Section 2.5 – Unemployment. 2

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This strategic collaboration of resources employed in a bottom up, neighborhood fashion will be the most effective way to deliver maximum impact in the shortest period of time. The time has come to listen to and empower the small groups in the neighborhoods around the world that have not given up on “finding” their own path to a better financial future. Those that are unemployed or underemployed (they number in excess of 2 billion people) are anxious for the opportunity to convert their “wasted” hours into meaningful support of commercial initiatives that produces positive impact on their fellow workers. This unrelenting pursuit of a path to a better future is what truly defines the common desire of “humanity” the world over. From the employed but unhappy secretary working in New York City to the Auto drivers in most Indian cities, everyone would love the chance to live a future where their work is both rewarding and socially meaningful. Unfortunately, the focus of most controlling, social “institutions” charged with “creating a better future” pay little, if any attention to the “bottom up” details about how to create jobs that are both commercially meaningful and pay a “living wage” while addressing a pressing commercial need. Yes this blueprint is extremely challenging and may in some ways sound too simplistic but if the world collectively committed just a small percentage of the trillions of dollars that we have spent on making war, we would be well on our way to a successful response to the explosion of terrorist recruiting. The poor and neediest people around the world must be enrolled in solving “commercial problems” like clean drinking water, effective sanitation, affordable and sufficient food, cost effective shelter, reliable energy resources and effective health care with technical solutions that are simple yet produce meaningful results. Sadly in developed countries where famous start-ups like Google and Facebook are created, the excitement of offering commercial solutions in developing markets that provide simple, cheap and financially sustainable commercial solutions are often overlooked. The basic starting point for this challenging journey is the creation of a detailed “economic development” strategy that focuses at the neighborhood level to create commercially viable companies that offer meaningful jobs along with skilling programs that ensure that even the poorest, uneducated individuals have the skills necessary to participate in these commercial solutions. It is absolutely

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critical for these strategies to be simple in operation, focus on delivering meaningful results as quickly as possible and focus commercially on needs that are common to developing economies everywhere in the world. The primary short-term objective is to deliver a message of hope that an employment strategy is being deployed that has a true chance of success at the lowest level of existence. The importance of this is one factor that is clearly summarized in a quote from the recently deceased New York Time reporter, David Carr – “Hope is oxygen to someone who is suffocating on despair.” 3 A positive part of this challenge is the fact that once these uniquely local, result oriented “job solutions” are designed, developed and deployed, the increasingly global, information networks will communicate the positive “results” to every village, town and urban center around the world in a matter of days. Just the hope that a meaningful job may be in a person’s near term future is exactly the “tractor” that will prompt individuals to focus on work and not on disruptive protest activities. These jobs linked to hope will eliminate the ability for terrorist to replace their decimated ranks with frustrated young men living in places that were previously characterized with “hopeless” economic conditions. In a world where millions of adults and children are barely surviving, just the chance to have a meaningful job paying a livable wage may be the only force that has a chance of over-coming political corruption, cultural prejudices and religious conflicts. To reiterate the importance of the deployment of an effective bottom-up job creation strategy, while the average unemployment rate for the entire world is identified at between 6% and 7% for men, a closer look at the unemployment rate for young men in many middle eastern countries identifies alarming unemployment rates that exceed 60% (2). Even in the United States that prides itself as a model for “full employment”, the unemployment rate for young men has hovered around 20% for the last 3 plus years. The remainder of this discussion will focus on the importance of “bottom up, neighborhood business creation” solutions that will “Me and My Girls” By David Carr, Published in New York Times – July 20, 2008. 3

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deliver meaningful jobs that pay livable wages. Critical to this challenge will be a clear understanding of how a number of “institutional forces” have brought us to our current conditions and how all of these “traditional” forces interact with terrorism, economic justice and the search for world peace. If we want to fix the “future”, we must focus on the one driving force that controls the lives of virtually every human being: financial survival. In the human “law of the jungle”, a job is the difference between being able to “attack the future” in a positive fashion and just joining some radical political group to blow up innocent men, women and children in response to your life on the outside looking in with little hope for a better future.

TERRORISM – A GROWING GLOBAL RESPONSE TO AN INCREASINGLY “HOPELESS” FUTURE

Terrorism is rapidly becoming the world’s most challenging and disruptive social problem for virtually every country in the world. Those living in the most developed countries are especially concerned given the rhetoric being espoused by the speakers for new groups like ISIS. Luckily, unlike global warming or other environmental challenges, this problem is a “people” predicament. While extremely difficult to fix over a short period of time, it is definitely a challenge that must be addressed long term, not by military force, drone strikes or invading armies, but by actions of the masses that live as “neighbors” of these despotic individuals. Not unlike activities in the 60s and 70s, political / social protest remains a “people” challenge. The frustration of this challenge is that we do not seem to have learned anything from our past experiences. Political decision makers seem reluctant to address the social problems that are the “focus” of the protestors and continue to concentrate on “military actions” designed to eliminate the protestors’ physical presence. Over the years since 9/11, this impact of the military actions strategy seems to simply force the terrorist groups to temporarily disband and relocate in other geographical areas. Not only have these efforts been marginally successful, they are also burning up incredible amounts of money that could be used to address increasingly problematic challenges like repairing the infrastructure critical to enhancing economic activities.

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More importantly, today’s terrorists and the protestors of the 60s and 70s both focused on the disparity of life experiences and employment opportunities. The key driving forces seem to swirl around those “promoted” life paths that when followed, fail to deliver the type of opportunities that produce meaningful futures paying a living wage for jobs that have real “impact”. Today’s message to young people trying to define their career map to the future continues to be “study hard, get a college degree” and the world will be your playground.

STARTING POINT FOR A “DISCOURAGING VIEW OF THE FUTURE”

Sadly a growing percentage of college graduates (not to mention the millions of students who drop out before ever receiving a degree) are finding that the only real benefit of their extended education is that they are selected ahead of those without college degrees to perform jobs that require little if any additional education. And if that is not bad enough, many find themselves saddled with large college loans that are relatively expensive compared to the limited wages they receive for their less than challenging employment activities. It is no wonder that young people who have followed the promoted path to “success” by securing a college degree, working hard at every job they secure and always doing “what is asked” are disappointed with the quality of their life. A major study prepared by McKinsey Center for Government on “Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works” 4 began the report with the following statement: “In Japan, an estimated 700,000 young people, known as hikikomori, have withdrawn from society, rarely leaving home. In North Africa, restless youth were at the vanguard of the demonstrations that toppled governments in Egypt and Tunisia. In the United States, the still faltering economy has been

“Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works”, McKinsey Center for Government, Authors – Mona Mourshed, Diana Farrell, Dominic Barton, (mckinseyonsociety.com/education-to-employ ment). 4

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This growing frustration in the lack of an effective path to a positive future is quickly becoming the common denominator for every young person in every country around the world. The most frequent career message being exchanged among young people around the world, especially young men, is that their life is defined by an unending struggle of marginal employment opportunities performing meaningless jobs paying the “lowest wages” possible. These career problems are further enhanced by the widely published wealth gap between the ultra rich and the rest of the population, which continues to expand at an alarming rate. An on-line information site, Motherboard, written by Brian Merchant 5 posted the following economic development notes, which illustrate the challenges of “hoping” the future will provide more meaningful jobs: • 85 people alone command as much wealth as the poorest half of the world. • 47 percent of the world’s currently existing jobs are likely to be automated over the next two decades. No longer does it seem possible to address these challenges by working harder and smarter. The strategies and programs being offered by local and national politicians are producing little if anything in the way of positive results despite spending billions of dollars on “special programs”. Banks responsible for the “effective distribution” of economic enhancing capital resources have defined their place in our modern society as manufacturers of “synthetic” financial products that deliver meaningful benefits almost exclusively to their shareholders. And the academic institutions responsible for preparing their students for a productive and positive future refuse to address how disconnected their academic curricula are from the needs of the average global business.

“The Rich and Their Robots Are About to Make Half the World’s Jobs Disappear” by Brian Merchant, http://motherboard.vice.com. 5

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A simple starting point is to shift the objectives of the academic community from creating an “educated society” to providing marketable “commercial skills” valuable to existing, profitable businesses. A further enhancement is to replace today’s “degree orientation” with a focus on “lifetime skilling” that will encourage everyone to upgrade their capabilities as the world around them continues to change at an amazing rate. Finally, it is important that these skills are delivered as quickly and cost effectively as possible in an “action learning” (i.e. apprenticeship) setting. This is not to say that cities, states and countries are not trying but virtually every solution seems to take a “top down” approach that tries to leverage the existing academic strategy and ignores the idea of helping neighborhoods fix neighborhood problems with critical jobs performed by average individuals that are “skilled” in working in the modern global marketplace. Just as in the fight against cancer, which pursues a “cell by cell” solution, eliminating terrorism requires a person-by-person strategy that is focused on the unemployed and underemployed masses. The global community must come together and provide the lowest common denominator, the poorest and uneducated, with a “future” that has an operational chance of experiencing a better tomorrow. In the end, as was mentioned with the actions of the country that provided tractors as a strike against political unrest, the world needs to focus on helping the masses find a way to effectively participate in “fixing” the modern global economy.

EVOLVING HISTORY OF GLOBAL “TERRORISM”

Terrorism is a business of individual “service employees”. Based on their ultra-violent strategies, which result in the rapid elimination of active participants, these groups must be constantly recruiting new members. This operational “staffing” challenge has become much easier given all of the negative results associated with the unending expansion of military conflicts. It has also been made easier by the global availability of unregulated social environments such as Facebook that provide direct access to billions of individuals that are confronting their own personal perceptions of a “futureless”, global economy. As mentioned earlier, today’s global social environment in many ways resembles the United States in the 60s and 70s when the Vietnam war and concerns over a long list of social issues in-

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cluding the environment, racial segregation and all types of political corruption seemed to control the country’s future. Then as now, the earliest and most passionate “protestors” were the “educated” students that understood the details of the growing problems and were actively trying to plan their social and professional futures in an environment that seemed to be growing increasingly “hopeless”. These angry students informally pursued a “strategy” that involved reaching out to other less volatile, underrepresented sectors of the population in an effort to “enlist” a critical mass of “change agents”. From the late 60s through the mid 70s the growing number of people seeking change created an extremely caustic and unpredictable global environment. Sadly that extended period of social unrest that was focused on delivering “real” solutions to the growing list of life problems ended with less than satisfying results. Yes the United States decided to eventually give up on their senseless military efforts in Vietnam, but the desire to fix other problems like segregation, the destruction of the environment and create an atmosphere of respect and empathy for humans around the world never materialized. The disruptive protestors ran out of energy and commitment and eventually returned to their pursuit of college degrees, professional careers and the “American dream”. The misguided politicians that were removed during this time of unrest were replaced with similar ineffective lawyer types that continue to this day to function as pawns to the private interests of commercial businesses. And the social and environmental concerns were for the most part abandoned and relegated to being problems for those without political power or financial wealth. Today we are witnessing a similar return to radical social unrest but this time the parties involved are drawing attention to their “social concerns” through totally unacceptable acts of indiscriminately horrific violence. Now instead of college campuses, the protest war is being waged in open air markets and commercial skyscrapers where the victims are totally innocent men, women and children whose only fault is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

FORCES PROPELLING TODAY’S GLOBAL “TERRORISM”

The future of “terrorism” as a global problem depends on “easy” access to the growing number of hopeless individuals that are will-

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ing to explore the idea of “going out in a message-laden, blaze of glory”. The global availability and adoption of the cell phone by even the poorest individual has created a communication environment that provides easy access to potential “terrorists” everywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A more detailed look at other factors that are driving the “terrorism” problem include:

NO SIGN OF “MEANINGFUL” JOBS THAT WILL PAY A “LIVING WAGE”

The average citizen in nearly every country confronts an economic environment that is bad and getting worse. Unemployment for the marginally educated and poor was bad before the recession but is now maybe the world’s most dangerous problem. Even those who have committed to the western message that “additional education” is the key to unlocking a promising future are finding that a college degree means little when trying to land a promising job paying a living wage. Over the last 10 to 15 years, the global economy has been marketed by the drive to find “ever-cheaper” workers for the production of “big demand” items like cellular phones, consumer clothes and electronic appliances. Corporate farms have eliminated all but a few jobs in agriculture that increasingly involve mindless, assembly line processing tasks. Even middle level management positions at large corporations are now under pressure due to the increased acceptance of large data, decision-making software that is flattening the average management pyramid. Further exacerbating this problem is the fact that in countries like the United States that distribute “commercial capital” through public markets, the law requires that the controlling officers of an exchange listed company are obligated by law to “maximize the profits” of the enterprise. Amazingly, the ability to satisfy this profit obligation is boldly publicized every 3 months as reported in the company’s quarterly financial statements. There are two options for accomplishing this legal obligation: either increase revenues through higher prices and / or additional sales, or reduce costs associated with supporting the same amount of sales with ever-lower costs. Given the ever-increasing competition that exists in the global markets, the primary path for achieving the legally required, maximum profits over the past 20 years has been to reduce costs through “increasing productivity”. In simple terms, this means ac-

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complishing the same amount of work with ever-fewer employees. This unrelenting pursuit of higher profits has all but destroyed the publicly traded company as a source for new jobs. And the few jobs that are being created have dramatically lower starting salaries and few, if any, benefits. The obvious question for many confused economist is this: if companies that are legally required to maximize profits continue their current cost cutting path, will they not eventually arrive at a “totally digital company” that has virtually no employees and only “human shareholders” managing the entity from a “digital war room”. When that occurs, the next obvious question will be – who will be able to afford the new products and services when everyone but the top managers have been downsized into the ranks of the unemployed. How will profits be increased when there are no longer any human workers to replace with enhanced automation? A second issue that will result is that the only people who will find their wealth increasing are the shareholders (i.e. ultra-rich) of the “employee-less” company. Further proof of this negative job message is the fact that nearly all job growth now comes from small and medium sized companies. This trend toward smaller commercial entities is further supported by the speed and scope of technical changes that require rapid and dramatic commercial adjustments. Modern business success increasingly requires an amazing amount of product flexibility and design “dexterity”. For ultra large companies, this focus on new products that leverage new inventions and technical breakthroughs is not very realistic. In order for a new offering to have any meaningful impact on a $20 billion income statement, the opening market demand must be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. This limitation is exactly why innovative new products that start from a $0 market demand like Facebook and Google will almost never originate from an ultra-large commercial company. This inability to create “meaningful jobs” for the average citizen has made the global desire to imitate the United States’ economic model an extremely risky decision. Yes the relatively unrestricted growth of the world’s Fortune one thousand companies have delivered amazing advancements for the quality of life around the world. Unfortunately the wealth and income associated with these social advancements are increasingly limited to the ultra-rich

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owners of these commercial mega-entities. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that the perception of the US lifestyle that is observed across the global Internet does not accurately profile the real life of the average American individual.

INEFFECTIVE POLITICIANS AND GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS

A growing number of world citizens are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the “politicians” responsible for fixing the “things that are wrong” in their world. This feeling is not unique to an individual country but is rapidly becoming the opinion of the masses. Whether it is corruption or just the inability to deliver social solutions that benefit the poor and undereducated rather than the financial well being of large commercial entities, there is a growing disgust with “politicians and the political process”. This is yet another social institution that has been historically promoted as the “proper” path to a more promising future but has been delivering very little in the way of meaningful benefits to the masses in need. That is not to say that politicians are not concerned about the well being of their voting constituents. The basic concern is that despite all of the high priced political adds promoting a candidate’s qualifications or the highlights the opponent’s shortcomings, there are few if any detailed strategies that focus on HOW to actually begin creating meaningful jobs paying livable wages. Currently the standard political strategy for generating new jobs is to approach promising companies operating in other cities, states and even countries and convinces them through financial bribery to relocate to a politician’s area of representation. The net result of these job creation transactions is that the costs usually far exceed the benefits realized by the local community. Even more problematic is the fact that these types of companies will quickly relocate the moment a better “offer” becomes available. The final impact of this strategy is that the ultimate benefactors are not the local unemployed but rather the shareholders of the company benefiting from the financial incentives – the wealth gap continues to grow ever wider.

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UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO “GLOBAL SOCIAL COMMUNICATION NETWORKS”

Maybe the greatest change that has occurred over the past 15 years is the speed, global reach and mass adoption of digital information networks. The amazing penetration of the cell phone as a “communication device for the masses” has brought the world, right or wrong, to nearly everyone’s front door. This means that virtually every citizen in the world has the ability to view the lives of every other citizen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Depending on how the images are captured and communicated, the impact of this information can be either very positive or incredibly negative. When these forces have the ability to reach millions of individuals in a matter of seconds, the inability to secure a meaningful job paying anything near a livable wage becomes the exact recruiting material for those bent on changing the world through “violence”. Add to that the selective communication of images profiling the “ultrarich” life in the United States as that of the entire population and it is easy to understand why terrorism is so successful at recruiting new “soldiers” through the selective translation of “religious phrases” describing the “decadent” life style of the average American citizen. This environment of limitless, unrestricted access to social information (42.3% currently has access to the internet) 6 and growing awareness of the outside world has caused increasing friction between age groups within countries and cultural communities living in the same geographical proximity. And yet with all of these changes and social adjustments comes the single biggest challenge: how to engage its citizens in meaningful employment that contribute positively to the local economy and yet do not conflict with their “rapidly” evolving culture.

World Internet Usage and Population Statistics” June 30, 2014, http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm 6

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Just as the United States’ economic model of consumption has captured the attention of a growing number of developing countries, so too has its commitment to education as a path to a more promising financial future. The word continues to go out that the most direct path a great job is increased education ending in a string of advanced college degrees. Unfortunately, this message of “educate in order to participate” runs in the face of the fact that a growing percentage of college graduates are finding it increasingly difficult if not impossible to find employment that pays enough to comfortably afford the debt that was incurred in order to secure their degrees. Detailed discussions with leaders of small business entities have revealed that the average graduate lacks the specific skills necessary to contribute immediately to the financial success of the commercial business. The ultimate profile of the problems in the academic world is very powerfully presented in the new documentary film – “Ivory Tower”. 7 The opening message describes a growing need for the academic communities to modify the design and focus of the programs being offered to future students. The academic objective must shift from creating an “intelligent society” to providing each and every student with the skills necessary to participate effectively in the technology driven, global economy. Today’s current student population is increasingly driven by their ability secure positive employment and lead a rewarding life. Beyond the frustrations of the student population, an additional driver for this change is the fact that unemployed college students with advanced knowledge about how to leverage social networks has become the most politically dangerous and disruptive force in the world today. It also serves as a major recruiting tool for terrorist groups that need to continuously replace their members that “die” in the delivery of their “sick” message. Ivory Tower, Documentary Film, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3263520/ 7

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BROKEN CAPITAL MARKETS

Maybe the single most damaging catalyst in the search for effective job creation solutions is the sad evolution of the banking industry and more broadly the “capital markets”. In days gone by when jobs and economic development were truly a local activity, banks functioned as the capital “distributer” for local businesses and the community’s ability to provide meaningful jobs paying a livable wage. Over the past 50 years the banking industry has redefined its functional focus to providing the highest, risk adjusted returns to the company’s shareholders. In the convoluted world of risk / return calculations, the capital markets promoted banking companies that were large and delivered abnormal risk adjusted returns by moving away from investments in local businesses and focusing on synthetic financial instruments that appeared to provide premium returns for risks that were improperly characterized. As the banking industry evolved from local bankers reinvesting local deposits in support of local businesses to global conglomerates, the availability of critical capital investments that support the expansion and on-going financial well being of small and medium enterprises all but disappeared. Local account deposits made by neighborhood residents were funneled into ultra-liquid, “low risk” investment securities that were bundled into large “packaged investments” that were “tradable” on global securities exchanges. This process allowed large banks to sell their “low risk” securities and reload their balance sheets to make even more investments in these “low risk, securities”. Sadly the economic translation was that the local commercial environment where the funds originated could not compete with the likes of the invading mega-companies like Wal-Mart. Results – small companies struggling to compete with the “big box retailers” went bankrupt by the hundreds of thousands. Those without jobs were forced to join the remotely located, mega businesses or move to the nearest city in hopes of finding a job paying a livable wage. While this was mainly a challenge for companies operating in the United States, it has quickly became a global problem because the mega US bank’s way of doing business has been adopted (directly or indirectly) globally as the “risk / adjusted” standard for the entire global banking industry. Results: capital distribution is focused primarily on publicly traded companies and megabusinesses that have the ability to satisfy the banking community’s

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short sighted, collateralized lending programs. The net result is that despite the fact that an amazingly high percentage of new jobs come from small and medium sized businesses, the capital markets provide very little in the way of affordable capital to this market sector. As large corporate jobs disappear through the legally required drive forever higher profits through “increased productivity” (a.k.a. completing the same work with ever fewer employees receiving lower wages with fewer benefits), meaningful jobs paying livable wages are becoming increasingly rare. The on-going support for this misguided capital market structure stems from the fact that mega banks require automated products that are scalable regardless of employee skills. Given that the bank regulators’ primary focus is on deposit safety, this ultra-large, risk adverse strategy continues to be the accepted standard despite the fact that modern management support tools exist to make small business loans in a much safer and supportive, “hands on” fashion. A return to a locally focused, banking structure where the personal savings of the neighborhood are invested in “local employers” and the risk of failure is managed through the application of computer aided, management support tools will begin to deliver desperately needed commercialization capital to those small and medium neighborhood companies which, in turn will deliver meaningful jobs paying livable wages. The critical message to the terrorist community is that through a refocusing of small business, capital investments, local owners will be able to offer meaningful jobs that pay a “living wage” and allow an increasing number of people to participate in the “wealth creation” process. As this strategy spreads globally, the owners “of the tractors” will no longer have time or an interest in promoting disruptive political actions and certainly will not want to kill themselves in the interest of supporting the terrorist’s goal of killing innocent people in the name of some insane social goal.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE – JOBS, A LIVING WAGE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE WEALTH CREATION PROCESS IN RESPONSE TO TODAY’S TOP DOWN GREED

Today’s global economic environment is best described as an almost infinitely steep pyramid with very few extremely wealthy indi-

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viduals controlling an extremely large percentage of the assets and resources necessary to provide the jobs and personal survival for the rest of humanity. Those responsible for managing the resources of the ultra-wealthy work tirelessly at delivering ever-higher profits and wealth to those few individual owners through higher revenues and / or lower costs. The strategies being implemented to achieve the targeted wealth growth generally revolve around cost reductions through productivity enhancements (i.e. same work with fewer employees). This path has even expanded to taking over existing companies who have not been as aggressive about lowering costs through “productivity improvements” (i.e. downsizing through the application of modern technology advancements). The ultimate impact of this economic model is communicated in the details that describe the true essence of the global economy. Although the share prices of stocks being traded on the public exchanges continue to rise, unemployment for a growing percentage of the 7.5 billion global population continues to edge ever higher. This is especially true for young men living in the countries with strained economic conditions. These “capital market, financial results” continue to push ever more wealth into the hands of the ultra rich with little, if any, finding its way to those below the tip of the pyramid and absolutely nothing going to those at the bottom. With this concentration in wealth and power goes an increased focus on the advancements in “technological automation” which further promotes payroll “downsizing”, higher unemployment and social unrest. What has evolved is an extremely effective “unemployment engine” that down sizes jobs in the interest of meeting the company’s legal obligation of ever higher profits. Maybe the most disgusting part of this economic evolution are the occasional publicized statement from an ultra-wealthy individual about the “laziness of the poor people” and their inability to take responsibility for their own financial futures. It is easy to see that today’s wealth “machine” will most certainly continue to churn out its results until the social tsunami driven by mass unemployment and an ever-steeper wealth distribution pyramid (i.e. ever increasing wealth gap) “washes it all away”. But even if that should occur, the absence of a plausible job creation solution means that the end results will be totally unpredictable and may prove to be worse than the society that existed before the “revolution”. We need only look at the sad path of Iraq’s economy

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and the unfocused society that has occurred after the removal of the “unacceptably” cruel dictator, Saddam Hussein. Even in the United States where much of the global population believes life is totally wonderful, the availability of meaningful jobs paying living wages while sharing the wealth that is being created are very rare and declining. Truthfully, the economic evolution in the United States has produced a culture that seems to be increasingly controlled by “personal greed”. A clear example of the power of this force is the fact that small community after small community has elected to support the lower prices offered by the new local Wal-Mart at the expense of local businesses owned and operated by life-long friends and neighbors. Quietly, the US society has replaced its age-old focus on collaborative commercial development with the private drive for each and every individual to secure as much as possible for themselves at the expense of those that are suffering around them. As local individuals in desperate need to balance their personal budgets continue to flock to these low cost, mega-stores at the expense of their local businesses, the common rationalization is that the “modern capitalist economy” rewards the low cost supplier. Sadly the rules of the age old Keynes playbook that have guided much of humanity’s economic evolution over the past 50 years seems to have left out the importance of the individual working at a job that pays a living wage. Who will purchase the new products and services if everyone is unemployed? This inability to address the modern economy with commercial solutions that leverage new inventions and promising products while producing meaningful jobs is leading to an increasingly dangerous social environment.

Leveraging Negative Economic Trends – As the gap in personal wealth continues to widen, the terrorist community has an incredibly powerful media tool to attract a growing number of hopeless individuals willing to listen to the cry to “overthrow and / or remove” the leaders of the wealthiest countries and do away with the people who live there. Recent public protests from such groups as Occupy Wall Street provide additional evidence that there is a growing disgust across the world in the rapidly widening, “wealth gap” and their calls cry out for “economic justice” for the 99%. It is fairly obvious that the “absence of hope” for a better financial future is a growing catalyst for political unrest and a willingness to

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commit unimaginable acts on innocent individuals as a way to draw attention to the “demands” for economic justice. Sadly the radical communications and outrageous acts of these groups rarely, if ever, contain any realistic suggestions about how to address and / or remedy the growing, global wealth gap. The general strategy for modern protestors is to simply blame the corrupt and ineffective actions of the average government politician for “causing” this horrific social nightmare. Unfortunately, both the protestors and the average politician believe that governments through focused legislation possess the ability to fix this problem by taking from the “rich” and giving to the poor. But time and history have taught us that a top down, wealth transfer strategy will never produce the type of positive sustainable results that is the goal of the modern masses and essential for humanity’s survival. Once the stimulus is gone, the old “bankrupt” process will quickly return. Any solution, by necessity, must include a course of action based on properly skilled individuals that delivers a better, more distributed economic future that will grow and prosper over time. And when localized, it will be able to continuously identify and respond to local needs and opportunities.

Need for a Bottom Up Solution not a top down Correction : The truth is that the modern political environment is increasingly controlled but the monetary contributions from the ultra-wealthy (i.e. top of the wealth pyramid) that have a “vested interest” in continuing the existing conditions for perpetuity. In the intellectually rationalizing way of the ultra-wealthy, any change that would move more wealth to the workers performing the actual commercialization tasks would be counterproductive and “actually have a negative impact on our economic future.” The ability to convince politicians to take on the interests of their largest campaign contributors is near zero. An impact-oriented solution with a “real chance of success” must focus on the energized pursuit of bottom up, sustainable businesses that produce meaningful jobs in the local space, paying livable wages while delivering critically important products and services. The world must agree at the individual level to “grow” from small to large and eventually global while treating their employees fairly through the payment of livable wages and sharing the “wealth” of their collaborative commercial efforts.

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One need only study the economic evolution of America’s incredibly powerful consumption economy as support for this statement. The American economy started from nothing not so many years ago. Businesses started from scratch in towns and villages and built over time by satisfying the needs of their customers located in the nearby, geographical proximity while producing the jobs necessary to support the local community. Over time this bottom up financial network evolved into the global economic juggernaut US economy that continues to be the envy of the entire world.

Shift to Top Down Mega Business Orientation: Despite these early accomplishments, the US economy continued to evolve into a collection of large corporations employing the disconnected masses, in which the average person lost the knowledge, awareness and skills that are necessary to “become employed” in a world where the large corporations are no longer hiring. It is absolutely critical that the average human, regardless of wealth or prior education, realizes that he or she is personally responsible for his or her future both now and forever. Every day the evidence grows stronger that political governments and education networks are incapable of delivering the skills necessary for the average person’s employability and economic survival. Every individual must assume the responsibility of identifying their desired “employment” future and assemble the skills necessary to reach that future. In the end, the entire population must become a continuously re-skilled “consultancy” that is able to sell his or her “skills” to 10s of hundreds of small but prosperous commercial entities. In simple terms, a global economic solution must focus on bottom up, neighborhood businesses employing “self skilled” individuals that continuously evolve in cycle with the changing global economy. Long Term Solution: Bottom up, Continuous Commercial Re-skilling of Every Person: The meaning of all this is that the long term solution will not come from politicians trying to resolve the “wealth gap” problems from the top down, but from the spontaneous collaboration of skilled individuals desperate for a better financial tomorrow. The world must begin to “harvest” the nearly 2 trillion hours of wasted human labor in a fashion that begins to resolve the growing list of pressing global problems. As stated earlier, the focus must be on strengthening local markets by addressing the basic needs of the local residents. As

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these promising new local entities deliver “real” impact they will create the essence of financial sustainability, which in turn, will allow them to digitally expand the communication of their positive and negative commercial experiences with the rest of the on-line world – to other neighborhoods located in other countries. As these worker-owned businesses expand their markets, there will be a meaningful redistribution of wealth from the top of the pyramid to the rapidly expanding bottom. It is not realistic to expect existing social institutions such as political governments, capital allocation networks, education and academic systems, and global economic markets to adjust in a timely and meaningful manner when their own wellbeing must adjust to this new economic development force. In summary, this need for a bottom up reinvention of the world’s economy is in keeping with the words of Buckminster Fuller, 8 a true model of a modern innovative thinker – “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” The future of humanity requires simple, “neighborhood driven” economic development models (hundreds, even thousands of variations on the theme) that focus on local collaboration in the pursuit of financially sustainable jobs, paying livable wages and the redistribution of the “wealth” that is created. The combination of the basic need to survive, the untapped energy of the unemployed, and a realistic “job creation” model will deliver the resources and support necessary to make this happen one neighborhood at a time. Rapid global adoption will be achieved through the digital communication of the commercial results that are achieved to the same masses being targeted by the terrorists. At a minimum, this bottom up model will create hope that positive change is possible without politicians or large corporations. Re-quoting David Carr 9 – “Hope is oxygen to someone who is suffocating on despair.” Buckminster Fuller Quote: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/13119–you-never-change-things-byfighting-the-existing-reality-to 9 “Me and My Girls” By David Carr, Published in New York Times – July 20, 2008. 8

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If we want to “conquer” the terrorist forces in the world today, the message must go out that there is an expanding movement that is focused on providing meaningful jobs that pay livable wages where each and every employee shares in the value of the commercial wealth that is being created.

WORLD PEACE

Currently the world is experiencing the greatest escalation in personal anxiety in our history as a social species. Not since the days of the late 60s, when the United States’ society was confronting a total melt down, have so many challenging issues consumed the thoughts of the average individual. Global warming is causing glaciers to disappear at alarming rates. Weather patterns are weird and getting weirder. Everywhere we turn there seems to be a new social conflict involving the increasingly horrific use of weapons and violence against innocent individuals. And the ultimate “law of the jungle” anxiety is each individual’s question about how they are going to personally survive in a world that has no real new jobs. Sadly, as the impact of all of these concerns begin to add up, the job of the radical terrorist to replace their inventory of “human bombs” is getting easier and easier. However, just as with the top down pursuit of “economic justice”, world peace in today’s environment is well beyond the capacity of governments’ and politicians’ abilities to design and implement real, result-oriented peace solutions. Despite the desperate need for the 196 countries in the world to function as a collaborative group of problem solvers, politicians still focus on the pursuit of selfish advantages for themselves, their country and their voting constituents. Sadly, the political environment nearly everywhere in the world is still driven by a politician’s ability to deliver increased advantages to their voting citizens. Clear evidence of this in the United States is how hard state governments work at providing relocation incentives to existing companies that are currently operating in other “political arenas”. If, and when a state manages to convince a company to relocate to their political district, the cry goes up that the politicians responsible for the relocation activities are truly “economic development” gurus. In reality all that has occurred is one area’s pain has been transferred to another area with little gain except for the “ultra rich”, controllers of wealth who reap

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the bottom line benefits of increasing profits realized from the relocation incentives. While it would be great to suggest that an effective, bottom up, economic development strategy capable of creating hundreds of thousands and even millions of meaningful jobs that pay a living wage will deliver World Peace, but sadly it will not under the existing global conditions. While enhancing neighborhood economies with an explosion of local, new ventures will be an effective path for addressing the job challenge, until it reaches the areas where the terrorists are actually operating, there will continue to be little if any pressure to “stop” their counter-productive actions. Certainly no one wants to see their employment situation affected by “military violence” but confronting deadly terrorists willing to annihilate themselves in an effort to kill and injure as many innocent people as possible is not a path that is going to be pursued by even the most happily employed individual. The ability to create jobs paying a living wage is certainly a starting point to address the desire for global peace, but it is just that, a starting point. The true path to global peace will come from a similar bottom up strategy. It will start with the “hope” that the future will be better than today. It must be joined with a solution that not only allows but also encourages local individuals to assemble and pass along detailed information about the existence of “anti-social” activities and individuals in their neighborhood area of existence. Luckily technology advancements have created a variety of digital environments where the promotion of “neighborhood peace” is truly a possibility in the next 3 to 5 years. Critical requirements for that to happen include: Global, Social Information Exchange: As technology and network connections continue to expand, these new information exchange tools must begin to be leveraged the desire for peace in the form of a properly focused, international social network. The obvious starting point for these networks are those areas that regularly experience the random violence of these evil terrorist organizations. Average citizens must be encouraged to honestly communicate with their social peers around the world. It is important that the exchange of ideas, commercial opportunities and collaborative communications occur between individuals and are not limited to government pronouncements and messages from nationally fo-

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cused, media sources. Amazingly, parents are parents no matter where they are located in the world and confront similar parental challenges. The world desperately needs to begin talking / communicating directly to each other. As these “global friendships” begin to reach out around the world, care must be taken to make sure that radical, social terrorists do not enter into these networks and disrupt the positive intent of this true “social” collaboration. While the general internet users want to maintain the general absence of controlling rules and laws, these social peace networks will be free to develop and apply whatever regulations necessary to maintain free speech while keeping out the anti-social terrorist individuals. As an example of this “bottom up” network against terrorism and crime, a recent article in the New York Times entitled “The Media Does Not Care What Happens Here” written by Matthew Shaer 10 describes a “media collective” that employs common individuals to gather and distribute information about criminal activities to the community in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. This daily information is distributed across a cell phone application named “Whatsapp” which provides access to the major social networks in the area. This initiative also linked with a global “bottom up” media organization named Witness which promotes (and supports) citizen journalism, which has promoted an evolution of the criminal justice system that aids in the prosecution of the identified criminal (or terrorist). Real Time Translation Services – The single most important technology that must follow the adoption path of the cell phone is an accurate, real time translation service that will allow average individuals to communicate with each other freely, candidly and in a common and friendly manner. When one steps back and looks closely at the operational structure of the world today, communication is very rarely person to person but rather a series of sensationalized communiqués of political leaders “telling” their constituents what they “want” them to know delivered through media organiza-

“The Media Doesn’t Care What Happens Here”, New York Times, by Matthew Shaer (2/18/15). 10

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tions that are driven by their advertisement revenues. It is exciting to envision the long-term impact of individuals living in foreign cultures communicating directly with similar individuals in other locations that are confronting similar challenges to their on-going survival. People in general are so extremely busy on a day-to-day basis just trying to survive that developing a true understanding of their neighborhood is challenging let alone accurately understanding an entire culture located thousands of miles away. But what if caring “parents” were speaking to other caring “parents” in another country about clever ways to help their children become better students and lead happier lives. Suddenly, the interaction of the individuals is not about political disagreements but about issues that are critically important and common to both participating parties. Just as meaningful job development can no longer function as a top down activity, international interactions also need to become a “bottom up” exercise. If I am going to go to war and risk the lives of my children, I would much rather negotiate with parents who are confronting a similar decision to risk the lives of their children to resolve the confrontational issues. Commercial Skilling “Apprenticeships” as an Alternative to Military Service for Young Adults – Just as the terrorist are employing the seemingly hopeless employment environment to attract supporters across the global social networks, the frustrating details of the current college / university are driving more and more high school graduates to “enlist” in the military as the best of “bad post graduation options”. This trend of choosing military over academics is growing despite the fact that the United States and nearly every other country in the world is desperately striving to improve the employability of their citizens by pouring ever more money into their education infrastructure. The sad truth is that year-to-year results continue to identify that few graduates possess the skills necessary to make immediate commercial contributions to the small businesses that are actually offering employment opportunities. Further exacerbating this problem is the fact that few, if any academic institutions are skilling people in the processes and procedures necessary to actually create financially sustainable new businesses, which are capable of providing meaningful jobs for the growing number of unemployed and

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underemployed individuals. As an example, there is a screaming need for the ability to “identify and evaluate” commercial opportunities. This has created an exciting opportunity for governments to create subsidized service alternatives for high school graduates that will allow them to “work with modern companies” in intern / apprentice type relationships where their supporting wages (not unlike soldiers that are being paid to deliver the forces in support of military conflicts) are paid by the government. Obviously, small businesses will benefit from the “free availability” of hungry interns looking to actually acquire the skills necessary to enhance the impact of their on-going employability. Areas of focus might include the skills necessary to deliver effective digital marketing and sales strategies and services, the creation of compelling websites and the ability to leverage available cell phone applications to provide much needed survival services (i.e. on line, localized job service, product delivery for extremely poor communities without vehicles, health care advice where no trained doctors are available) to the ultra-poor in urban and remote areas around the world. It is not unthinkable that these modern commercial apprenticeships could start as early as late middle school or early high school. This strategy will not only send a message that the focus / objective of the academic exercise is enhancing the participant’s employability but it will also send the much needed message of hope that the job world is getting better and may provide a real improvement in the person’s future. It is hard to imagine the power of telling unemployed individuals the details about how meaningful jobs that pay a livable wage and will allow the average human to actually participate in the resulting wealth, to begin to move forward in their geographical neighborhood. It should also be pointed out that if this expanding “global apprenticeship program” is effectively connected through modern information exchange networks, there will be an explosion in “virtual companies” that draw their staff from different countries around the world. As the commercialization staffs of more companies become truly global in nature, accurate multi-cultural communications will explode and it will become increasingly hard for politicians to successfully promote support for a war against the country where a company’s employees are physically located. This “virtualized commercial society” strategy will also provide an effective

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solution to the increasingly polarized challenges of immigration into and / or out of countries that are concerned about losing their best and brightest through their relocation to other countries in the search for meaningful jobs and a better future. Virtual companies can leverage the skills from individuals located anywhere in the world without challenging the ever more restrictive global immigration programs. Just as the “hope” for a meaningful job will reduce the number of vulnerable recruiting targets for the increasingly violent terrorist groups, moving a growing number of high school students and graduates into apprenticeship or skilling programs will reduce the number of young people willing to sign up for military services. With fewer soldiers and higher prices to attract them, the willingness to quickly wage war as a solution for political disagreements should decline dramatically.

SUMMARY

The current global environment appears to be increasingly controlled and even threatened by a rapidly expanding trio of threats: Expanding Number of Increasingly Violent Terrorists: The global terrorist community which has been under severe pressure since the 9 / 11 tragedy appears to have changed its identity and is successfully leveraging the downward economic spiral to recruit a growing number of members from western cultures. This has become a growing concern given their willingness to publicize their increasingly violent and especially bloody forms of social reprisal. The worry is that these combined trends could see “armies” of terrorists carrying explosive devices into innocent crowds as a way to express their loss of hope for a better future. Even more horrific is the time when these groups learn to master modern drone technologies. Possible Solution: As was stated at the beginning of this discussion, governments in developing countries must “begin to purchase “tractors” for a variety of commercial sectors that will make “protesting and violence” more costly than the long term positive impact of a meaningful job. Growing Income / Wealth Gap: As the 100 year old, large corporation job creation engine disappears in the pursuit of ever high-

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er profits, the global income / wealth gap continues to expand at an alarming rate. The lack of meaningful jobs paying a living wage has become the single greatest challenge for over half of the world’s population. This global trend is creating a rapidly increasingly number of people who have lost hope about the possibility of a better tomorrow. These conditions seem to be driving a growing number of individuals to listen to the recruiting pitches of the “terrorist community” and the justifications for attacking developed societies.

Possible Solution: The best strategy for attacking this problem is to introduce bottom up, neighborhood driven, new business initiatives that will enhance the local economy, which in turn will support the creation of additional jobs that provide exciting new products and services as well as reward their participation in the ongoing wealth building activities. Workers must be clearly and simply encouraged about the value of their ideas for improving the company’s products and / or services. A company’s chance for long term financial success grows exponentially when each and every worker understands the importance of collectively delivering the best product or service possible.

Global Peace Seems Ever Farther Away: As bad as the increasingly violent terrorism trend seems to be, the fact that political and social conflicts are still solved with violent wars (that kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, destroy critical dwellings, transportation infrastructure and public utilities and creates an alarming number of political refugees living in slum-like conditions) may be the worst problem of all. While the introduction of localized strategies that begin to create a growing number of meaningful jobs paying livable wages will inject an element of hope for many individuals who would rather work than blow themselves up, the power of that hope is of little value in world that tends to solve every conflict with “boots on the ground” type invasions. Possible Solution: The best solution for a global environment of peace is for the “developing countries around the world” to join forces for the introduction of meaningful “skilling” opportunities to young people who would love the chance to work for a promising new venture rather than pulling on a military uniform and taking up arms in order to kill their fellow humans that are facing the

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same seemingly hopeless future that they are. Through global collaboration of workers caring for other workers, non-violent solutions will begin to be the primary path for conflict resolution. The importance of random and active global communication among global individuals cannot be over-emphasized. We need to communicate with each other at a common level and expand beyond having our “elected politicians” tell us about the rest of the world.

CHAPTER 9 ERADICATION OF CHILD POVERTY AS THE CORNERSTONE FOR WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT VARGHESE M. DANIEL INTRODUCTION

Poverty damages children, obliterates their dreams, enthusiasms, optimism and prospects. Child poverty is a term which has echoed around the world for many centuries. Hundreds of studies have been documented and affirm that child poverty contributes chronic illness, permanent disability and unexpected death in childhood. Many national and international organizations have been intensively combating this problem for many years. But the problem remains in developed and developing countries and many governments have failed to eradicate these social problems completely. The contemporary global trend is to conceal child poverty under the smoke of “economic booming” and scientific expansion. Neglecting a considerable number of children and their holistic growth will affect the quality and quantity of labor force and a country’s development. The former President of the United States Franklin D Roosevelt rightly said, “The test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we provide enough to those who have little” Amartya Sen and Martha Nassbaum rightly said that development is not based on fulfilling desires (utility or consumption measured by proxy for income such as per capita gross domestic product), as this does not take sufficient evaluative account of the physical condition of the individual or of a person’s or child’s capabilities (Sen, 1999., Nassbaum, 2000). Hence the labor force and development of the 185

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country are mainly dependent upon the holistic development of a child. Unless we address the child poverty level of a country, which has a high population of children, it is irrelevant to foresee the development of the country or its labor force.

THE CURRENT FACE

It is a dreadful fact that “one third of all human lives end in early death from poverty-related causes” (Pogge, 2005) and every day 26,500 children die due to poverty (Shah, 2008). The other interesting fact is that “the high income countries, 955 million citizens, by contrast have about 81% of the global product” (Pogge, 2005) while more than five billion people have only 19% of the global product. It is shocking that even in the United States the National Center for Children in Poverty reports that 13 million children in America live in poverty (Cureton, 2011). These real pictures of world poverty and social inequality within the national and international scenarios have a harmful effect on the growth of millions of children around the world. In the post-modern world almost all countries focus on their economic growth and on spending millions of dollars for developing war weapons, for sophisticated technological progress and for expanding their territory to Mars. This ‘progress’ is interpreted as the welfare and development of a country. However, at the same time, millions of children live in abandonment and utter poverty. If such poverty denies children their fundamental human rights, then on what basis can we declare this ‘progress’ as true welfare and development? This is a real picture not only in the so called “third world countries” or developing countries but also the studies from the “richest” countries such as USA (Nichol, 2014., Glasmeier, 2014., UNICEF, 2012), New Zealand, (Boston and Chapple, 2014) UK (Combat Poverty Agency, 2005), Switzerland and Germany (Gornick and Jantti, 2010) confirm that child poverty is a visible reality, which cannot be concealed by refined machines and technological development.

THE PREDICTABLE ADVERSITIES

Freedom from poverty is an indispensable need for human prosperity (Pogge, 2007). Extreme poverty can cause permanent damage to the physical health of a child and they may be victims of chronic illnesses. Physicians and Scientists identified a number of

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common medical problems including adult cardiovascular diseases, strokes and certain cancers, and a slower biological development of a child, bearing roots to child poverty. (Shokoff, Boyce and McEwen, 2009, Gluckman Hanson, Cooper and Thornburg, 2008., Coe and Lubach., 2003). Premature mortality has also been a major cause of child poverty (Hertzman and Boyce, 2010, Galobards, Lynch and Smith, 2008). The emotional and mental growth of children stunt or distort their development and destroy the opportunities for their unique accomplishment. Researches from the universities in the USA, Canada, the UK and Colombia assert that poverty directly impedes cognitive function (Mani, Mullainathan, Shafir and Zhao, 2013).The mental illness of severe depression, learning difficulties, disability to cope with stress and pain and various other psychiatric disorders is closely related to child poverty, which affects the brain development of a person negatively (Luby, Belden, Botteron, … and Barch, 2013). The inability to afford health insurances or the cost of hospital bills keep poor children from accessing medicines or treatments at the right time. This can also lead to short span expectancy or permanent disability. Poor housing facilities are also associated with child poverty (Brooks-Gunn and Duncan, 1997). Inadequate housing impinges on the physical and psychological health and development of children. Most of the time, these problems can be irretrievable. Lead paint and asbestos, for example, can be a reason of developmental and behavioral problems. High lead levels in the blood of a child can have a destructive result on young children, affecting virtually every system of the body (Feit, Mathee, Harpham and Barnes, 2014). Unfortunately, asbestos is still used in many low- and middle-income countries around the world. Its use is predicted to lead to much future unnecessary illness and death especially among the children (Zota, Atchley and Woodruff, 2013). The population of children living in low-income families without health insurance faces an acute shortage of medications and increasing their vulnerability to improper treatment facilities (Waldman, Cannella and Perlman, 2012). This might cause short-term life expectancy and disability and ultimately affecting the labor pool of the country. The atrocities of child poverty extend to the social development of children. The evolution of social intelligence is a vital part for the integration of a person to society. Poverty curbs the socialization process of a child in many ways. Studies prove that there are

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links between early poverty and potentially harmful effects in the later development of a child such as earnings, work hours, criminal arrests, school achievements, social integrity and adaption to society (Duncan and Magnuson, 2013, Nikulina, Widom, and Czaja, 2011). Lack of social development and integration to society, create diverse problems in career development and in work places. The new work culture in global markets demands social and moral intelligences to work with different people from various backgrounds. So the elimination of poverty needs to be prioritized for labor force development. It also restricts the roles which children are expected to play successfully as they get older in family, community and society. Freedom from poverty shapes a child’s mind towards society and fellow beings. Many studies reveal that criminal mentality can also be a byproduct of child poverty. When poor children face severe starvation or become victims of terrible inequality, there is always a chance for the evolution of a criminal mind. A major research study from Cambridge University focusing on the influence of poverty on the development of criminal attitudes found that the children from the poorest families when developed to adults were two and a half times more likely to be convicted of a violent crime, than those from wealthier families (Farrington, 1989). Living in poverty during earlier years of childhood (age 6 to 11) creates a future potential risk of a child becoming involved in violence, than compared to children living in poverty during the age 12 to 14 (Hawkins, Herrenkohl, … and Harachi, 1998). Hence the eradication of child poverty will helps to develop healthy citizens, who could provide valuable contribution to the development and welfare of the country.

THE THEORETICAL FRAME WORKS

The various theoretical and rational arguments can be helpful in achieving the goals of eradicating child poverty (Barry and Pogge, 2005). The current theoretical approaches such as utilitarianism, perfectionism and intuitionism, especially in developing countries like India, must be critically analyzed because in the current theoretical structure, good is understood as happiness. But in a welfare society this is not the subject matter of justice, where the equal liberties and rights of all are taken as settled.

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John Rawls’ theories of justice (Rawls, 2009) and Mahatma Gandhi’s theory of decentralization (Gandhi, 1962) and Amartya Sen’s theory of capabilities (Sen, 1999) are so relevant in the context of establishing basic justice for children. I am not arguing one of these theories is better than the other especially in pursuit of eradication of child poverty. Rather I have reason to debate that they are complimentary and contributory according to the circumstances. Rawls emphasizes that the unified systems of the major political, social, and economic institutions distribute fundamental rights and duties, and determine the appropriate distribution of benefits and burdens. He strongly believes that the basic structure of society has a profound effect on people’s opportunities in life. Gandhi also emphasizes that the decentralization of the basic structure of the society may provide comprehensive development for the people, especially to the children who are called “the promise for tomorrow.” Sen’s capability theory explains that a functioning of all the faculties is an achievement of a person: what she or he manages to do or be. Both being and doing are important for the well-being of a person. Capabilities signify a person’s opportunity and ability to generate valuable outcomes, taking into account relevant personal characteristics and external factors. So in the pursuit of eradicating child poverty and increasing the labor force, it is pertinent to have both individual and institutional focused approaches to make capable people and warriors for the war against child poverty.

THE STRATEGIES

There is no simple or one solution or strategy for eradicating child poverty. There are different effective strategies in different levels which are essential to eradicate child poverty. Local, national and international political bodies and organizations are making tremendous and unequivocal efforts to execute every program towards the completion of this goal. The following suggestions could be considered as effectual actions to end child poverty and to develop labor force for the welfare of a nation. Enforcing Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and

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well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services” (Law, 1949). Every nation should take this declaration seriously and work for the enforcement of this right. Poverty is a denial of human rights. This denial needs to be considered a major crime and it should be considered as one of the passive ways of killing others when officials utilize public money for self-interests. The revealing information from the Swiss banks is shocking. Many politicians have illegal money, which has been stolen from poor citizens. It must be brought back to the countries and the money utilized for programs for the eradication of poverty. Since political red tape and corruption slow the eradication of poverty, we cannot imagine increasing incomes of a country as the main solution to this effort. The endeavor to localize individual human rights is not enough to eradicate the social evil of poverty. This human right concern needs a universal approach. This aspect was emphasized in the Vienna Declaration “all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated. The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis” (Vienna Declaration, para, 5, 1993). Nations emphasize and stand as the guardians of the civil and political rights of an individual. However it is so important to understand that the prominence of civil and political rights cannot exist unless and without protecting the physical and mental needs of a child. Providing Nutritious Food Hunger for food is the most intense feeling for any living being. In many countries there are certain programs to reduce the adversity of food scarcity. Sometimes it is provided as food coupons or rations for low income or no income families. However in many countries these resources are not reaching to the grass root level. The corrupted system in political hierarchies in many countries especially at local levels of governments utilizes the fund and the programs for the poor to the wealthy families. It results in the extra poor continuing in poverty and there is no advocate for their rights to get the food coupons or rations. Most of the times there is no proper place or official to hear their cry. However the increase of breakfast and lunch programs within schools is one of the most effective methods towards reducing child poverty. This is an ongo-

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ing program in many countries in developed nations. Also programs like Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) and SNAP (food stamps) have been found to be very effective ways to reduce child poverty. It has been reported that the EITC and CTC together kept 9.4 million people, including nearly 5 million children, out of poverty in America. However many nations are unable to run these programs due to the lack of funding. International communities should focus on these programs and provide funds directly to the schools. To enable easier accessibility to nutritious food for infants, the local, governmental and Non-Profitable Organizations (NGOs) should develop initiates to facilitate young mothers and pregnant women. Providing Adequate Shelter Addressing the vital problem of hunger and child poverty paves the way towards providing better shelter. As said in the beginning, poor housing dangerously affects the health of children. In some developing countries, children live on the streets in unhygienic and dangerous conditions. The absence of proper tax systems or rather lack of tax law enforcement accelerates the number of children living on the streets. Rental assistance for low-income families and housing schemes for the poor are the primary solutions for this problem. Government, NGOs and global organizations jointly work together to tackle the housing for the poor. Several governments initiated many programs towards this goal (Gilbert, 2014). However many of these programs were aborted due to the lack of proper funding and the existence of corruption. Free or subsidized housing alone is not substantial to make a long-term effective change in the lives of poor children unless the capabilities of the growing person are nurtured. Offering Appropriate Education It is impossible to increase labor force and accelerate a country’s progress without educating and training one’s own citizens for different skills. Education has immense power to eradicate poverty and increase labor force. Education converts the raw human person into productive ‘human capital’ by inculcating the skills required by both the conventional sector and the modern sector of the economy (Chiswick, 1982). This productivity of human educa-

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tion creates a better household to feed the family. Government, society and individuals need to believe that investment to train people for the purpose of human capital produces more economic and social growth, than physical capital investment. In general, the present educational system has been unsuccessful in identifying the talents of kids in the early stages of their childhood and training them for a particular job. A research study confirms that the unemployment rate for youth invariably exceeds that for the economy as a whole, contributing to a variety of social problems including poverty (Hanushek, Woessmann and Zhang, 2011). The general tendency of college and university presentations about new courses persuades a large number of students to enroll in new courses. This makes the traditional course or training areas less attractive for students which then contributes to the scarcity of skilled labor forces in particular areas. Some argue for the elimination of skilled focused vocational education as a separate track in secondary schools, on the argument that specific skills become obsolete too quickly and that it is necessary to provide people the ability to adapt to new technologies and to face new challenges. Hence countries like the United States stress vocational education that develops specific jobrelated skills in order to prepare students to work in specific skilled occupations. Some others emphasize that general education is better because it provides students with broad knowledge and basic skills in mathematics, science, technology and communication and serves as the foundation for further learning and on the-job training. Countries like Germany follow this method and have a “dual system” which provides extensive vocational education and training at the secondary level – sometimes with direct involvement of industry through apprenticeships (Hanushek, Woessmann and Zhang, 2011). The preferred method really depends on the present situation of the country. Some countries need specific skilled workers within a short period of time so a long waiting period may not be realistic in this situation. However, higher education should be open to everyone who has the talent and the inclination to develop academically and practically. Undeniably a job-oriented education is one of the key factors in eliminating child poverty. Early identification of special skills or talents in children will allow them to develop these skills in early life. This will open a career path and facilitate their triumph over the adversities of poverty.

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Building up Ethos Excluding moral values from the classroom’s syllabus creates moral anarchy and contributes a considerable ingredient to the problem of child poverty. Lack of moral capital leads people to live in fractured relationships with behavioral problems and personality clashes. They often miss good work ethics, personal responsibility and integrity. Being smart alone cannot create the good citizens necessary to provide valuable contributions to the development and welfare of the country. Being good is an essential criterion to build a community and join in the effort to eradicate poverty. It is necessary to develop self-control in order to lead a productive life. Broken families, parental abuse, bearing children outside marriage, drug use, uncontrolled alcohol use and technology addictions produce more lazy people. Finally they will depend on the taxpayer’s money and they will be in the street. Research has shown that a lack of stability in family relationships is the main cause of child poverty in the developed world such as the USA (Rector and Johnson, 2002, Manning and Lamb, 2003, Corcoran and Adams, 1997). Loss or separation from parents affects children’s mental and social development and makes them vulnerable and insecure. Pediatricians also state very clearly “playing provides time for parents to be fully engaged with their children, to bond with their children, and to see the world from the perspective of their child” (Milteer, Ginsburg, Mulligan, … and Swanson, 2012). Broken families actually damage the prospects of their children. Hence it is absolutely important to introduce more programs to strengthen family relationships and free counseling for premarital and post marital couples. The moral strength of the community is an important impetus in reducing child poverty. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (UNCRC) emphasizes the physical, social and psychological wellbeing of a child (articles 6–37). This holistic growth will be able to produce responsible persons, who therein will create a better world deprived of child poverty. Returning to the land Sophisticated technological and industrial revolutions bring several opportunities to all countries. However the concentration of governments only on these opportunities is not helpful in reducing child poverty. The vacant millions of acres in many countries could

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be transformed into revenue resources if the lands are distributed to landless farmers. Subsidies, proper irrigation systems and ongoing support from the agricultural department will produce more crops and will make farmers experts. Even younger children can learn the basic skills for farming from their families. The Amish community in Pennsylvania, a community of farmers, never reported child poverty (Lapping, 1997). Their rural agricultural lifestyle, without using any modern technologies, automobiles and even electricity, is a model for countries that are not utilizing their idle land. Governments should allow their citizens, who struggle to find food for their children, to cultivate their land.

THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

The end of child poverty and increasing the source of skilled labor force will shape better human recourses for a country. However a situation with overpopulated skilled and educated laborers will not nurture development and welfare. Here we need a global perspective to encourage international cooperation to help each country to develop its own wellbeing. The scarcity of the labor force in the developed countries compelled them to introduce new laws related to immigration and foreign labor markets. For the last 40 years migration of workers from over populated countries such as China and India to developed nations such as the USA, Australia, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Germany helped them to expand their economy to some extent. Migration and open markets facilitate more opportunities for skilled laborers and their families (Bhagwati, 2007). At the same time their hard work contributes to boosting the economy and developing their adopted countries. Migrant communities also contribute enormously to their home countries. Their families and relatives in their home countries also benefit from this transition. India and China are the top two recipients of overseas remittances, with India receiving US$71 billion and China with US$60 billion in 2012. Other countries such as the Philippines (US$26 billion), Mexico (US$22 billion) and Nigeria (US$21 billion) are also large recipients of these remittances (Münz, 2014). Not only does money flow to the families but also new ideas, innovations and capital investments in different areas of human development. As such the shortage of labor forces in some developed countries and the increases of skilled human laborers in the developing world are being managed. Obviously there is the chance of a

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decline in the labor force, which can be predicted by the growing aging population in the developed countries and their declining fertility rate. For example Germany and Japan, two main contributors to world production, face critical challenges pertaining to their low birth rate (Véron and Pennec, 2007). But at the same time there is always a chance for increasing the number in the labor force in developing countries, where the fertility number is stable or increasing. Some countries like Australia have foreseen this vital problem and are promoting baby booms by giving a considerable amount of money to the newborn’s parents and tax credits to their families. Yet they promote immigration of selected skilled laborers to overcome the immediate danger of the shortage of professionals in the near future.

CONCLUSION

The welfare and development of a country is deeply coupled with many aspects. The holistic growth of each citizen is one of the most important goals on this path. However child poverty is a stumbling block for this pursuit and decreases the labor force of a country. The critical analysis of the situation of child poverty within a global perspective affirms that extreme poverty may cause permanent damage to the physical and mental growth of children, stunt and distort their development and destroy opportunities of fulfillment, including the roles they are expected to play in family, community and society in their older years. The basic structure of a society has a clear link to the cause of social injustice to children, which is a violation of fundamental human rights. The economic booming and the growing wealth of nations may not solve the problem of child poverty and the denial of social justice to children. The reconstruction of the basic structure of society with primary social goods and decentralization is necessary and it could offer a profound boost to people’s opportunities in life. The eradication of child poverty could pave the way for the meaningful definition of welfare and justice. Protection of human rights to children could save children from living on the streets, reducing crime rates and building-up peace initiatives, thereby promoting human holistic flourishing. In order to build a strong labor force, military and economy, we must end child poverty and seek to reflect the most basic tenets of opportunity for the most vulnerable. Saving, nurturing and directing each child to the right path will enable an

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increase in the source of labor force of the country and ultimately promote the development and welfare of a country.

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Nikulina, V., Widom, C. S., & Czaja, S. (2011). The role of childhood neglect and childhood poverty in predicting mental health, academic achievement and crime in adulthood. American Journal of Community Psychology, 48(3–4), 309–321. Nussbaum, M. C. (2000). Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach. Cambridge University. Pogge, T. W. M. (2007). John Rawls: His Life and Theory of Justice. Oxford University Press. Rawls, J. (2009). A Theory of Justice. Harvard university press. Rector, R., & Johnson, K. A. (2002). The Effects of Marriage and Maternal Education in Reducing Child Poverty. Center for Data Analysis Report No. CDA02–95. Heritage Foundation. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford University Press. Shah, A. (2008). Global food crisis 2008. Global Issues, 10. Véron, J., Pennec, S., & Légaré, J. (2007). Ages, Generations and the Social Contract. Springer. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. (1993). UN. Waldman, H. B., Cannella, D., & Perlman, S. P. (2012). Dentistry and childhood poverty in the United States. Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry, 37(1), 113–116. Zota, A., Atchley, D., & Woodruff, T. (2013). The Intrauterine Environment and Early Infancy. Textbook of Children’s Environmental Health, 117, Oxford University Press.

CHAPTER 10 GLOBALIZATION AND THE OIL INDUSTRY – CURRENT CHALLENGES AND EMERGING TRENDS JOE VARUGHESE INTRODUCTION

Oil – called “Black Gold” by some commodity traders – is currently going through another cyclical price swing. As a globally produced and consumed commodity, the oil price and its fluctuation is a reflection the overall state of the world economy. But it is more than that – the oil price is the result of a complex web of influences that go beyond the mere mechanics of supply and demand. The oil market is a field where companies’ and states’ interests are negotiated on a global scale. Ever since the emergence of the OPEC cartel, it has been obvious that oil production can be used as a powerful lever in international relations (Varughese, p. 7). Added to this are globally emerging trends such as stricter environmental protection and sustainable energy technologies that aim to replace fossil fuels. It is clear that oil producing companies are facing numerous challenges today. This paper will give a general overview of the oil industry and important players in the market and describe the challenges and threats faced by them under the current market conditions. It will give recommendations on key industry controls required for the long-term sustainability of the oil market.

OVERVIEW: GLOBAL OIL PRODUCTION

After floating between $80 and $110 per barrel from 2011 to mid2014, oil prices have fallen with prices reaching as low as $26 per barrel for the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude. Oil is current199

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ly ranging between $40–$55 per barrel. When the price of oil decreases its impact extends to oil – exporting companies, oil companies, and supporting service companies. The current oil price fluctuation is based mainly on supply and demand conditions, which in turn depend on general economic settings. In the past, oilproducing countries under the leadership of OPEC controlled the market price through supply-side economics. In the last decade, markets have changed due to an increase in production in many formerly low-producing regions. $80 to $110 per barrel prices supported the increased production. This new supply reduced OPEC’s ability to control supply with a resulting impact on price. The low oil price we are currently experiencing is caused primarily by two factors; oversupply in the market and reduced demand within developing countries. The price reached its current range at the start of 2015 and has had some low swings, but appears to be relatively stable within the range. The new low oil price range has mainly impacted oil-exporting countries since 2015, as a result billions of dollars of capital projects have been cancelled and unemployment in certain communities has risen to as much as 12%. The cancellation of capital projects by the oil and gas companies impacted major original equipment manufacturers, engineering and procurement companies, and drilling service companies. It has also impacted government tax revenues. The current price range supports up to a $40 per barrel cost of production. If the current market condition continues, no new projects are expected to be undertaken and the eventually depleting inventories and resources may impact on the balance of market supply and demand. The oil and gas companies are facing numerous challenges. One of them is their being perceived as the major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. The oil price is not controlled by the oil companies, but controlled by the commodity market, with the geopolitical situation playing another key role. North America as a new source of oil production and the expansion of the existing oilproducing countries are causing further challenges to the troubled market situation. Iran and Iraq are back to exporting. It appears that less cooperation among the OPEC countries, which control 30% of the world market share, is another disadvantage for the oil price. The non-OPEC countries started producing more oil and exporting to the market.

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The control of their market share appears to be the key driver behind the current decisions of OPEC. Generally speaking, the OPEC countries have a lower cost of production compared to those outside the organization. The OPEC market strategy appears to be one where they (as low-cost producers) force high-cost producers out of the market by flooding the market with low-cost product. This results in increasing the world oil inventory and lowering oil prices. This, in turn, reduces production in the high-cost of production regions. The end result of low prices is an eventual lowering of world oil inventories. If the present market dynamic continues, the inventory level will be reduced and oil prices will adjust to a higher level. The highcost producers are reacting to low prices by focusing on productivity improvements, cost reduction, and the application of new technologies. With the help of technological innovations and productivity improvements, higher-cost producers can achieve 30–40% level improvements that will bring the higher-cost producers into a viable position at the current oil price level. Increased efficiencies within high-cost oil producers will bring new challenges to supply and demand in the short term. For instance, the changes in the political landscape by the election of Donald Trump to the United States presidency, created new challenges in the global market. The ongoing challenge of environmental regulations, clean energy concepts, inventory levels, and renewable technologies could create another oil crisis in the near future. The industry is very volatile concerning supply and demand on the global economic scale. The challenges to the producers, including logistics, politics, and environmental regulations make the oil industry uniquely interesting to observe.

OIL CRISIS AND GLOBAL ECONOMY

A commodity is a marketable item, the price of which is determined through the market as a whole. Major commodities on the world market are energy, precious metals, and agricultural products. Energy is considered a natural resource and its production is one of the largest industries with billions of dollars of market capital. The energy industry is one of the key industries that contribute towards the growth and advancement of society. Commodity prices are cyclical in nature and the ensuing variations drive the ups and downs

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of the industry. The commodity price depends on multiple factors that directly and indirectly control the market price. The major commodities most relevant for the world economy are precious metals, agriculture, and energy. The energy industry impacts the financial upswing of several countries. It can also be said that energy resources were the center of several world conflicts in the modern era. As industrialization progressed, oil consumption was a major factor in the industrial growth of the G7 countries. Oil as commodity was not easily commercialized in the 1970s, on which several countries such as the USA were heavily dependent. The following table shows the 10 largest oil-producing countries in the world. Table 1: The 10 largest oil-producing countries in the world

Rank

Country

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Russia Saudi Arabia United States China Canada Iraq Iran United Arab Emirates Mexico Kuwait

Production (bbl/day) 10,107,000 9,735,200 9,373,000 4,189,000 3,603,000 3,368,000 3,113,000 2,820,000 2,562,000 2,619,000

Share of global output (Percentage) 14.05% 13.09% 12.23% 5.15% 4.54% 4.45% 4.14% 3.32% 3.56% 2.96%

http://www.whichcountry.co/top-10-largest-oil-producingcountries-in-the-world/#sthash.dhqO26nS.dpuf

The top three oil producers generate 40% of worldwide total production and the United States, in third for production, is the top oil consumer. In the 1970’s, several oil-producing countries formed a cartel known as OPEC to protect their market share. Cartels are associations of suppliers working together to maintain or raise prices, or to divide the market between them and discourage unwelcome competition to the point where it becomes uneconomic and indeed foolish to try and challenge their monopoly. OPEC has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Saudi Arabia is the most prominent member of the cartel and directs major decisions. Although other

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countries have joined OPEC since its formation, Russia, Canada, and the United States are not members. The OPEC countries control 60% of the global market share. In the past, OPEC adjusted its production volume to control the market price, inventory levels, and market shares. In the recent downturn of the oil price, OPEC did not reduce the production volume and allowed the member countries to produce oil slightly above their production quota. Traditionally, oil production methods were based on exploration and the drilling process, both conventional and unconventional. Fossil fuel mining formed a strong alternative to the standard oil production methods when companies started developing techniques to extract and separate oil from the soil. The mining techniques were easily applied to oil situated up to 5000 ft. below the surface. Deeper soil deposits can be extracted through steamassisted gravity drainage. There are several articles available that are related to oil extraction and drilling. Table 2: Major oil consumption countries Country United States China Russia Japan India Germany

Usage by % 21% 16% 6% 5% 4% 3%

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3 /3a/World_energy_consumption.svg/750pxWorld_energy_consumption.svg.png, Jun11, 2014 D

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JOE VARUGHESE Table 3: World regional Population and Energy usage kWh/ capita

Population (million)

Energy use (1,000 TWh)

Region

1990

2008

Growth

1990

2008

Growth

1990

2008

Growth

USA

89,021

87,216

−2%

250

305

22%

22.3

26.6

20%

EU-27

40,240

40,821

1%

473

499

5%

19.0

20.4

7%

China

8,839

18,608

111% 1,141

1,333

17%

10.1

24.8

146%

Middle East

19,422

Latin 11,281 America Africa

7,094

Others*

25,217

India

The World

4,419

19,422

34,774 14,421 7,792 6,280

23,871 21,283

79%

132

28%

355

42%

850

10% Nd

10%

634 1,430

199 462 984

1,140 1,766

51% 30% 55% 34% 23%

5,265 6,688 27%

2.6 4.0 4.5 3.8

36.1 102.3

6.9 6.7 7.7 7.2

42.2 142.3

170% 66% 70% 91% 17% 39%

www.OECD/IEA, Key World Energy Statistics, 2015 www.OECD/IEA, Key World Energy Statistics, 2016 • Energy use = kWh/capita* Mrd. capita (population) = 1000 TWh • Others: Own calculation, includes e.g. countries in Asia and Australia. The use of energy varies between the “other countries”: e.g. in Australia, Japan, or Canada more energy is used per capita than in Bangladesh or Myanmar.

Energy consumption in the G20 countries slowed down to 2% in 2011 after having had a 5% increase in 2010. In 2008, total worldwide energy consumption was 132,000 terawatt hours and in 2012, energy demand increased to 158,000 terawatt hours.

CHALLENGES AND THREATS FACED BY THE INDUSTRY

The oil industry is facing a number of challenges both internally and externally. The internal challenges are the following: New Asset Development A major challenge for the industry is resource depletion and exploration for new capital intensive assets. Capital project costs soared

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due to the rise of materials, service, and labor costs. The cyclical price fluctuation of the oil price has a big impact on capital project spending. In the most recent past, projects worth billions were cancelled due to the low commodity price. Environmental Aspects The oil industry faces higher regulations for CO2 emissions, air and water usage, and pollution. These regulations are not standardized across all regions where oil is produced. Some countries have tougher production requirements compared to others. The recent environmental agreements and initiatives keep adding challenges to the industry. Carbon capturing is one of the measures undertaken by the major players in order to reduce emission levels. Water usage is another alarming trend that has raised environmental concerns. In the past decade, there were several spills and leakages which resulted in huge environmental and water contamination. Major Consumption Areas and Trends Oil usage has increased over the past decade due to population growth and commercial and industrial expansion. The developing countries are causing a consistent increase in demand. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts a further increase of usage in the future, e.g. from usage in cars and homes. Also, the transportation industries such as air, road, rail, and ocean shipping are going to consume more oil as these industries are expected to grow in the next decade. Table 4: Oil industry usage trend 2013 2040 Light duty vehicles 58% 48% Heavy duty vehicles 21% 28% Air 9% 12% Marine 4% 4% Pipeline 3% 4% Rail 2% 2% Others 3% 3% www.OECD/IEA, Key World Energy Statistics 2015; www.OECD/IEA, Key World Energy Statistics 2016

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As a result of these developments, oil shipping itself is becoming challenging. Some of the logistical issues and challenges are described below: Logistics The following are the most common methods used for oil shipping • Pipeline • Ocean/cargo • Rail • Surface

Pipeline shipping is considered a safe mode for transportation, but has its own limitations in terms of volume of and distance over which the crude oil can be carried. Recent pipeline projects are receiving substantial attention by politicians and environmental groups alike. Ocean shipments are the main method for carrying the crude from the markets to other countries overseas. Rail shipping is used as a main method of transportation when railway access is possible. Shipments within a relatively small distance are done by trucks and trains. Due to catastrophic spills and leakages that have harmed the environment, transportation regulations were altered to ensure environmental safety. These changes, however, have added more pressure on the producers. The recent oil spills in the Atlantic Ocean caused by British Petroleum and some of the pipeline spillage in North America have created new difficulties for oil producers and shippers with respect to liability issues. Employment In many regions around the world, oil and gas are the main sources of employment. Both on the capital and operational sides of the industry, for every single direct job there are at least ten other dependent jobs generated. The majority of the supporting jobs are related to the supply chain, engineering and drilling services, engineering equipment and material manufacturing, maintenance, and the well services industry. The cyclical variation of the commodity price has an amplified effect in countries that are major oil suppliers and have a higher-than-normal oil industry employment rate.

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Terrorism and Natural Disasters The oil and gas industry is one of the many targets of terrorist activity. Pipelines, oil fields and refining plants are often targeted. Pipelines are the most vulnerable. Incidents in Nigeria, Iraq and Libya are recent examples. In order to protect company assets, security measures have been increased worldwide. Unfortunately, even so, the risk of terrorism in the oil and gas industry is still considered high. Natural disasters such as forest fires, earthquakes, and floods have also impacted the industry. Recent forest fires in northern Canada resulted in a major slowdown of oil production in Alberta (http://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=41701E7ECBE 35-AD48-5793-1642C499FF0DE4CF). Geopolitical Issues The oil industry is connected strongly to the regional geopolitical issues. These developments have affected oil prices in the past and might potentially do so in the future. Both Iran and Iraq are trying to recapture market share and the United States has placed emphasis on energy self-sufficiency. The increase in oil production in the US is another important aspect of the current oil price crisis. The lack of cohesive action between the OPEC and non-OPEC countries is another factor that makes the oil price become unpredictable. Geopolitical rivalries are another significant factor for cooperative efforts to support the oil price in the marketplace. Saudi Arabia is key player with a strong influence for OPEC oil policies. Saudi Arabia can withstand low-price oil by increasing their oil production – which holds their revenues constant. The Saudi Arabian domestic debt is very low compared to other oil-producing countries in the region and Saudi Arabia can drive the high-cost producing countries from the market place (Alkadiri, slide 8–9). The lower oil price is creating challenges within oil production-dependent countries like Venezuela, Russia, and Nigeria. Canada is also impacted in terms of its national and regional economy and the value of the Canadian dollar. The lack of a cohesive worldwide oil pricing strategy has created risk factors that impact the entire economies of these countries. OPEC’s ability to control the market share will be a key factor for the stability of the oil price in the market.

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Oil Price and Stock Levels It appears that the oil price and stock levels are related and stock levels are driving the price when the global economic impact is factored out. The recent trend observed is that the US inventory levels are one of the key driving factors for the WTI oil price. The US inventory levels are based on supply and demand, seasonal factors such as weather conditions, seasonal usage, etc. The current US inventory levels are also determined by domestic production and oil import from overseas (http://oilprice.com Page 63, May 25, 2015). Alternate Energy Sources There are a number of alternate energy sources under development to offset the impact of the oil in the market. The following are some of the major energy sources: • Solar energy • Wind power • Nuclear power • Thermal energy

These are going to serve as new energy sources. The capital cost for developing them is still going through development.

RECOMMENDATIONS ON KEY FIELDS OF ACTION

To reduce the likelihood of another rollercoaster oil price ride in the future, responsible oil and gas development is required from the oil companies and has to be supported by the governments. A responsible development includes the consultation of key stakeholders and an environmental balance. Oil and gas production and exploration have a bigger environmental foot print including green gas emissions. Responsible oil and gas development The oil companies need to consider future responsible oil and gas development projects (http://www.suncor.com/sustainability/ about-our-report-on-sustainability, Page 12.). Typically, the oil industry impacts air, water, and land through their exploration and production. Air quality in an oil production region is impacted by the amount of carbon dioxide released to the environment during

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the oil processing process. The impacts on water are mainly its usage in drilling operations or intake during exploration and production operations. There were several incidents related to leakages, spills, and contamination of water through pipeline incidents. The quality of water and air is one of the key concerns for communities where oil and gas companies are operating. Therefore, the oil companies need to consider all avenues to reduce the impact of air, water, and land disturbance for new oil exploration and developments. A number of political regimes enforced stricter environmental regulations and detailed review and stakeholder engagements for the new oil and gas production facilities. The catastrophic events in the oil transportation system created a social uproar against the oil companies. The major oil tankers spills, oil pipeline leaks and explosions, as well as rail and road accidents had major societal impacts. The oil and gas leaks to oceans, seas, and rivers are wasting resources and causing pollution, which in the operating vicinities created stakeholders concerns. Profit margins are shrinking steadily for producers due to the lower market price, longer storage cost, rising production cost due to environmental impacts, and financial contributions to the governments. As part of a responsible development, oil companies need to consider better screening processes for new project selection. Keeping the project cost lower and increasing the project completion with expected project outcome will be another challenge. The deployment of new technologies, lower cost procurement, modular assemblies, and stronger project management will be key factors for new oil and gas development projects. Green Gas Emission Controls Green gas emissions, in simple terms, means carbon dioxide released to the environment during production and exploration activities. Typical hydrocarbon processing operations emit carbon dioxide. New technologies for carbon capturing require less energy for the exploration and production and thus are key solutions for oil companies to reduce their CO2 foot print. Technological advancements are being actively explored by oil companies as to reduce total land and water usage for oil and gas exploration. Productivity improvement and technological innovations are going to help the oil companies with reducing their CO2 emissions (RCE, 2013, ps. 1–10). The major oil producers have started to dedicate a signif-

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icant portion of their capital expenditure towards environmental programmes. Policy for Oil Price Control The current oil price depends on the market demand. There have been at least four major cyclical price fluctuations since the 1988 oil price crisis. The free falling of the oil price or its steep increase is not controlled at any government level. Instead, mainly market sentiments as well as market conditions determine oil prices. To support and ensure responsible development and growth in the industry, more government intervention should be undertaken, with discussions of price controls. World oil demand is expected to grow as predicted by the EIA. Oil consumption mainly originates from industrial, commercial, and individual usage. All three sectors are expected to grow in the developing countries. Alternate sources for oil have been explored but they have not yet been proven reliable for commercial use. The deterioration of the oil price has only brought a disadvantage to alternative energy source development. Solar and wind energy sources have been developed to replace the oil production process. However, these alternative sources have their own limitations when it comes to their growth and replacing oil as a major energy source. Therefore, price control at government level should be a consideration for the new political powers. Cooperation Among Oil-producing Countries The current oil price situation is also caused by a lack of cooperation among the oil-producing countries. The current global daily consumption of oil – around 90 million barrels – is provided for by OPEC and non-OPEC countries (Mabro, 1998, p.8). The OPEC countries control a major portion of the oil production in the world. Non-OPEC countries are also supplying oil to the world market. OPEC does not strictly enforce production quotas among the member companies. Cooperation between oil-producing countries is very important for a stable oil price. Also, cooperation on the governmental level is very important. The current price situation warrants future cooperation among the countries for a responsible development and understanding of price control. The market share control by certain countries may not be practical under the current conditions.

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The oil and gas market is showing reasonable growth and can be expected to maintain and moderate demand increase. Alternate sources are being developed, although their commercial viability cannot be fully verified. Cooperation among the oil-producing countries is important to maintain a market balance. Driving high cost producers from the market may not be a practical option, with productivity improvements and technology development, high-cost producers could bring their cost significantly lower to compete with low-cost producers. The rivalry among the producers may not be a practical solution concerning market stability. Instead, support, cooperation and cutting back on production levels are the key for long-term oil price sustainability. Oil is a natural resource and it is going to deplete as more exploration and production occur. The oil industry is currently facing tougher environmental challenges to operate and meet all regulatory requirements. Carbon tax is one form of tax imposed by some governments to comply with tighter environmental regulations. The oil industry is also facing terrorism-related challenges in numerous oil-producing countries. In some countries, oil production facilities have been forced to close their operations due to environmental challenges. Yet, the industry is helping major countries with growth and employment opportunities.

CONCLUSION

This paper provides an outline of the current state of the oil industry and the emerging challenges and trends it is facing. Among the long-term factors that impact the industry, the role of OPEC continues to be of major importance. Increased cooperation between OPEC members and non-members oil producing countries needs to occur in order to stabilize oil prices. Other recent developments that impact oil prices include alternative energy sources and technological advances in the oil industry. Adopting alternative energy sources will result in a lowering of demand for oil, which will in turn reduce the price of oil. Technological advances in the oil industry will lower the production cost of oil, allowing more producers to remain competitive at lower prices. This will increase the supply of oil available at any given price and may further lower the price of oil. Another very important challenge facing oil producers is in many regions of the world is heightened environmental concern.

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This pressure on oil producers to improve their ecological footprint will increase costs and may offset gains made in productivity. It is possible for these and other challenges facing the oil industry to be overcome. Cooperation between governments in oil producing countries can reduce much of the uncertainty related to oil production costs and future prices. Cooperation will help to establish a construct of rules and agreements that reduce the uncertainty facing oil producers and can increase stability within the industry. Stability will help ensure the long-term health of the industry.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Varughese, J. (2012, January). OPMA719 Lecture Notes, Chapter 10, Page 23, University of Calgary-Haskanye School of Business, (library archives). www.whichcountry.co/top-10-largest-oil-producing-countries-inthe-world/#sthash.dhq026nS.dquf https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Energy_Consu mption_Outlook_2014.svg, D. June 11, 2014. www.OECD/IEA, 2015 Key World Energy STATISTICS. (2015) and 2016 http://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=41701E7ECBE35-AD485793-1642C499FF0DE4CF; 2016 Fort Mac Murry Fire Alkadiri, R. (n.d.). Middle East Politics And The Future of Oil Markets. Lecture presented at Special presentation for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Calgary. Slide 8-9 http://oilprice.com Page 63, May 25, 2015 http://www.suncor.com/sustainability/about-our-report-onsustainability, Page 12 Mabro, R. (1998). The Oil Price Crisis of 1998 (Rep.). Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Page 8 RCE 2013: Safety, social and air pollutants improving; GHG emissions, water and land use challenges remain. (2013, November 5). Retrieved from http://www.capp.ca/media/news-rel eases/rce-2013-safety-social-and-air-pollutants-improvingghg-emissions-water-and-land-use-challenges-remain, Page 110

CHAPTER 11 PROMOTING PEACE THROUGH EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME GENERATION ABRAHAM JOSEPH AND TAKAKO HAMAGUCHI INTRODUCTION

Most economists are of the view that economic growth benefits nearly all citizens of a country by raising their income, even if not equally, and therefore reduces poverty. The extent to which these benefits are realized in terms of poverty reduction is influenced by the distribution of income. The Nobel Laureate economist Simon Kuznets argued in the 1950s with the famous Kuznets curve hypothesis that as incomes grow in the early stages of development, income distribution would at first worsen and then improve as a wider segment of the population participated in the rising national income. The obvious depth and persistence of poverty that followed through the 1970s created doubts about the ability of economic growth to reduce poverty. Highly restrictive structural adjustment programs in the early 1980s that many of the developing nations are obliged to follow as conditions for the release of loans for closing deficits and stabilizing the economy were widely perceived to deepen poverty, particularly in the short run, casting further doubt on the wisdom of attacking poverty through faster growth. Still, sustaining a rise in the income level of the poor over the long term eventually demand a greater amount of resources, which can be achieved only through economic growth. Another important linkage is that between income and peace. A rise in the income level of people, particularly that of the poor, 213

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accelerates the improvement of their well-being in the first place. It is further found to help reduce the risk of instability in particular in those countries that are suffering from the recurrence of insecurity or are known to be conflict-prone. Socio-economic issues, such as the unequal distribution of assets and opportunities, or even just a perception of unequal distribution, are often considered to have contributed to the outbreak of violence. While to guarantee the minimum income, for example, is not a defining solution to resolving a nation’s divisive issues such as the poor versus the rich, or the disadvantaged versus the privileged, it can certainly be a significant part of it. On the other hand, experience has shown that fragile and conflict-affected countries tend to fail to achieve economic growth without mastering the challenges of security and stability. Further, in order to attain the socio-economic developmental goals, these countries usually have to ensure that peaceful, yet vibrant democratic governance take deep root in the society where the people express their concerns freely and have their basic needs satisfied promptly by the authorities. In other words, there will be no development without peace, while it is also true that there will be no peace without development. Even after peace takes firm hold in these fragile and conflictaffected countries, the disruptions in state institutions during instabilities will continue to affect the delivery of socio-economic programs, which can have a far-reaching impact on the welfare of the people, particularly the poorer, weaker and less fortunate segments of the population. Furthermore, an urgent need to contain postconflict fiscal deficits as accumulated to support combat efforts is likely exert pressure on the recovering nations to drastically cut its initial peacetime budgetary expenditures, including the assistance to the vulnerable. Yet, in order to prevent conflict from recurring and reduce the drivers of conflict in post-conflict countries, we must seek to address upfront economic issues that may fuel resentment and instigate violence among the people such as poverty, deprivations and exclusions, while promoting peace in communities and building the capacity resilience to conflict in people. Measures to create jobs and income-generating opportunities are often fundamental elements of the post-conflict recovery and reconstruction programs. For individuals and communities, regular income from jobs and small-scale business activities can provide

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the means for survival and rehabilitation from war weariness. They are also keys to reaching out and reintegrating ex-combatants and returnees who fled home during conflict. In short, employment and income generation is crucial for instilling peace and building confidence in people and societies.

EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME GENERATION IN THE POSTCONFLICT CONTEXT

Before we discuss employment and income generation in postconflict countries as a means to alleviate war-weariness, encourage social healing and promote peace, it is important to define what we mean by “post-conflict.” Post-conflict refers to the state in which violent conflict has formally ceased. Such situations are commonly marked by a peace agreement and/or intervention by a third party acting under the internationally recognized mandate, such as the United Nations and regional organizations. The purpose of employment and income-generating activities in post-conflict countries is both to accelerate the improvement of well-being for the conflict-affected population and to reduce the risk of a return to conflict. For example, providing jobs is vital for many aspects of the people’s lives at present and for the future for societies that are emerging from years under conflict. Economically, jobs and livelihood assets bring a regular income immediately to the conflict-affected families, revives domestic demand for goods and services and stimulates overall growth of the economy in the end. Politically and socially, providing employment and incomegenerating opportunities gives the people a stake in the peace process. For example, providing youth with jobs, who spent their entire childhood in a violent environment during the years under conflict, means to give them an alternative to violence for applying their energy and talent and expressing their aspirations for their future in the post-conflict society. Employment can also promote social healing, encourage the return of displaced persons and improve social cohesion of the communities, all of which will work to deter the recurrence of conflict. Creating jobs and developing enduring livelihoods is vital for long-term peace and development, but getting concrete results can take many years. The following can be taken into account to ensure the success in these endeavors. Firstly, post-conflict recovery and reconstruction programs, including those on employment and in-

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come generation, must address as effectively as possible the factors that led to the conflict. According to a report by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 40 per cent of post-conflict countries have fallen back into conflict within a decade. Planning has to be based on much more than the narrow technical considerations of economic efficiency and growth simulation. Programs must also expand opportunities and increase inclusiveness throughout the population, including those that belonged to opposing forces in the conflict. All factors that can help mitigate the risk of return to hostilities should be incorporated in the design of these programs. Secondly, clear goals and priorities are critical, because, in the chaotic circumstances that characterize the post-conflict period, everything seems to be needed at once, and there may be many actors with differing priorities. Thus, it is important to keep in mind that in terms of resource allocation and order of execution, humanitarian assistance and longer-term measures such as employment and income generation for those who are still reeling under the impact of conflict and needing urgent relief and rehabilitation compete with other important components of recovery and reconstruction programs, such as those to restore economic governance, stabilize the economy and promote investment in strategic sectors. In defining goals and setting forth priorities for recovery and reconstruction in general, one needs to be aware that a postconflict country is likely to face various trade-offs. These include the trade-off between the need to achieve tasks urgently and the credibility of the government by not ensuring their efficiency or the consultations with the people, the trade-off between the urgency for short-term solutions and the need to make the solutions sustainable, and the trade-off between the need to make drastic reforms with the establishment of a new government and the limited capacities of the new government to undertake such reforms. Thirdly, any post-conflict effort, including on employment and income generation, should be driven by the strong countryowned initiative to ensure that effective leadership is exercised over the country’s reconstruction development policies and strategies as well as in the coordination of its programs. Lastly, the post-conflict employment generation through public works, for example, may bring quick impact, but it cannot be

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substituted for the creation of long-term livelihood. Rather, shortterm actions should incorporate as much as possible the elements of long-term sustainability. Any short-term job creation program should be established in parallel with sustainable employment programs that incorporate skills development and asset creation aspects.

APPROACHES TO THE POST-CONFLICT EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME GENERATION

Promoting job creation is challenging in the best of circumstances, and far more so in the post-conflict context. Advancing employment growth requires a thorough understanding of the underlying economy and market conditions. In the post-conflict countries, there is an urgent need for restoring markets and access to markets for goods, services and labor, which have ceased to function amid the utter collapse of wide-ranging economic institutions. Furthermore, job and livelihood support through the reintegration of excombatants, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) requires continuous monitoring to avoid undermining or reversing early achievements already realized in the communities where social networks and kinships ties that had existed before were destroyed during the conflict. Creating employment of youth, many of whom were either affected or involved directly and indirectly in combat, to tap into their vitality and skills is a particularly difficult challenge. A delicate balance has to be stricken between priority security concerns and equity considerations, especially when targeting specific individuals or groups that were previously involved in conflict, such as ex-combatants and the youth. It is also important in designing the measures for post-conflict job creation and income generation, besides addressing the needs of specific targets such as ex-combatants, to incorporate community-based expectations and tackle upfront possible factors of community resentment such as inequitable access to land and natural resources, which can emerge later as a cause for conflict. A transition from conflict to peace should be seen as a window of opportunity for a positive social and economic change. Socio-economic recovery and reconstruction programs should be managed to benefit, to the extent possible, the entire population. The United Nations Policy for Post-Conflict Employment Creation, Income Generation and Reintegration, formulated in

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2009, provides coherent and comprehensive strategies for promoting post-conflict employment and income generation, which can be considered as a guide for policy-making not only for the United Nations but also the governments of the conflict-affected nations and the humanitarian organizations assisting them in recovery and reconstruction. The policy includes three programming tracks, each with a different focus. Although the three tracks can start at the same time at the end of conflict and all three tracks promote, in one way or another, employment and income generation, each focuses on different though inter-linked themes: Track A on stabilization; Track B on recovery and reintegration in communities; and Track C on long-term job creation and income generation at the national level. In addition, the intensity of the program delivery under the three tracks generally is supposed to peak at different times in the post-conflict period. Track A aims at the provision of immediate employment and basic skills training for the conflict-affected population, especially vulnerable groups such as ex-combatants, returnees, displaced persons, youth and women. Program actions include creating and providing vulnerable groups with emergency temporary jobs, by providing cash-for-work openings and public employment services, as well as basic livelihood and start-up grants including cash aid. Cash-for-work is a collection of small, rapidly implemented projects that allow vulnerable groups to benefit quickly from shortterm income-earning opportunities by clearing debris, restoring the natural resource base and repairing and rebuilding infrastructure. Public employment services make an important connection between job seekers and employment opportunities through identifying immediate job openings by undertaking rapid job market assessments and matching job seekers with vacancies, including those for public works projects. Short-cycle skills training may be also offered under this track to vulnerable groups who have inadequate skills to benefit from employment opportunities emerging in the post-crisis settings, particularly in the areas of construction, transportation, education, health and security. Track A also includes the provision of targeted livelihood and self-employment start-up grants to those who are affected by conflict with substantial losses of livelihoods and income-earning assets such as livestock and seeds. This grant program is primarily meant for supporting the existing commercially-viable activities to

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create an enabling condition for the eventual recovery of the private sector, particularly smallholders and micro businesses. The main goal of Track B is to reactivate local economies and contribute to establishing an enabling environment in each community for driving the long-term growth in employment and income generation. In the ideal environment, communities are expected to be fully equipped not only with necessary technical knowledge and skills for generating employment and incomeearning opportunities, but also with capacities to conduct a participatory and inclusive dialogue among a wide range of stakeholders, including government authorities and traditional institutions, in order to mobilize support from the entire community toward the goal. This process needs to encompass the aspirations of target groups such as ex-combatants returnees, displaced persons, youth and women, as their reintegration to communities hold key to the success of this track. Track B seeks to combine three types of interventions: (i) capacity-building; (ii) community-driven recovery programs; and (iii) local economic recovery measures. Capacity-building refers to strengthening national, regional and local capacities for creating employment and income-generating opportunities in communities. Included in the capacities in this sense are not only government structures, but also traditional institutions. If properly assisted in adapting to the new, post-conflict context, traditional institutions can facilitate the government’s effort in reintegration and reconciliation at grassroots level, while continuing to provide important services to the communities such as utilities and microfinance and extending the reach of these services to the groups that otherwise lack access through the formal sector. Community-driven recovery programs support restoring social and economic capital in the communities such as productive livelihoods and health and education services, as well as community infrastructure including irrigation canals and tanks and roads and bridges. Local economic recovery measures serve as a window of opportunity to assist the communities in the introduction of creative and value-adding income-generating activities, such as highvalue crop cultivation, agro-processing and distribution, renewable energy development and tourism. Track C aims to scale up to the national level the work under Track B on creating an enabling and fulfilling necessary conditions

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for sustained growth in employment and income generation. Since poverty and inequality often emerge as important causes of conflict, programs under this track should pay special attention to social inclusion and elimination of extreme poverty and deprivations, particularly among vulnerable groups and in affected communities. Fostering an enabling environment for long-term employment and income generation involves: (i) support for policies to increase employment; (ii) private sector development; and (iii) conduct of a broad-based dialogue among stakeholders on the country’s development goals for the future. Samples of measures that may be taken under this track include: macroeconomic stabilization policies, labor market policies and labor laws that incorporate the protection of workers’ rights, tax incentives and subsidies to encourage private sector development, assistance for financial sector and business services development to stimulate private investment; promotion of labor related institutions and systems to enhance skills and employability of the workforce. Interventions under this track are intended for all formal and informal labor market participants, private sector employers and employees and government authorities responsible for labor administration and industrial and commercial development, besides a wide range of stakeholders involved in the social dialogue on employment and labor issues, including representatives of target vulnerable groups. The ultimate goal in this track is to promote long-term economic growth that sustain productive employment and decent work, while protecting fundamental human rights with a special focus on vulnerable groups. While most interventions under this track continue to have a role as the country progresses into the development phase after making a full recovery from conflict, it is important that work under this track starts in the Track A phase, balancing the need for quick action with the importance of measures with a sustainable impact.

A CASE OF TIMOR-LESTE: HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

Timor-Leste is a post-conflict nation that has made a successful transition to peace and development, where the above-mentioned three tracks of the employment and income generation measures have been implemented in order to provide a relief to the population who had lost livelihoods during the years of conflict. The measures have a special focus on youth, as the productive engage-

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ment of youth has been extremely important for this country’s reconstruction and reconciliation process. Timor-Leste is a small half-island nation situated at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, on which about 1.1 million people live. Due to its various geographical, socioeconomic and other hardships, the country is currently classified as one of the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States by the United Nations. Portuguese and Dutch sandalwood and spice traders and missionaries were the first western contact with the Island of Timor in the early 16th century. The present-day borders were agreed to in 1906 by the Portuguese and Dutch empires as a result of the battle for dominance in the region between the two, in which the former took over the eastern half of the island while the latter retained the western half. During WWII, Japan briefly occupied the island, but Portugal resumed colonial authority over Timor-Leste in 1945 after Japan’s defeat. Following a military coup in Lisbon in 1974, Portugal began a rapid decolonization process in its overseas territories. As for Timor-Leste, the new regime in Portugal undertook steps for establishing a provisional government in Dili, including assuring the Timorese of the freedom to form political parties. One of the parties contending for supremacy prevailed over others and proceeded to self-proclaim the independence of Timor-Leste in November 1975, but it was cut short by the invasion of Indonesian troops 10 days later, which occupied Timor-Leste for the following 24 years. In the ensuing violence, chaos and famine, it is estimated that a quarter of its population perished during this period. In 1999, the Indonesian government agreed to hold a referendum for the Timorese to choose between autonomy within Indonesia and independence. The referendum saw 78.5 per cent of the Timorese choose independence, but soon after the country was seized by extreme violence by the militias opposing independence. It was estimated that about three-fourths of the population were displaced from their homes, while about 70 per cent of the country’s economic infrastructure was destroyed during the violence. The United Nations was given a mandate by the international community to field a peacekeeping mission to Timor-Leste for administering on its behalf and preparing it for self governance. In 2002, the United Nations handed back the control to the govern-

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ment elected by the people and independence was restored in Timor-Leste after 27 years. In 2006, four years into the independence, internal tensions that existed among the members of Timorese uniformed forces led to all-out nation-wide violence and a near-complete breakdown of law and order. The UN peacekeeping mission was deployed again to restore stability. Presidential and parliamentary elections to replace the interim government formed after the 2006 crisis were held in 2007 in a largely peaceful atmosphere, but in 2008, a rebel group staged an unsuccessful attack against the country’s president and the prime minister. In contrast to the incidents of 2006, however, the outbreak in 2008 did not precipitate a destabilizing nationwide crisis. State institutions responded promptly and efficiently and in adherence to constitutional procedures, and full law and order was restored within a few months. Timor-Leste has enjoyed its longest period of postindependence stability since the crisis in 2008. The period has coincided with the beginning of the economic boom with the doubledigit growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which has been driven largely by petroleum revenues from the oil and gas exploitation in the Timor Sea. After successful conduct of the three rounds of presidential and parliamentary elections in March through July this year, the UN peacekeeping mission was withdrawn at the end of 2012, leaving behind the United Nations country team, which has continued its support in development and governance issues. The Timorese economy is highly oil-dependent. Timor-Leste has received USD$2.5 billion as petroleum revenues a year in recent years. Largely thanks to the petroleum revenues, Timor-Leste has maintained double-digit Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates in the world in recent years in spite of the global financial crisis and worldwide economic downturn, which only the emerging economies such as China could parallel. The country’s high economic growth has also impacted on other aspects of its well-being quite favorably. Timor-Leste’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita more than quadrupled from US$890 in 2005 to US$3,580 in 2013. Timor-Leste has made it into the medium human development category in the Human Development Index ranking since 2010, although it was placed among the low human development countries when the country was first included in the ranking in 2005.

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Despite the outstanding accomplishments that Timor-Leste have achieved in every respect, this newest nation in Asia faces yet more challenges. Despite the double-digit growth in the non-oil national product that the country attained from 2007 to 2011, 41 per cent of the population lives below poverty line, which is locally defined as US$0.88 per day. A pressing concern is the lack of skilled and semi-skilled manpower to keep pace with booming industries and businesses, besides the bottlenecks in infrastructure and legal frameworks to guide sustained industrial and commercial development. In 2011, Timor-Leste launched the Strategic Development Plan as its first major endeavor to lift itself from being a conflict-torn, least developed country into an upper-middle-income nation with political stability and vibrant democracy firmly in place by 2030. Under this plan, the country plans to invest heavily in infrastructural and human capital development. Yet, the shortage of the competitive and committed labor may likely keep the progress in other areas from accelerating further in the near future.

TIMOR-LESTE’S YOUTHFUL WORKFORCE

Timor-Leste is and overwhelmingly youthful society. In 2010, children and youth under 24 years of age accounted for 61 per cent of the population as a consequence of the population growth rate of 2.4 per cent, which is the highest in the Southeast Asia region, and a fertility rate of 5.7 births per woman, which is one of the highest in the world. Timorese youth, including the pre-adolescents among them, make a significant contribution to the agricultural and other primary sector production of the country in the form of family labor, which provide livelihoods for an estimated 80 per cent of the population. Boys as well as girls work in paddy fields alongside adult members of their families, in addition to filling in for a large share in the domestic work, which are mostly carried out by girls, such as drawing and carrying water, tending smaller domestic animals, taking care of their younger siblings, and helping in the preparation of meals. Furthermore, many youth, including the preadolescents, contribute to income-generating activities by helping their family members, many of whom are owner-operators of micro-business of selling the surplus output of their primary activities. In urban areas, one of the most popular occupations held by the youth, amidst the high rate of unemployment that the youth faces, is construction and its ancillary areas. Dili has been under a

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construction boom for the last few years. The most notable addition to the city’s buildings is a giant shopping mall on 15 hectares of land near the capital’s airport, with financing made available by an Australian-Timorese businessman. Many youths come to the construction sector after receiving vocational training. Yet, according to a 2010 government survey, about 50 per cent of young people under the age of 20 were found to be “inactive” meaning that they were neither enrolled in school or in training, nor engaged in family duties such as work on family farms. The survey also indicated that the country’s unemployment rate stood at 33 per cent for those aged 25 to 34, for which employment was defined as “doing as little as one hour of paid or unpaid work during the reference week”. This results not only from the country’s high population growth compared to the growth in job vacancies, but also the high rate of urban migration in which the youth account for a large share. In Timor-Leste, urban residents, which currently comprise a quarter of the country’s population, are expected to outnumber rural counterparts by mid-21st century, reversing the distribution of the country’s population between urban and rural areas. On the other hand, labor markets in urban areas have not been able to generate a sufficient number of additional jobs to keep up with the high urban population growth. At present, approximately 16,000 Timorese youth enter the nation’s job markets each year, while just 400 positions are created annually in the formal sector, although a much larger number of vacancies might have been offered in the informal sector, for which no certain figures are known. TimorLeste’s unemployment rate may rise even higher in the coming decade. Rural youth, many of whom were not previously counted among the unemployed thanks to their engagement in family farming, will have to search employment outside home when they migrate to cities, but may end up being unemployed instead in face of the prevailing tight labor market conditions. As unemployed, unoccupied youth begin to settle in urban centers, many of them will likely be exposed to unproductive, or worse, criminal activities. Youth are considered to be at least partly responsible for the deterioration of public safety and political stability in Timor-Leste’s recent history. Many youth were implicated in opportunistic violence during 2006 crisis and in its aftermath, as well as in committing violent acts before and during the 2007 par-

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liamentary elections. Especially in the capital Dili and other urban centers, violence involving young men in gangs and martial arts groups has grown into an ongoing problem. Indeed, in the Timorese society, there seems to be an innate tendency to condone youth violence due to certain elements in its tradition that idolize resistance fighters from the Portuguese and Indonesian periods. Symbols of the resistance are found in almost every household in Timor-Leste and a number of youth have grown up worshipping these fighters and their violent legacies. The ever-increasing flow of rural to urban migration, as well as the rise of a new culture that emphasizes individualism, seem to have accelerated this process, and the communities today may no longer hold sway over the youth as they used to. A lack of community cohesion is of particular concern in Dili, which was hit hard by past crises and is currently experiencing drastic demographic changes under the large influx of rural migrants. Many of the young people who are most at risk of engaging in violence are those who lived or have lived in and near camps for displaced persons or in barrios, a migrant neighborhood where neither formal nor informal community structures have ever been strong. Timor-Leste has set out a variety of measures for engaging youth, including the interventions to provide them with employment and income-generating opportunities. Firstly, they are intended to harness their energy to constructive activities and away from unproductive or criminal exercises. Secondly, they are also in response to the aspirations of Timorese youth who are the largest constituents of the country and hold sway over the current and future destiny of the country. Finally, they are to address the needs of Timor-Leste’s labor market today and into the future, which has been already under strain of an acute shortage of skilled and semiskilled labor during the process of country’s fast-paced reconstruction and development, for which the youth can make a significant contribution.

TIMOR-LESTE’S THREE TRACKS OF EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME GENERATION

We now examine the interventions that Timor-Leste has implemented for expanding the employment and income-generating opportunities, particularly those that are intended to benefit youth.

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Track A interventions Timor-Leste implemented programs to stabilize income generation and provide emergency employment in the wake of the 2006 crisis, which can be considered as Track A interventions. In the aftermath of the crisis, which drove more than 150,000 people, or about 15 per cent of the country’s population at that time, away from home, Timor-Leste launched the national reconciliation and reconstruction strategy Hamutuk Hari’i Futuru (“To build our future together”), which was led personally by the nation’s then president and 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate José Ramos-Horta, in which TimorLeste made an earnest attempt to accelerate the return of displaced persons. The strategy was designed not only to provide affected people with a package of assistance for immediate relief such as emergency rations and free and safe passage home, but also to respond to their longer-term socio-economic as well as psychological needs for reintegrating into the communities where social networks and kinships ties had been destroyed during the crisis. This strategy entailed the assistance in five important areas: housing, social protection, stability, socio-economic development and trust-building. In addition, programs to provide the vulnerable youth with opportunities for small-scale livestock rearing and horticulture crop production, as well as with short-term emergency jobs in infrastructural projects, were implemented by the Timorese government in cooperation with the UN organizations, also under the framework of the Hamutuk Hari’i Futuru strategy. 65 camps for displaced individuals and families had sprung up in the districts of Dili, Baucau and Ermera during and after the 2006 crisis, but in three years, all of the camps were closed due to the successful implementation of this strategy and the programs in support of the strategy. Track B interventions Two programs that the Timorese government has implemented can be classified among the Track B interventions, which are intended to stimulate local economic recovery in order to expand employment opportunities and promote reintegration particularly of vulnerable groups and communities, including youth. The first one is the Skills Training for Gainful Employment Program, or STAGE, which was implemented by the Timorese government in

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cooperation with the United Nations for the period 2004 to 2009 with a total budgetary outlay of over US$6 million. The program was launched initially when the country planned to accelerate the process of recovery and integration two years after the independence was restored in 2002, but with a brief interruption and a subsequent slowdown in implementation during the 2006 crisis, after which it once again became a tool for recovery and reintegration. The STAGE program was designed with three goals: (i) to improve the labor market functions, including by establishing employment exchanges (ii) to enhance the quality of vocational training in urban and rural areas and (iii) to empower communities through the provision of business skills and entrepreneurship training and seed capitals for micro-credit financing with the objective to create paid and self-employment opportunities within the communities. As a result of the 5–year program implementation, 961 individuals received vocational training, with 596 eventually placed on jobs. In addition, more than 9,000 individuals were benefited from self-employment opportunities through this program. Many youths were among the recipients of the benefits from this program. The second Track-B program, Youth Employment Promotion Program (YEP), is intended to build on the progress already achieved by the above-mentioned STAGE program. This program has been implemented also by the Timorese government in cooperation with a UN agency International Labor Organization for the period 2008–2012 with a total budgetary outlay of over US$18 million. The YEP program has four major components: (i) Development of youth employment policies – This component involves setting up institutional frameworks for establishing a National Youth Employment Action Plan, a youth employment fund and an institute for vocational training and certification; (ii) Promotion of a supportive environment for successful school-to-work transition – This component involves providing targeted career guidance and counseling services and funding for training opportunities for youth; (iii) Creation of short-term employment opportunities – This component is achieved through the implementa-

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(iv)

tion of labor intensive public works in order to provide immediate employment opportunities for youth; Establishment of the Labor Force Development Institute – This institute will be responsible for developing and enforcing the country’s official vocational training systems, as well as its systems of professional competencies and certifications, for various professions.

The mid-term evaluation of the YEP program was conducted in 2010. It was found that the program was highly effective in creating short-term opportunities under the third component, with more than 35,000 placements achieved, particularly in the area of road maintenance at district levels. Track C Interventions In 2009, the Government of Timor-Leste unveiled the new slogan “Goodbye Conflict, Welcome Development” and declared a new beginning for Timor-Leste as a nation that maintains stability and democratic governance with a renewed focus on achieving ambitious developmental goals for the future. The government identified a new national vision that reflects the aspirations of all Timorese for a brighter and safer future and began the drafting process for the Strategic Development Plan 2011–2030, with the following long-term visions for the nation to be achieved by 2030: • A nation with an upper-middle income, with strong institutions and productive industries that are self-reliant and well diversified, shifting away from the dominance of the petroleum sector in the economy; • All citizens receiving greater benefits from development in the form of higher disposable incomes and improved access to health care, education and other basic services, with no one living in extreme poverty or deprivation; and • An economy with quality employment opportunities that make use of a diverse set of skills and guarantee at least the minimum wages and due respects for workers’ rights.

In order to achieve these visions, the Timorese government has set up various implementation mechanisms, including Infrastructure Fund and the Human Capital Development Fund, which are intended to promote the physical and human capital formation in

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support of the implementation of the Strategic Development Plan. A total outlay of US$4.3 billion has been allotted for the period 2011 to 2016 for the two funds, which are mostly financed with petroleum revenues. The Human Capital Development Fund is being utilized particularly for building the technical and professional capacities required for attaining high levels of self-sufficiency in knowledge base and competitiveness for the Timorese economy. The fund supports the provision of scholarships and training grants in critical areas of public services, such as administration, financial management, natural resource management, health care and legal and paralegal services, as well as the capacity-building in the Secretariat of State for Professional Training and Employment, which is the chief government agency for employment and vocational training, for organizing various youth development and vocational programs. The Human Capital Development Fund is expected to benefit a considerable number of youth to transform them into the competitive manpower to sustain the country’s rapid economic growth into the future.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

As indicated earlier, providing jobs and livelihoods to its citizens is vital for a nation emerging from years of conflict. Firstly, employment and livelihood assets enable the affected individuals and families to earn a regular income, which can accelerate their process of regaining normalcy. Secondly, providing employment and incomegenerating opportunities give the people, particularly youth among them, an alternative to violence for applying their energy and talent and a hope for a better future. Employment can also promote social healing, encourage the return of displaced persons and improve social cohesion of the communities, all of which will work to deter the recurrence of conflict. The post-conflict imperatives such as fiscal deficits as accumulated to support war efforts and structural adjustments only render fragile states more ill-adapted to the needs of the vulnerable, such as ex-combatants, children, women and youth. What is more, as the reach of globalization extends to every corner of the world, many who live in fragile, post-conflict nations have received only mixed blessings, to say the least; quite a few of them have been pushed by globalization even further toward marginalization and deprivation. Through globalization, the integration of markets

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would have promised greater opportunity and benefit to the entire global community. Unfortunately, such advantages are not always shared equally amongst all and have rather created more pronounced disparities in income and socioeconomic status between the haves and have-nots. The global community’s most down and out, many of whom are from fragile and conflict-affected nations, will likely never see the benefits of globalization. Even in successful post-war economies in which globalization has indeed given rise to a wave of progress, the benefits are not often distributed evenly, with the most disadvantaged continuing their struggle for mere survival. The acceleration of urbanization and the wider acceptance of market-based values in post-conflict society may have hastened the pace of erosion in traditional social networks in which vulnerable groups previously sought support and protection. In case of Timor-Leste, due to its recent history of human rights violations during the years of conflict and subsequent initiatives for restoring justice and the rule of law and promoting reconciliation, its government is not only committed to protecting as its mandate the rights of all citizens, including those of the vulnerable, but also views it as the valid policy basis for any comprehensive approach to the post-conflict reconstruction and development. Thanks to the well-stocked reserve of petroleum revenues, TimorLeste is fortunate enough to be able to undertake socio-economic programs for its citizens, particularly for the vulnerable, without compromising its overarching goal to sustain high-pitched economic growth with heavy investments in infrastructure and industrial and commercial development. Timor-Leste’s Strategic Development Plan 2011–2030 emphasizes fostering equitable development not only across the socioeconomic strata of the population but also among different regions of the country, including both urban and rural areas. TimorLeste will be able to achieve this objective through the redistribution and transfer of petroleum revenues and development benefits expected under the plan to its most vulnerable citizens. To this end, the plan incorporates targeted intervention in the form of social security and safety nets to tackle poverty and social exclusion.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY United Nations (2009). Policy for Post-Conflict Employment Creation, Income Generation and Reintegration. New York. United States Aid for International Development (USAID) (2009). A Guide to Economic Growth in Post-Conflict Countries. Washington D.C. Mendelson-Forman, J. and Mashatt, M. (2007). Employment Generation and Economic Development in Stabilization and Reconstruction Operations (Stabilization and Reconstruction Series No. 6). United States Institute for Peace: Washington D.C. Joseph, A. and Hamaguchi, T. (2014). Timor-Leste: The History and Development of Asia’s Newest Nation. Lexington Books: Lantham.

CHAPTER 12 THOMAS MERTON AND GEORGE GRANT: WHEN JUSTICE AND PEACE EMBRACE TWO NORTH AMERICAN PROPHETS RON DART INTRODUCTION

Thomas Merton (1915–1968) is viewed by many as one of the most important Christian writers of the 20th century. George Grant (1918–1988) is considered to be one of the most significant public intellectuals in Canada in the latter half of the 20th century. Both Merton and Grant had an integrated vision of the faith journey that, judiciously so, threaded together a contemplative vision, life in the church and a prophetic and public commitment to the larger issues of peace and justice. There are those who elevate the notions of contemplation and spirituality to the point in which spirituality and religion become, almost, enemies – the former is idealized, the latter demonized. There are those who ignore the deeper demands of the contemplative life, bury themselves in multiple church and parish activities and never enter the quieter and slower moving depths of the faith journey – it’s a case of the Mary-Martha, Martha and Mary dilemma – which should be prioritized and why? Contemplation or action, action or contemplation? Then, there are those who attempt, always imperfectly and inadequately so, to live the contemplative journey within the religious framework of the church. Such an approach often ignores the broader and more comprehensive reality of public life that touches such perennial issues of justice and peace: economics, ecology, politics, social issues, militarism and 233

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culture are part of such realities. There are, of course, those who fragment the sacred and profane and reduce the issue of justice and peace, the hot button issues in the culture wars, to the secular realm – there are always tendencies, when this is done, to slip into the political ideology of the right, centre or left when defining, clarifying and acting on the larger and more significant issues of justice and peace. It should be noted at the outset that Merton and Grant had a highly integrated and holistic notion of peace and justice, hence to understand their thinking, such a perspective must be embraced. The contemplative roots of peace and justice walk those committed to such a way of life into what G.M. Hopkins called the “inscape”. Merton was about to do his PHD on Hopkins when he decided to become a Cistercian monk, but the importance of the contemplative inner journey was front and centre for Merton. The tensions and clashes between the false and true self, false face and true face, ego and self created interior warfare and could, if not handled well and wisely, rob a person of inner peace. The quest to live a just and peaceful life meant, therefore, going inward to order and educate desires. One of Grant’s earliest publications, “Philosophy” (1951), argued that Lady philosophy had to return to her contemplative moorings rather than playing mind games in the realms of logic, inductive and deductive reasoning. Grant, like Merton, knew that if there was not peace in the inward parts, there would not be a genuine justice in the public sphere. The inner inscape had to be discerningly faced, wheat sifted from chaff, dross burned from gold. Merton and Grant had lived with many an activist who held the banner of justice and peace high, but were not interiorly peaceful nor just and certainly not peaceful with those they differed with on controversial public issues. The inner journey leads, inexorably so, to the outer and political dimensions of the contemplative way. There are those who reduce the meaning of peace and justice to war and peace, crime and punishment or wealth and poverty. There is much, much more to a mature understanding of peace and justice than such a narrowminded approach. If Justice and peace are to kiss and embrace, there must be a meeting of inscape and landscape, interior and exterior life – Merton and Grant were acutely aware that this is often not the case, and they, in their different ways, called for a more integrated notion of peace and justice. I will, in the remainder of

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this essay, explore and explain how this was the case in their prolific writings and prophetic lives.

THOMAS MERTON: AMERICAN PROPHET

Thomas Merton was acutely aware, as a young man, that a hyper activism was robbing one and all from a deeper quies. The drug of the vita activa had so come to dominate western thought and culture that most had become victims of their drivenness and desperate need to define identity and worth by a variety of fleeting and ephemeral goals and accomplishments. It was this unhinged and unbalanced view of life that, in many ways, guided, in principle, Merton to become a monk within the strict Cistercian order. Merton, naively assumed, the monastic life, if nothing else, was about a commitment to the vita contemplativa. Merton penned and published many a book, tract and booklet in the 1950s and 1960s on the monastic and Christian contemplative way (and the need to return to such a life style and way of being) as a countercultural corrective to the imperial demands of the vita activa. It was the sheer success of such books, reinforced by Merton’s commitment to the monastic way of life that won the hearts and minds of many. Thomas Merton became, in the 1950s in the USA and beyond, the herald and prophet of a return to the contemplative roots and underpinning of the faith journey. Most simply assumed Merton would remain within such a calling and charism, but for Merton, the contemplative vocation was but the roots that must, in time, produce public and political, justice and peacemaking fruits. There were many that thought Merton had lost or forsaken his vocation as he pondered and wrote about the relationship of contemplation and action, meditation and public responsibility. The late 1950s witnessed the emergence and birth of Merton as a political thinker---he could no more, in good conscience, remain the guilty bystander. The oppression that was occurring within the Pax Americana ethos (an updated version of the Pax Romana) in the midst of the Cold War raised the alert antennae of Merton. Peace without justice often legitimated and justified injustice and Merton was astutely aware of this graphic reality. Merton had encouraged a former novice and directee of his in the late 1950s, Ernesto Cardenal, to return to Nicaragua and struggle with his people to bring justice to a peace laden but unjust right wing political government (significantly supported by the USA). The civil

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rights movement was also gathering momentum in the late 1950searly 1960s and the unjust pax that had existed for decades was being challenged by a variety of black movements. Merton could not be silent as such rallying cries took to front stage for a just peace or peace and justice. Merton wrote prolifically against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and the military industrial complex that was at the forefront of supporting both the war and the notion of a first strike nuclear position and policy against the communists. Merton did face the ire and opposition from some in his monastic and Roman Catholic communities, but he did have the support of the Peace Pope (John XXIII) who sent Merton the stole that he was consecrated in. I have written in more length and depth about Merton’s journey as a peacemaker in my article, “Thomas Merton: Peacemaker” (Terrorism, Religion, and Global Peace: From Concepts to Praxis: Gorgias Press, 2012). Merton was quite aware that being only a peacemaker but not a seeker of justice could pander to peace through strength or law and order politics that justified oppression. But the quest for justice without both inward and outward peace would lead to conflict, violence and just another form of reactionary oppression. The living in the tension of being peaceful in a just way demanded a deeper inner discipline that worked its way out though advocacy, protest and formal politics. The principles of peace and justice, in short, had to move from thought to action and action took many forms – how to be active, in thought, word and deed as a dove in a just manner was close to Merton’s centre and core. Most do not realize that Merton also had a serious interest and commitment to 1st Nations in a period of time when few did just as Merton was alert to the ecological crises that was becoming obvious in the 1960s: ISHI MEANS MAN: Essays on Native Americans (with a fine Foreword by Dorothy Day) was published in 1968 (all the essays had been written much earlier). Again, Merton was attuned to the plight of Native Americans, their unjust treatment, the oppressive peace that silenced them. Movements were afoot in the 1950s-1960s by Native Americans calling for a just peace and Merton, for one, heard the call. There is, of course, a close relationship between 1st Nations peoples and the land, and the turn by many Native Americans (and many other Americans such as Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Henry David Thoreau and Rachael Carson to name but a few) held Merton’s attention. There could be unjust

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peace in the land in which pollution poisoned water, soil and air, but justice demanded of the polluters an ethical constraint on a rapacious exploitation by large corporations. It is impossible to follow the life journey of Thomas Merton without getting a sense of his commitment to living the difficult yet needful tension of living the contemplative and active life in a just and peaceful manner. The fact that Merton dipped his contemplative and ethical bucket in the Beatitudes with its knitting together of peace and justice (Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice – Blessed are the peacemakers) meant that all of Merton’s mature writings weave together, in a judicious and wise manner, the peace journey in a just way.

GEORGE GRANT: CANADIAN PROPHET

Thomas Merton was born in 1915; George Grant was born in 1918. This means both men lived through difficult and trying periods in North American and world history. Merton and Grant were prolific writers, both were concerned about the hawkish nature of the 20th century and both set the eyes of their minds, souls and imaginations on justice and peace. Merton tends to be better known, but those who live, move and have their being in Canada know George Grant well – he was the Canadian prophet of the mid-late 20th century in Canada. Sadly so, many Americans know American history well but know little about Canada and Canadian history even though Canada is their northern neighbour. Those who take the time to learn about the Canadian intellectual tradition will, in haste, hear about George Grant. Grant was a prominent intellectual in Canada whose lectures and writings came to prominence in the 1950s (as did Merton’s). Grant’s many lectures on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) positioned him well to be the conscience and philosophic gadfly to the Canadian people. Some of Grant’s earliest publications such as Canada – An Introduction to a Nation (1943) and The Empire: Yes or No? (1945) made it abundantly clear that Grant, at core, was concerned about understanding and articulating the unique Canadian identity and how Canadians are not Americans or British even though Canadians have both peoples pressing in on them from all sides. Canadians have been known as peacemakers and citizens of the peaceable kingdom, but how did Grant understand, in the hot button issues of his time, the relationship of Can-

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ada to the waxing Pax Americana and the waning Pax Britannia? The answer to such a question takes us into Grant’s approach to the role of Canada (at a domestic and foreign policy level) as a just peacemaker. Grant had been a pacifist in the 1930s and when in England in WWII, he worked in Bermondsey with those who were victims of German bombing. The end of WWII brought North America into the ideological Cold War and Grant was concerned that Canada be wary about slipping into American rhetoric about godless communism and an uncritical support for American militarism. The amount of money spent on the military could be more properly used for state supported programs for health care, public education, ecological concerns and basic civil social structures. It is important to note that Grant was what in Canada is called a High or Red Tory conservative (almost the opposite of American forms of conservatism). The publication of Grant’s Philosophy in the Mass Age in 1959 (Grant was much more the philosopher and political theorist than was Merton) made clear that political liberalism, if unchecked and improperly pondered, could lead to a runaway form of individualism and libertarianism that would destroy historic communities, undermine the common good and demonize the important role of the state in bringing into being a just and peaceful commonwealth. The publication in 1965, though, of Grant’s Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism, brought many of the larger political issues to front stage. The event that triggered the writing and publication of the book was the 1963 Federal election in Canada. The 1963 election, in many ways, had a great deal to do with war and peace issues. The Liberal Party of Lester Pearson (Pearson was the winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace) had close affinities with President Kennedy’s Democratic Party. Kennedy insisted that the Conservative Party and minority government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker place, in Canada, warheads on their Bomarc missiles. Kennedy was upping the American presence in Vietnam and, in a variety of bully-like ways, insisting that Canada follow the lead of the American view of China, Cuba, the Organization of American States (OAS) and American militarism. It was the High/Red Tory conservatism of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker that was softer on China, Cuba and less hawkish that offended Kennedy. Kennedy backed Pearson in the Federal election (Kennedy detested

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Diefenbaker), Pearson won the election and Canada took the warheads for the Bomarc missiles. The point to note is that it was a Conservative Canadian Prime Minister that took a more irenical and just peacemaking approach to both Canadian domestic and foreign policy and it was the Liberal (Lester Pearson) who was quite willing to follow the lead of Kennedy’s Pax Americana. Lament for a Nation is a compact missive that questions the alliance of Kennedy-Pearson’s Pax Americana and highlights, from a variety of angles, the need for Canadians to follow a more thoughtful approach to just peacemaking---there was no need for antiCuba, anti-China rhetoric and a greater appreciation, Grant suggested, of the role of the United Nations (at an international level) and the Canadian state (at a domestic level) to ensuring that justice underwrote efforts for peacemaking and the quest for peace. Grant, as a historic High Tory, was fully and firmly committed to the role of a strong state and higher taxes to provide affordable and universal health care, affordable education and many other basic social services so that justice was properly delivered for one and all, for the marginalized and oppressed, for those who were being treated unjustly or bombed by napalm as in Vietnam. Grant very much seemed to be on the political left as a Red Tory in his criticisms of the American military industrial complex, power elites, corporate rule and the impact of such dominant forces on the poor and vulnerable. If justice was ever going to be brought into being, in an imperfect way and manner, the state, for Grant (and society) had to work together to challenge and limit the power of the powerful and distribute basic human services to meet the needs of one and all – this seemed to be a form of socialism from those who think from the political right, but for Grant, as a traditional AngloCanadian High Tory, this was the most reasonable way to ensure that justice guided and shaped the meaning of peacemaking – to quote Martin Luther King, who Grant much admired, “Peace is not the absence of tension – it is the presence of Justice”. I mentioned above that Thomas Merton drew deeply from the well of the Beatitudes in his thinking and living – the same can be said for Grant. In fact, in Grant’s “Five Lectures on Christianity”, he holds the Beatitudes as high as the Holy Eucharist as the moral compass and north star of his ethical and political thinking – as did Mahatma Gandhi who both Merton and Grant deeply admired and respected – both men wrote about Gandhi in the most honorific

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way. Grant was convinced, and he suggested again and again, that it is the “Good”, at a foundational level, that must guide and shape public life rather than liberal notions such as “Liberty” and “Individualism” – when the “Good” is held high as the path to walk, justice and peace, in the classical sense, take on a deeper meaning. It is, therefore, most important, in Grant’s thinking, to recognize that his commitment to a higher order of the “Good” informs and gives meaning to such words as justice, peace and liberty. When this does not occur, the language of justice and peace (and the implications of their redefinition) become playthings of a free-for-all liberalism. One of Grant’s more important books, English Speaking Justice, probes the way even the language of justice can be used to create and foster oppression – the missive is a challenging approach to pondering what we mean when we think, speak and claim to act for Lady Justice. George Grant, like Thomas Merton, had a commitment and interest in the contemplative Oriental traditions. Grant founded, in the early 1960s, the Religious Studies Department at McMaster University, which has become one of the largest undergraduate and graduate Religious Studies Departments in North America. Grant was alert to the worrisome fact that North America had uncritically genuflected to the vita activa and, as a result, there was a frantic and restless drivenness in the inner life of most – in short, there was little or no deeper peace. Grant’s interest in the older contemplative way in both philosophy and theology had a great deal to do with his interest in classical thought, but as the older western contemplative traditions had become eclipsed, many turned to living Oriental contemplative approaches in our all too human journey. The publication of Gandhi and Grant: Their Philosophical Affinities (2012) is but one book that illuminates Grant’s willingness to probe the contemplative dimensions of the “Good” in both the inner and outer political spheres of life. Grant, like Merton in many ways, was at the forefront of attempting to reverse centuries of the way the vita activa had subordinated and marginalized the vita contemplativa – the consequences for the human soul and society are what Grant called “intimations of deprival”. When the contemplative dimension of life is negated, life giving oxygen for the soul is minimized and a sense of deprival sets in. There is a sense in which what is just, right and good for the soul is as important as what is good, right and just for society –

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Grant saw this all so clearly and cleanly and, prophetic like, called Canadians back to an older, deeper, saner and more just and peaceful way of being. Grant wrote wisely and well, as did Merton, about the contemplative mother lode in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and the mystical traditions in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Both men were on a definite search and quest to recover what had been lost for the soul and society. In short, like prophets of old, Grant and Merton ceaselessly reminded their audiences to remember what had been lost in the coming to be of the modern activist West and return to a wiser and more insightful contemplative way. It was by being rooted and grounded in the disciplines and discernment of the vita contemplative that the vita activa would produce more just and peaceful fruit.

THOMAS MERTON AND GEORGE GRANT: 20TH CENTURY NORTH AMERICAN PROPHETS

Thomas Merton died in 1968. George Grant died in 1988. Grant was much more the political philosopher and engaged political activist than Thomas Merton, but Merton, as a Cistercian monk, pushed the boundaries as far as he was able, to bring to front stage the need for justice and peace to embrace and inform one another. Both Merton and Grant were committed to reversing the hierarchy of the vita active and the vita contemplativa. The contemplative and mystical way could, if understood and lived aright, reorient soul and society in a way that peace and justice dwelt both in the inner and outer realms of the human journey. Both men, in many ways, attempted to articulate and live forth the Beatitudes in which justice, peace and mercy dwell together. The Beatitudes ends with the reminder that those who embody, in thought, word and life, the fullness of the Beatitudes will be treated as the prophets of old – Merton and Grant understood, only too well, what was meant by such a reminder and timely warning. I think it can be legitimately suggested that Thomas Merton and George Grant were 20th century North American prophets and their insights have certainly had an impact beyond North America, also.

CHAPTER 13 NEO-LIBERALISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (OF NATIONS) PAMELA K. BRUBAKER 1

The aim of the 1944 United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, was “the creation of a dynamic world economy in which the peoples of every nation will be able to realize their potentialities in peace and enjoy increasingly the fruits of material progress on an earth infinitely blessed with natural resources,” according to conference president U.S. Secretary of State Henry Morgenthau. 2 The International Monetary I am a U.S. white/Anglo Christian feminist social ethicist. The primary focus of my research and advocacy for the past three decades has been an analysis of and response to economic globalization. My interest in the global economy stems from my participation in the 1985 United Nations End-of-the-Decade for Women Conference and Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. It was among the fifteen thousand women at the nongovernmental forum that I listened to narratives that linked women from around the world in the material terms of our everyday lives and grasped more fully the global character of our political economy. 2 Cited in David Korten, “Sustainability and the Global Economy,” Visions of a New Earth: Religious Perspectives on Population, Consumption, and Ecology, ed. Howard Coward and Daniel C. Maguire, State University of New York Press, 2000, p. 40. I analyze this statement, including its mistaken assumption of unlimited natural resources in my book, Globalization at What Prices: Economic Change and Daily Life, Revised and Expanded Edition, The Pilgrim Press, 2007. 1

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Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were established to help achieve this goal. Up until the 1980s, most countries followed Keynesian and developmental policies, which supported an active role for the state in economic matters. This period was characterized by regulated financial markets, financial stability, high rates of economic growth, and a reduction of inequality. 3 The reduction in growth and profits rates that took place in the 1970s in the United States as well as the experience of stagflation helped trigger the rise of neoliberalism. This is the belief “that free, competitive markets are by far the unrivalled way to organize economics.” 4 Margaret Thatcher famously proclaimed that “there is no alternative” 5 to the neoliberal economic policies she adopted as Britain’s prime minister (1979–1990). Ronald Reagan embraced neoliberalism when he became U.S. president (1980–88). 6 Within Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira, “The Global Financial Crisis and a New Capitalism?”Working Paper No. 592, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, May 2010. This paper was helpful to my discussion of the development of neoliberalism as an ideology. 4 This was how Alan Greenspan, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair, described it when he admitted during a Congressional hearing on October 23, 2008, that the financial crisis exposed a “flaw” in his ideology. Greenspan also confessed that he had been mistaken to expect financial actors to exercise self-restraint, the lack of which contributed to the financial crisis. One can listen to the testimony at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business-july-dec08– crisishearing_10-23/ 5 In the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph on 22 May 1980, Mrs. Thatcher wrote: “There’s no easy popularity in what we are proposing, but it is fundamentally sound. Yet I believe people accept there is no real alternative”. She was using ‘it’ to describe the policies that she and her government would follow, and she made use of the slogan many times afterwards. The initial letters of four of the five last words went on to form an acronym – TINA. http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2013/04/margaretthatcher/ 6 “It was no coincidence that the two developed countries that were showing the worst economic performance in the 1970s – United States 3

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the context of the Cold War, these policies were a pointed reproach to state central planning in the Soviet bloc. When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, many proclaimed that capitalism had won the economic debate. Neoliberalism became the dominant economic paradigm globally in the 1990s, manifested in the rise of economic globalization. A precise definition of the process of liberal globalization is “the integration of economic activities, across borders, through markets,” according to economist Martin Wolf in Why Globalization Works. (He rejects the use of the term neoliberal rather than liberal, claiming that it is used to condemn globalization “as a malign force.”) Wolf argues for the benefits of a liberal market economy, against its critics, because of what he sees as its long term contributions “to prosperity, democracy, and personal freedom.” 7 There were some dissenters from this paradigm, most notably Joseph Stiglitz, who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001. In his 2002 book, Globalization and Its Discontents, he contends that the IMF had changed markedly; it shifted from its founding belief that markets often worked badly, to champion “market supremacy with ideological fervor.” Stiglitz refers to this belief as market fundamentalism, and is especially critical of its role in pushing the liberalization of capital markets, “despite the fact that there is no evidence showing it spurs economic growth.” 8 In November of 2007, Stiglitz charged that the 1997 Asian financial crisis had shown that capital market liberalization led to and the United Kingdom – originated the new economic and political arrangement.” Bresser-Pereira, p. 7. 7 Martin Wolf, Why Globalization Works, Yale University Press, 2004, pp. 14, 11. 8 Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents, W.W. Norton, 2002, pp. xiv, 16. Harvard theologian Harvey Cox maintained that presuppositions about the market’s power, knowledge, and presence are those theologians once claimed for God – omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence, thus suggesting that the Market is now God. “The Market as God,” The Atlantic Monthly, March 1999. Since this view resembles fundamental religious beliefs about God, the phrase “market fundamentalism” seems apt.

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unnecessary instability and a slowdown in economic growth. Although there was a consensus at the time “that fundamental reform of the global financial architecture” was needed, it had not happened. “While the current system may lead to unnecessary instability, and impose huge costs on developing countries, it serves some interest well” – those of Wall Street. Thus, neither the lack of reform nor the coming “period of global financial instability, with uncertain outcomes for the world’s economies is surprising.” 9 The 2008 global financial crisis Stiglitz saw coming led to wide-ranging criticism of and protests against finance-driven neoliberal capitalism.

CAPITALISM, ECONOMICS, AND JUSTICE

A 2004 review of the literature on poverty and terrorism shows that “there is a correlation between conditions of extreme poverty, injustice, hopelessness, marginalization, political oppression and the likelihood that people may use violence, including terrorism, to protest their fate.” 10 The World Economic Forum’s “Outlook on the Global Agenda 2014” reports that this is still the case: “Switch on the news and you see record-breaking protests, historic uprisings and riots on once-calm streets – there’s no doubt that growing income inequality is an issue of central importance.” 11 One of these protests took place at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland (January 25–29). According to an Associated Press article, “for the first time the growJoseph Stiglitz, “Financial Hypocrisy,” Project Syndicate, 2007: http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/financialhypocrisy#FEJLYt0x2rhSCauY.99. Stiglitz develops this position in more depth in Globalization and its Discontents. 10 Cedric De Coning, “Poverty and Terrorism: the Root Cause Debate?” Conflict Trends 3 (2004), p. 25. 11 World Economic Forum, “Outlook on the Global Agenda 2014, issued November, 2013: http://www.weforum.org/reports/outlook-global-agenda-2014. The report is based on global surveys of “more than 1,500 global experts across business, government, academia and civil society.” 9

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ing inequality between the planet’s haves and have-nots became an issue, thanks largely to the Arab Spring uprisings, the Occupy movement, and other protests around the globe.” 12 The “Call to Action” of the fifty or so WEF occupiers, who camped out in igloos throughout the meeting, charged that, “This year we will not let them exclude us, the 99%!” They called on others to join them, “and stand up against the WEF and the 1% that are making the rules of this unfair global economy.” 13 Widening income disparities is number two on the list of top ten trends the WEF’s “Outlook on the Global Agenda 2014,” identified as a major risk to human progress, “impacting social stability within countries and threatening security on a global scale.” Persistent structural unemployment is number three; it will escalate social unrest if it is not addressed. “People, particularly the youth, need to be productively employed, or we will witness rising crime rates, stagnating economies and the deterioration of our social fabric.” Diminishing confidence in economic policies is number six, just after inaction on climate change. 14 In the report’s preface, Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust presents an insightful analysis of the increasingly complex connections between these problems. Her examples include a link between climate change and rising sociopolitical tensions across the Middle East and North Africa (the first concern), particularly that “one of the factors exacerbating the situation in Syria is a drought that resulted from shifting weather patterns in the region.” 15 Interestingly, terrorism is not on this list nor is it mentioned it the report. (The rising tensions in MENA focus on political instability, primarily based on polarization on the role Associated Press, “Debt Crisis Puts Pall over Global Economic Forum,” Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2012. 13 Occupy WEF, “Call to Action on January 21, 2012,” http://occupywef.ch/english. 14 “Outlook on the Global Agenda 2014,” op cit. 15 Ibid. Intensifying cyber threats, number four on the list; is referred to as “cyber terrorism.” The director of the WEB Global Council on Terrorism writes in a later part of the report (“Future Agenda) that they are most concerned about impact of surveillance on democracy and capitalism. 12

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of political Islam.) 16 However, deep concern is expressed that rising inequality and persistent unemployment impact social stability and threaten global security. In their article “Causality between terrorism and economic growth”, Daniel Meierrieks and Thomas Griesuse data from the Global Terrorism Database for 1970 to 2007, GTD now goes up to 2013) a data base of 160 countries from 1970 to 2013) to analyze causal relationships between terrorism and economic growth. “Our findings suggest that causality between terrorism and growth is homogeneous neither over time nor across space. We argue that the causal variation over time can be explained by ideological realignments (the decline of left-wing, the rise of religious, and the resurgence of nationalist terrorism) and geographical shifts (from Western and Latin American to African and Middle Eastern countries) in terrorism associated with the end of the Cold War. The causal heterogeneity across space – linked to the shifts in terrorism after the end of the Cold War – can be explained by differences between country groups in socio-economic development, politico-institutional capacity, and further factors (e.g. political instability). These factors govern a country’s robustness to growth shocks from terrorism and the degree to which terrorism is rooted in poor economic performance (and thus its responsiveness to socio-economic progress as a remedy for terrorism). In the post-Cold War era, “terrorism is found to be detrimental to growth for African and Islamic countries with low levels of political openness, high levels of political instability, and strong terrorist activity” but not in other regions. Journal of Peace Research 2013 50,1: 91–104, pp. 92, 101. In my judgment, the definition used in gathering the data in the Global Terrorism Database is too limited: “the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation.” The source of this definition is the Pinkerton Global Intelligence Service (PGIS) – a private security agency, who collected data “for the purpose of performing risk analysis for U.S. businesses.” The first phase of data for the GTD (GTD1: 1970–1997) was collected by PGIS. The GTD notes that “It is well-recognized that divergent definitions of terrorism abound and that the nature and causes of terrorism are hotly contested by both governments and scholars. While certain broad elements of terrorism are generally agreed upon (such as the intentional use of violence), many other factors (such as whether the victims of terrorism must be non-combatants or whether terrorism requires a politi16

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CAPITALISM UNDER SIEGE

In a dramatic speech at the Conference on Inclusive Capitalism (CIC) in the spring of 2014, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, cautioned that “just as any revolution eats its children, unchecked market fundamentalism can devour the social capital essential for the long-term dynamism of capitalism itself. Claiming that “all ideologies are prone to extremes,” Carney contends that when the belief in the power of the market enters the realm of faith, capitalism loses its sense of moderation – as happened in the decades preceding the crisis.” 17 If one looks only at global economic growth, capitalism seems to be doing well. In the last ten years, global gdp (gross domestic product), has increased dramatically from $42.2 trillion in 2004 to 74.1 trillion in 2013, swiftly recovering from a slight drop in 2009. 18 cal motive) continue to be debated. Indeed, even where there is some consensus at the broadest level, there is often disagreement on the details.” Global Terrorism Database, http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/usinggtd/. I did not find the GTD or this article useful for an overall analysis of neoliberalism and development in a context of violence and terrorism, as it ignores state violence and terrorism. It is valuable in thinking about the narrow question of the impact of terrorism, according to this definition, to economic growth. The finding of a negative impact of terrorism on growth for Islamic and African countries with low levels of political openness, high levels of political instability, and strong terrorist activity” is relevant to the WEF concern about rising socio-political tensions across the Middle East and North Africa. 17 Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, “Inclusive capitalism: creating a sense of the systemic,” Conference on Inclusive Capitalism: Building Value, Renewing Trust, London, May 27, 2014, emphasis added: www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/speeches/default.aspx 18 http://www.statista.com/statistics/268750/global-grossdomestic-product-gdp/. There are different ways of looking at economic growth. The Global Growth Tracker shows that “the World Economy has grown for 51 out of the past 52 years, with a slight dip in 2009 of real global GDP, measured in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms: http://www.worldeconomics.com/papers/Global%20Growth%20Monit

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There has also been a decrease in global inequality. Supporters of neoliberal globalization point to these facts, which Carney acknowledges. However, he explains that “this is only because the gap between advanced and emerging economies has narrowed. Within societies, virtually without exception, inequality of outcomes both within and across generations has demonstrably increased.” 19 This is why the Conference on Inclusive Capitalism (London, May 27, 2014), especially the two keynote speeches by Carney and Christine Lagarde, are worthy of our attention. These two are major figures in finance capitalism. As Governor of the Bank of Canada from February 2008 to June 2013, Carney is credited with helping Canada, his native country, weather the financial crisis. Lagarde is the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund IMF, having started a five-year term in July of 2011. Previously, she was Minister of Economic Affairs, Finance, and Employment in the French government (June 2007 to June 2011). In November, 2009, The Financial Times ranked her the best Minister of Finance in the Eurozone. Carney cautions that, “we simply cannot take the capitalist system, which produces such plenty and so many solutions, for granted.” Social capital – “shared values and beliefs in a society” – must be rebuilt “to make markets work.” He identifies several as the foundations of inclusive capitalism: 1) dynamism, essential to or_7c66ffca-ff86–4e4c-979d-7c5d7a22ef21.paper. An IMF graph shows that since 1970 there have been sharp drops in the percentage of growth in 1974–755 (oil crisis) and 1980-82, and milder decreases in 1991, 1998, and 2002. It isn’t until 2009 that growth decreases from the level of 1970. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/update/01/ 19 Carney, emphasis added. “Inequality is growing. Disparities are increasing – between the rich and poor in individual countries, and until recently, between countries. Branko Milanovic reports that “The global financial crisis is keeping real incomes stagnant in advanced economies but it probably narrowed global inequality between citizens of the world, because most developing countries continued with strong growth.” Branko Milanovic, “More or Less,” Finance & Development, September 2011: 48, p. 3. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2011/09/milanovic.htm.

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succeed in the global economy; 2) a long-term perspective, to align incentives across generations; 3) fairness, for markets to sustain their legitimacy and so finance can be trusted; and 4) engaged citizens, who recognize their obligations to each other. Carney also uses the language of social contract, claiming that, “inclusive capitalism is fundamentally about delivering a basic social contract comprised of relative equality of outcomes; equality of opportunity; and fairness across generations. … they appeal to a fundamental sense of justice.” 20 Lagarde contrasts the vision of “inclusive capitalism” with current reality. The vision, she says, is “trust, opportunity, rewards for all within a market economy – allowing everyone’s talents to flourish.” However, it had become more extractive than inclusive. Prior to the crisis, “financial actors were allowed to take excessive risks, leading to a situation whereby the profits on the upside went to the industry – and the losses on the downside were picked up by the public.” In the wake of the Great Recession, capitalism is associated “with high unemployment, rising social tensions, and growing political disillusion.” She notes that “trust – in leaders, in institutions, in the free-market system itself” has been one of the main casualties. She lists several other consequences of excessive inequality: 1) hinders people from participating fully and developing their potential; 2) erodes the principles of solidarity and reciprocity that bind societies together; 3) and democracy begins to fray at the edges. She is concerned that it may undermine the principle of equal rights proclaimed in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She also points out its economic impact: IMF research – “which looked at 173 countries over the last 50 years – found that more unequal countries tend to have lower and less durable economic growth.” 21 Carney, p. 3. He appeals to John Rawls, major liberal philosopher: “Who behind a Rawlsian veil of ignorance – not knowing their future talents and circumstances – wouldn’t want to maximize the welfare of the least well off?” 21 Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, “Economic Inclusion and Financial Integrity – an Address to the Conference on Inclusive Capitalism,” London, May 27, 2014. 20

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The Conference on Inclusive Capitalism is itself indicative of both the deepening skepticism about capitalism and the challenges of changing it. The 250 people from 37 countries and 35 business sectors invited to the conference together, “have $30 trillion of assets under management,” according to conference organizer Lynn Forester de Rothschild. This is around a third of global investable wealth! Rothschild said that some came out of a sense of self-preservation, since “capitalism appears to be under siege” She did not ask for commitments from participants up front, but says there will be follow-up. Prince Charles began the conference by telling participants “that every one of you, ladies and gentlemen, is so well-placed to take the kind of action needed to create a new form of inclusive capitalism.” 22 Carney contends that a start has been made with financial reform, “and that by completing the job, by returning to true markets, we can make capitalism more inclusive.” However, Lagarde cautions that making capitalism more inclusive will be difficult, as there will be winners and losers, “and the likely losers are those who have the biggest voice, because they have the largest means.” 23 (The issue of voice will be addressed later in the chapter.)

ECONOMICS, VALUES, AND ETHICS

How did market fundamentalism come to prevail, in spite of its consequences? Neo-classical economics underlies the neoliberal paradigm which promotes open markets, free trade, minimal regulation, and privatization of state-owned enterprises as the path to https://www.imf.org/external/np/speeches/2014/052714.htm. In my judgment, this is a surprisingly frank and insightful speech, worth reading in its entirety. 22 Ari Shapiro, “World’s Richest People Meet, Muse On How To Spread The Wealth,” May 27, 2014: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/05/27/316317191/worldsrichest-people-meet-muse-on-how-to-spread-the-wealth. 23 Lagarde did not include the phrase “and the likely losers are those who have the biggest voice, because they have the largest means” in her prepared text, but Ari Shapiro (just cited) reports that she said it when presenting the speech. It seems it may be an allusion to her audience!

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economic growth and development. It claims to be an objective, value free science, which focuses on self-interested, “rational economic man” and his choices, utility and profit maximization. It contends that the “free market” is the most efficient institution to allocate scarce resources. Drawing on the work of Adam Smith, a forebearer of this approach, it declares that an “invisible hand” guides individual pursuit of self-interest toward a common good (The Wealth of Nations, 1776). 24 Neoclassical economics points to the sophisticated mathematical models and equations developed to predict economic behavior and phenomena as the basis for its claims to be an objective, value free science. Economist Athena Peralta charges that, “Though mathematically neat, neoclassical economic theory, including free trade theory, is based on a set of key assumptions that are highly restrictive and unrealistic;” such as “the existence of perfectly competitive markets and perfect information.” 25 Economist Julie Nelson asserts that the model is set up so that, “everything that is not ‘scientifically’ justified and mathematically tractable is assumed away.” She points out that in the attempt to create a “value-free” or “objective” approach, “neoclassical economics in fact, by omission, devalued concern with human needs, justice, and sustainability.” 26 Economist and theologian Daniel Finn addresses some of these concerns in his book The Moral Ecology of Markets. Although Finn disagrees with some of the claims of market critics, he agrees that economic theories are not “value-free.” He demonstrates that attempts by Milton Friedman, James Buchanan, and Friedrich Hayek “to defend markets without recourses to moral arguments are unsuccessful. Each needs a strong moral stance to complete his own This section draws on the public lecture, “Interrogating Assumptions: Peace and Justice Issues in Economics,” I presented at Moravian College, when I served as Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Peace and Justice Studies, Spring 2008. The lecture was cosponsored by the Religion and the Economics Departments. 25 Athena Peralta, Á Caring Economy, World Council of Churches, 2005, p.11. 26 Julie Nelson, Economics for Humans, University of Chicago Press, 2006, p. 24. 24

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vision, and these moral positions cannot themselves defended on the amoral grounds they propose.” Finn contends that, “an adequate analysis of markets, whether a defense or a critique, must include an articulation of their moral underpinnings, including the moral significance of the other institutional elements that form the context for markets.” As a theologian and ethicist, he does not reject the claim of economists that self-interest can lead to just outcomes. (The Inclusive Capitalism Initiative appeals to protecting the “common long-term interests of investors and of the capitalist system” as its aim. 27) Finn gives this claim “a conditional moral approval, if markets have been properly defined by law, if essential goods and services are provided, if the morality of individuals and groups is apparent, and if there exists a vibrant civil society.” Finn notes that there will be disagreement and debate about the specifics of these criteria. 28 What happens when concern for human needs, justice, and sustainability do not count, are left out of economics? Athena Peralta, along with other feminist economists, argues that neoclassicaleconomics’ exclusive focus on goods and services that can be exchanged in the market for a profit – or be “monetized” – leaves out non-marketable goods and services like those provided by women’s care and subsistence work (also called social reproduction) as well as environmental services. These goods and services are rendered statistically invisible and worthless in this approach.” These activities, which ensure the reproduction and maintenance of the labor force, are essential to the healthy functioning of any economy, and make use of scarce economic resources, including women’s time and energy.” A crucial implication of this is that, “what is typically considered economically ‘efficient’ may actually represent a transfer of costs from the market to the household and ecological realms such that women’s work and the environment are effectively subsidizing Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild and Adam Posen, “How capitalism can repair its bruised image,” in The Wall Street Journal, January 1, 2013. 28 Daniel Finn, The Moral Ecology of Markets, Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 33, 145. 27

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economic production.” 29 Sociologist Saskia Sassen calls cuts in government spending which transfer the provision of health, education on other social services to the household the “feminization of survival.” 30 The implications of externalizing environmental costs are immense and have most directly impacted poorer countries. Richard Norgaard, an ecological economist at U.C. Berkeley says that “At least to some extent, the rich nations have developed at the expense of the poor and, in effect, there is a debt to the poor. That, perhaps, is one reason that they are poor. You don’t see it until you do the kind of accounting that we do here.” 31 Professor Norgaard is speaking about a report released in January, 2008, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This groundbreaking study assessed the impacts of agricultural intensification, deforestation, overfishing, loss of mangrove swamps and forests, ozone depletion and climate change, from 1961–2000. (The impacts of ozone depletion and climate change were estimated through the end of 21st century.) Deforestation and agricultural intensification primarily impact the host country, but the impacts from climate change and ozone depletion are spread widely over all nations. Thara Srinivasan, leader of the study, said that, “Low-income countries will bear significant burdens from climate change and ozone depletion. But these environmental problems have been overwhelmingly driven by emission of greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting chemicals by the rest of the world.” 32 Peralta, pp. 12–13 Saskia Sassen, “Women’s Burden: Counter-geographies of globalization and the feminization of survival,” Journal of International Affairs (Spring 2000), pp. 503–24. 31 “Rich Countries Owe Poor a Huge Environmental Debt,” The Guardian UK, 1/21/2008. U. Thara Srinivasan, et al., “The debt of nations and the distribution of ecological impacts from human activities,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 105:5 (February 5, 2008), 1768– 70. 32 Robert Sanders, “Rich nations’ environmental footprint falls on poor,” Media Relations, UC Berkeley, 1/22/08. 29 30

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The aim of the development of a dynamic global economy after the Second World War was that the world’s people might live in peace and prosperity. Neoliberalism – the belief that free, competitive markets are by far the unrivalled way to organize economics – has guided economic development since the 1980s. A historical overview of this period will show to what extent this aim has been achieved. Has a concern for justice, human needs, and sustainability been evident in an era of intensive globalization?

GLOBALIZATION, NEOLIBERALISM, AND DEVELOPMENT

Thomas Friedman contends that globalization is, “largely a technology-driven phenomenon,” with the development of communication, transportation, and computer technology inevitably and naturally leading to globalization. In his book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization, he argues that unless countries commit, “to modernizing, streamlining, and privatizing their economies” (the Golden Straitjacket), they will not be successful in the new global economy. 33 Both globalization and technology, especially the Internet, are drivers of a stunning increase in world gdp over the last two decades. An analysis of “The Impact of the Internet on Economic Growth and Prosperity” (October 2011) by the McKinsey Global Institute determined that, “the Internet accounted for 21 percent of the GDP growth in mature economies over the past 5 years.” They contend that although “large enterprises and national economies have reaped major benefits from this technological revolution, individual consumers and small, upstart entrepreneurs have been some of the greatest beneficiaries from the Internet’s Thara Srinivasan also pointed out that, “When all these impacts are added up, the portion of the ecological footprint from high-income nations that is falling on the low-income countries is greater than the financial debt recognized for low income countries, which has a net present value of 1.8 trillion in 2005 international dollars. (International dollars are U.S. dollars adjusted to account for the different purchasing power of different currencies.) “The ecological debt could more than offset the financial debt of low-income nations,” she said. 33 Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization, Strauss and Giroux, 1999, p. 31, 86–87, 357.

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empowering influence. If Internet were a sector, it would have a greater weight in GDP than agriculture or utilities.” Their analysis showed that “dynamic, diversified supply chains, global talent sourcing, and analysis of large data sets” have enabled large businesses to create significant value. SMEs (small and medium enterprises) that used Web technology grew more than twice as fast as those with minimal use, had twice as much revenue from exports, and created twice as many jobs. This was the case from manufacturing to retail. 34 Does this mean that globalization is inevitable? Economist Ha-Joon Chang contends that there is nothing inevitable about globalization, because it is driven more by politics (that is, human will and decision) than technology. “Technology only defines the outer boundaries of globalization. Exactly what shape it takes depends on what we do with national policies and what international agreements we make.” Furthermore, in his 2008 book, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism, he refutes the claim that neoliberalism has created economic growth and reduced poverty. “Contrary to what orthodoxy would have us believe, virtually all the successful developing countries since the Second World War initially succeeded through nationalistic policies, using protection, subsidies and other forms of government intervention.” The more recent economic success stories of China, and increasingly India, are examples that show the importance of strategic, rather than unconditional, integration with the global economy based on a nationalistic vision. 35

NEOLIBERALISM AND (MAL)DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONS

The Scorecard on Development 1980–2010 contends that the fact that the neoliberal reforms of the post-1980 era “coincided with a sharp, long-term decline in economic growth for the vast majority

James Manyika and Charles Roxburgh, “The great transformer: The impact of the Internet on economic growth and prosperity,” McKinsey Global Institute, October 2011: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/the_gr eat_transformer 35 Ha-Joon Chang, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2008), 38–9, 28–9. 34

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of low- and middle-income countries during the 1980–2000 period is at least prima facie evidence that on the whole, these reforms contributed to the economic failure.” The IMF had been one of the most important promoters of neoliberal, and often pro-cyclical, policies in low- and middle-income countries. It headed up a “creditors’ cartel” whereby borrowing countries that did not reach agreement with the Fund would not get credit from the World Bank, regional banks such as the Inter-American Development Bank, and sometimes even the private sector. At an annual rate, every quintile saw per capita growth that was slower by roughly half – or more – in the second period (1980–2000) as compared with the first (1960–80), along with significant drops on social indicators (including life expectancy, adult, infant, and child mortality, and education). 36 Extreme poverty and gross inequality are forms of violence – structural violence. The Peace Research Institute in Oslo found that most of the civil wars in the 1990s took place in countries with high poverty levels, little fresh water, land degradation, high external debts, and a history of vigorous IMF intervention. 37 Three particular cases of IMF interventions with terrifying impacts have been documented in academic books. The first case is Bolivia in the 1980s, when IMF-sponsored “shock therapy” cuts shattered the country’s tin industry, driving thousands of miners back to the countryside to eke out a living in the coca fields. The second is Rwanda in the early 1990s, when IMF-sponsored structural adjustment helped precipitate a catastrophic shredding of civil society, laying the basis for the horrific genocide in 1994. The third is In-

Mark Weisbrot and Rebecca Ray, DESA Working Paper No. 106, “The Scorecard on Development 1980-2010: Closing the Gap? June 2011, pp. 2–3. 37 Cited in Heather Eaton, “Can Ecofeminism Withstand Corporate Globalization? in Ecofeminism and Globalization: Exploring Culture, Context, and Religion, ed. Heather Eaton and Lois Ann Lorentzen, Rowman and Littlefield, 2003, p. 28. 36

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donesia in 1998, “when structural adjustment led to a massive increase in poverty.” 38 The Scorecard on Development reports that the 2000–2010 period showed a rebound in economic growth as well as progress on social indicators for the vast majority of low- and middle-income countries. According to the authors, possible contributing factors were abandoning failed policies like fixed exchange rates (Argentina, Brazil, and Russia), moving away from neoliberal policies of overly-high interest rates and an over-valued exchange rate (India), accumulating reserves, so as to prevent the liquidity problems that played a major role in the 1997 Asian financial crisis, “and avoiding the necessity of borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and accepting unwanted conditions attached to the loans (most of the middle-income countries of Asia and Latin America.) 39 Branko Milanovic identifies the middle classes of the emerging market economies (which includes more than a third of world population) and the global top 1% as “the main winners of globalization (1988–2008),” measured as a rise in real income. The top 1% has seen its real income rise by more than 60%, at the median itself there was an 80% real increase and some 70% around it. This group includes some 200 million Chinese, 90 million Indians, and about 30 million people each from Indonesia, Brazil and Egypt. There were also significant gains for those at the bottom third of the global income distribution, with real incomes rising between more than 40% and almost 70%. The poorest 5% of the population real incomes remained the same. So who lost between 1988 and 2008? Mostly people in Africa, some in Latin America and post-Communist countries.” 40 In 2012 Kofi Annan highlighted the Paul Kellogg, “Of Terror, the IMF, Keynes, and the Fiscal Multiplier,” October 17, 2012: http://www.polecon.net/2012/10/of-terror-imf-keynes-and-fiscal.html. This is an excellent analysis, with a bibliography identifying his sources. 39 Weisbrot and Ray, p. 11. 40 Branko Milanovic, “Global Income Inequality by the Numbers: In History and Now – An Overview,” World Bank Development and Research Group, November 2012. It is this income increase at the bottom of 38

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situation of most people in Africa: “It cannot be said often enough, that overall progress remains too slow and too uneven; that too many Africans remain caught in downward spirals of poverty, insecurity and marginalization; that too few people benefit from the continent’s growth trend and rising geo-strategic importance; that too much of Africa’s enormous resource wealth remains in the hands of narrow elites and, increasingly, foreign investors without being turned into tangible benefits for its people.” 41 It is also important to note the growth of inequality within countries like China and India, which experienced strong economic growth during the last decade or two. The World Bank’s Poverty and Inequality 2013 database shows that in Indonesia, China, India, Pakistan and Nigeria – all lower middle-income countries except for China, which is now classed as upper middle-income – the richest 10 percent of the population have acquired a much greater share of national income than the poorest 40 percent over the past 30 years, with the trend set to continue. In countries where inequality has declined, mainly in Latin America, “governments are increasing tax revenues and spending more on social protection and poverty reduction policies.” 42 In Capitalism: A Ghost Story, Arundhati Roy poignantly reflects on what it means to be in India’s middle class: “In India the 300 million of us who belong to the the global pyramid that has allowed the proportion of what the World Bank calls the absolute poor (people whose per capita income is less than 1.25 PPP dollars per day) to go down from 44% to 23% over approximately the same 20 years. 41 Kofi Annan, Africa Progress Panel Report, 2012, cited in, Claire Kumar, “Africa rising? Inequalities and the essential role of fair taxation,” Tax Justice Network – Africa and Christian Aid, February 2014. This is a very good overview of the causes of inequality and ways to remedy them. 42 Cited in Oxfam Briefing Paper 178, “Working for the Few: Political capture and economic inequality,” Oxfam, January 20, 2014, p. 7; remarks on Latin America, p. 24. Oxfam International was formed in 1995 by a group of independent non-governmental organizations, who aim to work together for greater impact on the international stage to reduce poverty and injustice. The name “Oxfam” comes from the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, founded in Britain in 1942.

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new, post-International Monetary Fund (IMF) ‘reforms’ middle class – the market – live side by side with spirits of the netherworld, the poltergeists of dead rivers, dry wells, bald mountains, and denuded forests; the ghosts of the 250,000 debt-ridden farmers who have killed themselves, and of the 800 million who have been impoverished and dispossessed to make way for us.” 43 In Spain and Greece, the impacts of austerity programs – which require countries to reduce spending on health, education and development, while debt repayment and other economic policies are prioritized – have been devastating. Unemployment increased dramatically, especially among young people, and protests erupted as they had in indebted countries under IMF structural adjustment programs in the 1980s. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde called these unemployment rates in “advanced countries” “terrifying and unacceptable,” when she proposed easing austerity policies imposed on Greece in October of 2012. She summarized the statistics she cited: “in these two countries, fully one-quarter of those who want to work are unemployed, half of all young people.” 44In January 2014, both still had the highest unemployment rates in the EU: Greece – 26.7%, youth 56.8%; Spain – 25.3%, youth – 53.9%. 45 The U. S. also has high unemployment rates for youth, with a significant difference between racial/ethnic groups. Unemployment for 18 to 29 year olds is 15.8%, more than double the general rate. However, unemployment for 18 to 29 year old African-Americans is 23.8%. Rates for recent college graduates more than doubled between 2008 and 2010, from 3.1 % to 8% in 2010. The rate for young people without a high school diploma was 33% in 2010. These high youth unemployment rates predate the recession; in p. 8.

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Arundhati Roy, Capitalism: A Ghost Story, Haymarket Books, 2014,

“Transcript of a Press Briefing by International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde and First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton,” with Gerry Rice, Director, External Relations Thursday, October 11, 2012, Tokyo, Japan. 45 http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3– 02052014–AP/EN/3–02052014–AP-EN.PDF 44

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2000, the overall unemployment rate was about 4%, but over 9% for 15 to 24 year olds. In the 33 “developed” countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the combined 2013 youth unemployment was 16%, ranging from 7% in Japan to 58% in Greece. 46

PATHOLOGIES IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Saskia Sassen develops the concept of expulsion to go beyond a focus on growing inequality as a way “of capturing the pathologies of today’s global capitalism,” in Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy (2014). She contends that during the past two decades there has been “a sharp growth in the number of people, enterprises, and places expelled from the core social and economic orders of our time.” These expulsions may have more of an impact on shaping the world than the rapid economic growth in China, India, and a few other countries. Furthermore, “such expulsions can coexist with economic growth as counted by standard measures.” Sassen contends “that we are seeing the making not so much of predatory elites but of predatory “formations,” a mix of elites and systemic capacities with finance as an enabler, that push toward acute concentration.” Two profound shifts which moved away from a logic of inclusion took off around the world in the 1980s. “One is the material development of growing areas of the world into extreme zones for key economic operations. The second is the ascendance of finance in the network of global cities.” What is new about finance in our current era is its capacity to develop complex instruments across a range of entities and processes which securitize Gene Budig and Alan Heaps, “Unemployment a crisis for youth: Column,” USA Today, May 4, 2014: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/05/04/economy-youthunemployment-jobs-america-column/8471769. It is important to examine racial/ethnic and gender disparities to understand current intersections of systemic networks of class, gender, and race/ethnicity. For a detailed analysis, see Pamela K. Brubaker, “Inequality, Class, and Power in Global Perspective: Feminist Reflections,” Religion, Theology, and Class: Fresh Engagements after Long Silence, ed. Joerg Rieger, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, pp. 157–73. 46

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nonfinancial sectors. Furthermore, “continuous advances in electronic networks and tools make for seemingly unlimited multiplier effects.” Derivatives are an example of this: by 2005 “the (notional) value of outstanding derivatives was $630 trillion; this was fourteen times the global gross domestic product.” 47 There is a plethora of research which shows that financialization of capitalism not only caused the financial crisis, but is a primary cause of ongoing economic malaise. Bruce Bartlett, who held senior policy roles in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, presented an overview of recent research on this topic in Economix, a New York Times blog. One study showed that financial services as a share of U.S. gdp rose from 2.8% in 1950 to 4.9% in 1980, and 8.3 % in 2006, a tripling of its share. A study by two economists from the Bank for International Settlements argues that although “the impact of finance on economic growth is very positive in the early stages of development, beyond a certain point it becomes negative, because the financial sector competes with other sectors for scarce resources.” Britain’s former top financial regulator, Adair Turner, said that “There is no clear evidence that the growth in the scale and complexity of the financial system in the rich developed world over the last 20 to 30 years has driven increased growth or stability.” He suggests that the financial sector’s gains are more what economists call economic rents – basically something for nothing – rather than the return to greater economic value. According to research by economists from Williams College, “financialization is a principal driver of the rising share of income going to the ultra wealthy – the top 0.1 percent of the income distribution.” Bartlett also refers to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis that shows that, “the rising share of income going to financial assets also contributes to labor’s falling share.” LaSaskia Sassen, Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy, Belnap Press of Harvard University Press, 2014, pp. 1, 2, 8–9, 13, 212, emphasis added. The chapters of her book thoroughly analyze these expulsions; chapter two is on “The New Global Market for Land,” chapter three is on “Finance and Its Capabilities: Crisis as Systemic Logic.” I draw on her description of these two shifts to frame my own discussion and examples. 47

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bor’s share fell 12 % since its recent peak in 2001, and even more from its historical level from the 1950s through the 1970s. A report from the International Labor Organization found that in “developed economies,” financialization is by far the largest contributor. The ILO estimates that 46% of labor’s falling share resulted from financialization, 25 percent from institutional factors, 19% from globalization, and just 10 percent from technological change. 48 The second shift that contributes to expulsions is, “the material development of growing areas of the world into extreme zones for key economic operations.” Sassen says that such areas are transformed into extreme zones for profit extraction, and include “spaces for outsourced work” and “plantations and places for resource extraction.” Public awareness of outsourced work has been raised by numerous campaigns over the past two decades against sweatshop conditions in the supply chains of companies like Nike and Gap, and retailers like WalMart, JC Penney and higher end chains. The horrific deaths in April of 2013 of over a thousand workers and the serious injuries of over 2,500 rescued workers in the collapse of an eight story Rana Plaza building (which housed several garment factories) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, made headlines around the world. A Donor Trust Fund was established, seeking $40 million dollars, to ensure that families of the dead and survivors received compensation for loss of income and medical expenses. However, as of April of 2014 only one-half of the scores of global clothing brands associated with the factories in the building had contributed to the Fund. 49 The realities of extreme profit extraction from plantations and resource extractions are less well-known. These include the expulsion of people and communities from the land, often into urban Bruce Bartlett, “Financialization as a Cause of Economic Malaise,” June 11, 2013: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/financialization-as-acause-of-economic-malaise/. There are links to the original reports in the Bartlett’s online blog. 49 See the Who Needs to Pay Up section of the website for Clean Clothes Campaign: http://www.cleanclothes.org/ranaplaza/who-needs-to-pay-up. 48

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slums, and the negative environmental impacts such as toxic pollution of land and water as well as the exhaustion of ground water supplies. Oxfam International has documented violent land grabs in Brazil, Cambodia, Mali, Zambia and Malawi by sugar mills and plantations. It began a campaign in the fall of 2013 calling on CocaCola, PepsiCo and Associated British Foods to commit to zero tolerance of land grabs throughout their supply chains. 50 The World Bank reported a fourfold increase in global largescale farmland investments between 2001 and 2009. There was also an increase in the deaths of people defending rights to their land and environment; three times as many were killed in 2012 as in 2002. Global Witness, a British based non-governmental organization that “investigates and campaigns to change the system by exposing the economic networks behind conflict, corruption and environmental destruction,” has verified that 908 citizens were killed during that period. This reality is seriously under-reported; “even the known level of killings is on a par with the more high-profile incidences of 913 journalists killed while carrying out their work in the same period.” Furthermore, this points to a much higher level of intimidation and non-lethal violence. The majority of those facing threats are ordinary people opposing land grabs, the industrial timber trade, and mining operations, who will probably be forced from their home and lands. “Indigenous communities are particularly hard hit.” State security forces, often in collaboration with corporations and private landowners, are involved in some cases. “Just 10 perpetrators are known to have been tried, convicted and punished between 2002 and 2013 – around one per cent of the overall incidence of known killings,” indicating “an endemic culture of impunity.” Since their land rights are not always recognized in law or practice, they are “open to exploitation by powerful economic interests who brand them as ‘anti-development’.” Global Witness rightly contends that, “a model of economic development that undermines planetary life-support systems and kills and intim-

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idates those who would protect them cannot be called ‘development’ at all.” 51 We have seen that neoliberalism globalization produces (mal)development rather than development. It does not measure up to our concern for justice, human needs, or sustainability. Although it may produce economic growth as measured by gdp, it threatens human and planetary sustainability. Even though there has been persistent resistance, it has been near impossible to change. In the conclusion to Expulsions, Sassen states that predatory formations are the most powerful form of an organizing logic that “swallows up and repositions” diverse worlds and specialized knowledges. She sees this “in the economy and in the ways some the most powerful actors in the economy use people, governments, and the world’s resources to ensure corporate economic growth with an absolute minimum of global restraints and as few local responsibilities as possible.” Sassen contends, though, that these formations “are far more than simply the richest individuals or the richest firms or the most powerful governments.” Nor are the logics that drive these formations easily subject to existing governance mechanisms, and “not even the most powerful individuals and firms can control or direct” them. 52 Lagarde cautioned that making capitalism more inclusive will be difficult, as there will be winners and losers, “and the likely losers are those who have the biggest voice, because they have the largest means.” Who are those with the biggest voice? Susan George calls them the Davos class because they are “nomadic, powerful and interchangeable,” like those who meet in Davos for the World Economic Forum each January. Some have economic power and considerable personal wealth; “others have administrative and political power, which is usually exercised on behalf of those with economic power.” George insists that this is not a conspiracy, but a class that shares interests, knows each other, profits greatly from the current system, and does not want it significantly “Deadly Environment: The Dramatic Rise if Killings of Environmental and Land Defenders, 1-1-2002 – 31-12-2013,” Global Witness, 2014. 52 Sassen, Expusions, pp. 220-21. 51

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changed. It is present in every country, is very small – one in a thousand people, and has inherited or self-made money. “They run our major institutions, including the media, know exactly what they want and are much more united and better organized” than the rest of us. Although individually they may be moral, George charges that because they serve a single system, the Davos class “is predatory.” 53 In his book Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They are Making, David Rothkopf, a former managing director of Kissinger Associates and Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration, identifies an even smaller group of people – about 6,000 (one in over a million) who are members of a superclass, a global elite that emerged over past decades, whose members have “the ability to regularly influence the lives of millions of peoples in multiple countries worldwide.” Rothkopf shows how concentrated power is exercised by elite individuals who overlap on boards and management of the largest companies. He contends that transnational corporations and financial institutions “are now the largest and most significant transnational actors.” He contrasts the “global reach” of corporate leaders with the power of most national political leaders, which originates within their countries’ borders. Leaders of the global financial community have been able “to globalize markets while promoting the concept of self-regulation, or very light supervision.” He concludes that, “Only those countries with meaningful economic ties beyond those borders, or countries with sufficient resources to project force or mobilize the opinion of other nations, have leaders who can be counted among the members of the global superclass.” 54 With this point in mind, we turn to an examination of the role of the United States, as arguably the most powerful country in the world. Susan George, Whose Crises? Whose Future: Towards a Greener, Fairer, Richer World (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2010), 7–8. 54 David Rothkopf, Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They are Making (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008), xiv-xv, 122, 134, 33, emphasis added. 53

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POWER, HEGEMONY, AND THE USA

How has the U.S. used its power in relation to the development of peace and prosperity, the aims of the creation of a dynamic world economy proclaimed by U.S. Secretary of State Henry Morgenthau at the 1944 United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference? During World War II and the postwar era, the U.S. developed immense financial, economic and military power; it was the only one of the Allies whose country and economy were not ravaged by the war, although there was a significant loss of life by U.S. armed forces. Its major military buildup had stimulated the economy, ending the Great Depression. Its atomic weapons, used to project U.S. force against the Soviet Union, added to its military strength. It had also prevailed over John Maynard Keynes during the Bretton Woods conference. He had proposed a global currency unit outside the control of any one nation; instead, the U.S. dollar played this role, “backed by a fixed exchange rate of the dollar against gold.” The U.S. role in the IMF and World Bank was enhanced. 55 Congress scuttled the proposed International Trade Organization, which was opposed by U.S. businesses as too friendly to labor and developing countries. Instead, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was negotiated during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment, signed in 1947 and took effect in 1948. GATT lasted until 1994; it was replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. Several U.S. administrations have used the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization as instruments of domination to impose and maintain the hegemony of the US and neoliberalism. Although the Reagan administration attempted to defund the IMF in 1981, in accord with neoliberal principles, the US bolstered it as “the global disciplinarian” to ensure that some forty indebted countries –mainly in Africa and Latin America, who were having trouble repaying when interest For the Bretton Woods negotiations, see David Harvey, The Enigma of Capital and the Crises of Capitalism, Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 32. The original GATT text (GATT 1947) is still in effect under the WTO framework, subject to the modifications of GATT 1994. 55

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rates sharply rose after 1979, would pay back their debts to foreign banks. These were the IMF neoliberal structural adjustment programs, which soon were imposed on many other countries with severe negative impact (discussed in the prior section). 56The U.S. is the largest shareholder in the IMF and World Bank, which gives it effective veto power. Although each country has one vote in the WTO, the US and the EU use their financial power to press for advantages for their transnational corporations, who help write the proposed rules.

TWO LOGICS OF POWER

David Harvey’s analyses of power and hegemony are useful in analyzing this history. In his book, The Enigma of Capital and the Crises of Capitalism, he elaborates on a distinction between two logics of power. The first logic of power – a territorial logic, is driven by territorial imperatives and political interests, captive in part “to expressions of popular will (such as nationalism) in the public sphere” and refers to “the political, diplomatic, economic and military strategies deployed by the state apparatus in its own interest.” These strategies aim “to control and manage the activities of the population within the territory and to accumulate power and wealth within the state borders,” which can be used internally or externally to exert influence or exercise power over other states. The second – capitalist logic – “arises from the accumulation of money power in private and corporate hands searching for endless growth through profit-making. … it focuses on the way in which money power flows across and through space and over borders in the search for endless accumulation.” He describes this logic as “more processual and molecular than territorial.” Harvey’s description of capitalist logic is similar to Sassen’s description of predatory formations for profit extraction and wealth concentration, although he speaks of accumulation by dispossession rather than expulsions. However, Harvey thinks that class and nation are crucial to analysis. He sees neoliberalism as a project of the capitalist class, whose purpose is David Harvey, The Enigma of Capital and the Crises of Capitalism, Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 19. 56

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“to restore and consolidate” its power, and the U.S. as a hegemonic power. 57 The power and wealth produced by territorial logic can be used internally or externally. Internally it may be used for “the benefit of the people” or “more narrowly to create a good business climate for capital and a local capitalist class.” Externally it may be used “to exert influence or exercise power over other states.” Opening up access to the resources, markets, labor power and productive capacity that exists in other countries for further capital accumulation can be accomplished through violent conquest and occupation or “it can also be established more peacefully through negotiated access, trade agreements and commercial and market integrations.” Harvey contends that territorial and capitalist logics “are not reducible to each other but they are closely intertwined.” During the past few decades, “the struggle for hegemony,” especially financial hegemony is paramount, “though the military dimension continues to be of great importance.” 58

U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

U.S. post-World War II foreign policy seems to have been shaped by narrow economic interests. The Policy Planning Staff of the State Department advised in 1948 that, “we have 50% of the world’s wealth, but only 6.3% of its population. In this situation, our real job in the coming period … is to maintain this position of disparity. To do so, we have to dispense with all sentimentality … we should cease thinking about human rights, the raising of living standards, and democratization.” In other words, there is to be no redistribution of the world’s wealth; which arguably might be crucial to peace and prosperity. Ideals such as human rights, democracy, development – ideals held by many Americans, are dismissed as “sentimental.” 59 Harvey, pp. 10, 204–5. Ibid., pp. 205, 212. 59 Policy Planning Staff, United States Department of State, “Review of Current trends: US Foreign Policy,” Foreign Relations of the United States 1.2 (1948), p. 524. 57 58

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Certainly the U.S. government has not stopped talking about human rights, democratization, or raising living standards (development). Ha-Joon Chang points to the Marshall Plan, “which channeled a large amount of money into European post-war reconstruction” (1948–51) and also the U.S. role in allowing developing countries “to protect and subsidize their producers more actively than rich the rich countries, through the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.)” Chang argues that even if the Cold War was an important factor in US foreign policy, the US still deserves credit for these actions. 60 However, an examination of our overall foreign policy suggests that maintaining a grossly disproportionate share of global wealth continues to be an important objective. This, I suspect, is often the aim behind more general talk about “national interest” or “the American way of life.” It has shaped much of the foreign policy of both Republican and Democratic administrations in the postwar period. The U.S. role in coups in Iran, Guatemala, the Congo, Indonesia, Chile, among others, was as much – if not more – about protecting the interests of U.S. capital as it was about fighting communism. 61 Stephen Kinzer documents this in The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War. John Foster served as U.S. Secretary of State from 1953–59, resigning just a month before his death. Allen was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, from 1953–61. The brothers were shaped by missionary Christianity and American history (both their maternal grandfather, John W. Foster and their uncle, Robert Lansing, had served as U.S. Secretary of State), and as adults “by decades of work defending the interests of America’s biggest multinational corporations.” Both were lawyers, who became partners at Sullivan & Cromwell (the largest law firm in the US at the time). John Foster specialized in international finance and represented those in “the upper reaches of American commerce, manufacturing, and finance.” They helped Chang, op. cit, p. 63. See, for instance, Stephen Kinzer, Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, Times Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2006. 60 61

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shape the U.S. confrontation with the Soviet Union, stoking fear of communism as “Godless terrorism.” Together they engaged in covert actions that brought “the U.S. into partnership with dictators in several parts of the world,” most significantly Saudi Arabia, and in some countries “intervened to replace democratic governments with tyrannies.” Kinzer explains that their view of freedom was above all economic: “a country whose leaders respected private enterprise and welcomed multinational business was a free country.” They and other founders of the Council on Foreign Relations called their policy “liberal internationalism;” Kinzer aptly calls it “corporate globalism.” 62 Historian Greg Grandin contends in Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, the United States And the Rise of the New Imperialism that although “the promotion of capitalism has long been a concern of Stephen Kinzer, The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War, Times Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2013, quotations are from pp. 116–117, 312, 324–25, emphasis added. Allen had significant experience in the Middle East, and sent millions of dollars as cash bribes to further what he saw as U.S. interests. This failed in Egypt and Jordan, but was successful in Saudi Arabia. He passed tens of millions of dollars to Saudi leaders, which solidified a partnership that gave the U.S. “access to a seemingly unlimited supply of oil.” However, this strengthened “a deeply radical regime devoted to promoting forms of anti-Americanism that would ultimately prove to be devastating.” Kinzer, p. 189. Harvey writes that “Since 1945, the US has sought to dominate the Middle East, for that is where the global oil spigot lies. Its aim has been to prevent to formation of any independently powerful political force in the region and to protect the existence of a single world market denominated in dollars. This underpins the global hegemony of the dollar and accords the US the power of seignorage, the ability to print global money when in distress. … The extension of US control outwards from the core oilproducing states in Afghanistan and even in the heartland of central Asia bears all the marks of geopolitical pre-emption against Russian and Chinese aspirations.” The Enigma of Capital, p. 210. See also Andrew J. Bacevich, “Blood for Oil,” The New America Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War, Updated Edition, Oxford University Press, 2005, 2013, pp. 175–204. 62

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American foreign policy,” “the kind of capitalism advanced by the Bush doctrine is innovative – a militarized and moralized version that under the banner of free trade, free markets, and free enterprise often makes its money through naked dispossession.” The National Security Strategy of the USA, 2002, which articulated the basis of the “war on terror,” declared that “the United States will use ‘this moment of opportunity’ to bring democracy, development, free market and free trade to every corner of the globe.” Grandin reports that the U.S. First Calvary Division in Iraq was teaching Iraqis “business practices that conform to the new global corporate order,” dubbed “Operation Adam Smith.” 63 Paul Bremer, as director of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), issued orders that Antonia Juhasz contends transformed “the very foundation of the Iraqi economy.” These included orders which suspended all tariffs, customs duties, and other protective barriers – part of the Trade Liberalization Policy imposed upon Iraq. Order #39 rewrote the rules for foreign investment, with provisions for 100 percent foreign ownership of Iraqi businesses (except for oil), unrestricted and tax free remittance of all profits and other funds. One order even forbids Iraqi farmers from saving heirloom seeds, thus forcing them to buy imported seeds from transnational corporations. 64 A U. S. Institute of Peace special report on the CPA and economic reconstruction found that “Iraqi government officials disparaged the CPA approach as ‘market fundamentalism.’” CPA Order 39 was especially controversial. Since international law bars occupying powers from enacting major changes in occupied nation’s laws, it was seen as “evidence of an arrogant occupier overstepping its legal rights.” Some condemned it “as a ploy to permit foreign domination of the economy.” The report concludes that “whatever the validity of these criticisms, Greg Grandin, Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, the United States And the Rise of the New Imperialism, Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt Company, 2006, p. 160. 64 Antonia Juhasz, The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time, Regan Books, 2006, pp. 197, 211–212. 63

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their impact upon Iraqi perceptions of the occupation was substantial.” 65 Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes have estimated the total cost of the Iraq war as $6 trillion, which contributed to a dramatic increase in U.S. debt. Even more significant and unjust is the loss of life by 500,000 Iraqis, nearly all civilian and including many children, and the negative impact on regional stability. The biggest beneficiary of this war was U.S. defense contractors, the largest army of “private contractors” ever deployed in a war. In 2007, “some in Congress estimate that up to 40 cents of every tax dollar spent on the war goes to corporate war contractors.” At that time, “the United States spent about $2 billion a week on its Iraq operations.” 66Michael Brush reported that “CEOs at the top defense contractors have seen annual pay raises of 200 to 688% since 9/11. The average annual salary for a CEO at a top defense contracting firm is now more than $12 million. Some earn more than twice that amount. In 2006 Nicholas Chabraja (General Dynamics) and David Lesar (Halliburton) raked in more than $32 million and $30 million, respectively. Compare that to military salaries. It would take a top general in the military sixty-six years and nine weeks to earn as much as the average, and 170 years, forty-two weeks and five days to earn as much as Chabraja.” 67

MILITARY HEGEMONY

These contractors are part of the military industrial complex President Eisenhower warned about in his 1961 Farewell Address. He feared that this complex “threatens to dominate politics through its pervasive influence and to pursue its own narrow interests by exaggerating threats and manipulating external crises so as to construct a permanent war economy that would render it even more power-

Anne Ellen Henderson, “The Coalition Provisional Authority’s Experience with Economic Reconstruction in Iraq: Lessons Identified,” Special Report 138, U. S Institute of Peace, April, 2005, p. 11. 66 Jeremy Scahill, “Flush with Profits from the Iraq War, Military Contractors See a World of Business Opportunities,” August 13, 2007: http://www.alternet.org/story/59571/ 67 “Spoils of War,” The Nation, 10/22/07, p. 5. 65

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ful.” With its massive spending budget, the U.S. has long been the principal determinant of world military expenditures, which are estimated to have reached $1.756 trillion in 2012. This is higher than any year between the end of World War II and 2010; 2.5 % of global GDP, or about $249 for each person in the world. Military spending is concentrated in North American, Europe, and increasingly in Asia. 68 Economist Ismael Hossein-zadeh contends that there are two important differences between the market-driven behavior of military and nonmilitary industries in the U.S. In contrast to most civilian industries, the profits of military contractors are usually guaranteed. “These profits also tend (on average) to be higher than those of their civilian counterparts – especially during times of war and international conflicts.” The second difference is “that the quality of arms manufacturers’ products is measured in terms of death and destruction.” This serves as an incentive for contractors to develop more efficient instruments of death and destruction.” 69 The international arms trade is another element of the military-industrial complex. David Harvey points out that “to survive economically, the defense industries needed a thriving export trade in arms. This came to have a fundamental role in US capital accumulation, but it also resulted in the excessive militarization of the rest of the world.” 70 “Military Expenditure,” SIPRI Yearbook 2013, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, http://www.sipri.org/yearbook/2013/03. President Eisenhower is much admired by progressives, including me, for his prescient warning about the emergence of a military-industrial complex. However, he was instrumental in approving and establishing precedents for covert actions by the CIA during his presidency. “Eisenhower combined the mind-set of a warrior with a sober understanding of the devastation that full-scale war brings. That led him to covert action. With the Dulles Brothers as his right and left arms, he led the United States into a secret global conflict that raged throughout his presidency.” Kinzer, The Dulles Brothers, p.114. 69 Ismael Hossein-zadeh, The Political Economy of U.S. Militarism, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, pp. 201–02. 70 David Harvey, The New Imperialism, Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 60, emphasis added. 68

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According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the U.S. continues to be the leading supplier of weapons to the rest of the world; 44% of the sales from 2004–11, worth over $220 billion with 2/3 of those sales to developing countries. In spite of the global financial and economic crises, a few developing nations (India and Saudi Arabia) continued to make major arms purchases. SIPRI also reported that the 100 largest contractors sold $410 billion in arms and military services in 2011; ten of those companies sold half of that ($208 billion). USA Today reported that seven of these ten companies are U.S. based. Northrop Grumman (NOC) is of particular interest since it produces aircraft, electronics, missiles, ships, and space equipment (total workforce: 72,500). Its 2011 arms sales ($21.4 billion) comprised about 81% of total sales ($26.4 billion), even after a sharp decline in arms sales year over year. The company attributed the decline to reduced government spending on defense projects. Nevertheless, the company was more profitable than in the prior year ($2.1 billion). 71 Interestingly, the arms industry is protected from WTO regulations, under the “security exception.” Article XXI of the GATT, the principal agreement of the WTO, states that a country cannot be prohibited from taking any action that “it considers necessary for the protection of essential security interests … relating to the traffic in arms, ammunition and implements of war and such traffic in goods and materials as is carried on directly for the purpose of supplying a military establishment (or) taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations.” According to Stephen Staples of the International Network on Disarmament and Globalization, “This clause is the most powerful exception in the WTO. It actually allows a government to define its own ‘essential security interests,’ a definition that can’t be questioned by WTO dispute panels.” Staples thinks it spurs government military spending, since it is free from WTO challenges. There are often exemptions for military spending deemed vital for national security from the demands for market liberalization in free trade and investment “International Arms Transfers,” SIPRI Yearbook 2013, op. cit. Samuel Weigley, “10 companies profiting the most from war,” March 10, 2013, http://www.usatoday.com/ 71

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agreements negotiated by developed countries with other countries. Staples points out that “since only the wealthy countries can afford to devote billions on military spending, they will always be able to give their corporations hidden subsidies through defense contracts, and maintain a technologically advanced industrial capacity.” U.S. and European corporations receive enormous tax breaks and even lend money to other countries to purchase weapons from them. Therefore tax payers from these countries end up often unknowingly subsidizing arms sales. (This is a form of public financing, for private profits.) 72

FINANCIAL HEGEMONY

In January 2012, the Pentagon issued a document of strategic guidance entitled, “Sustaining Global Leadership: Priorities for Twenty First Century.” It laid out the rationale for what has been called the US pivot to Asia. “U.S. economic and security interests are inextricably linked to developments in the arc extending from the Western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South Asia, creating a mix of evolving challenges and opportunities. Accordingly, while the U.S. military will continue to contribute to security globally, we will of necessity rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region. Our relationships with Asian allies and key partners are critical to the future stability and growth of the region.” In his Introduction to the document, President Obama, declared “As Commander-inChief, I am determined that we meet the challenges of the moment responsibly and that we emerge even stronger in a manner that preserves American global leadership, maintains our military superiority…” 73The convergence of territorial and capitalist logics of power is evident. “The WTO and War: Making the Connection,” The WTO and the Global War System Forum Proceedings, November 28, 1999, p. 10. 73 U. S. Department of Defense, “Sustaining Global Leadership: Priorities for Twenty First Century,” January, 2012, emphasis in the original, http://www.defense.gov/news/defense_strategic_guidance.pdf. An analysis of this document or the issue of whether China is a threat to regional stability is beyond the scope of this chapter. For an insightful analysis, I recommend the paper by Ninan Koshy, “The Imperial ‘Pivot’ to Asia72

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“Engaging Peace and Sovereignty, Building People’s Solidarity: An International Conference on US Strategic Pivot to Asia,” was held in Manila, July 16–18, 2013. Chandra Muzaffar, president of the Malaysian-based International Movement for a Just World, identified some of the U.S.’s military and economic strategies for maintaining its global dominance: “maintenance of bases, weaponization of space, and surveillance using new technology as recently exposed by Edward Snowden and the highly-secretive TransPacific Partnership Agreement and the maintenance of the US dollar as the world’s main currency.” 74 The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is the focus of this section. The United States first expressed interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a mechanism for expanding financial service agreements throughout the Pacific Rim, according to the U.S. based Citizens Trade Campaign. “U.S. negotiators appear to be pushing for a financial services chapter that would not only provide Wall Street-based firms with greater access to financial service markets abroad, but also explicitly limit governments’ abilities to regulate banks, hedge funds and insurance companies,” – thus appearing to have learned nothing from the 2008 financial crash. 75Only five of Pacific and the New Cold War,” June 29, 2012. Koshy was a former director of the Commission on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches and at one time a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard School of Law. The paper is available at: http://www.peaceforlife.org/resources/analysis/157–the-imperial-pivotto-asia-pacific-and-the-new-cold-war. 74 JUST seeks to critique global injustice and to develop an alternative vision of a just and compassionate civilization guided by universal spiritual and moral values. The conference was co-sponsored by Peace for Life, an interfaith movement, Ban the Bases! Global Campaign Network, Asia Wide Campaign, Asia Pacific Anti-US Bases Network, and the International League of People’s Struggles. Dr. Muzzafar’s remarks were included in the conference report in the Peace for Life Newsletter, June-July 2013. I am a member of Peace for Life. 75 ”Trans-Pacific Fact Sheet,” Citizens Trade Campaign: www.citizenstrade.org

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the twenty nine chapters in the leaked TPPA contain provisions related to trade. (Most free trade agreements consist of ten chapters, or so). The other chapters are comprised of provisions related to patent protections, investor state rights and finance deregulation, among others. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is expected to continue allowing U.S.-subsidized corn, wheat, soy, rice and cotton to be dumped on other countries, while also allowing the import into the U.S. of cheaper (and often less safe) fruits, vegetables and seafood from other countries. The Citizens Trade Campaign rightly asserts that this consolidates global food supplies in the hands of fewer and fewer giant middlemen, while forcing more and more family farmers off their land and exposing consumers to wild food price fluctuations. Under NAFTA, this phenomenon became a driving force behind migration from Mexico to the U.S. Because of this, farmers in many countries are already adamantly opposed to the TPP. Who, then, benefits from the TPP? Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and a leader of the opposition Keadilan, the People’s Justice Party, wrote in an August 12, 2013, opinion piece that the party “views TPPA as an attempt by the US, as its main driver, to impose its brand of economic model of total free market, laissez-faire approach, deregulation and small government. The glaring absence of China, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia in the TPPA only lends credence to this theory of modern-day American hegemony that promotes primarily the US economic, business and geopolitical interests.” He also points out that “although TPPA may theoretically give Malaysian companies access to the US$500 billion in annual US govern-

Current members of the TPP negotiations are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the Philippines, the United States, Vietnam and more recently Japan. These 12 countries represent 40% of the world’s economy;” the US alone represents “25%, so it is clear who “the big power” is. The US already has Free Trade Agreements with 6 of the TPP countries, namely Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Singapore.

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ment procurement market, the chunk of this market is for defense, which is exempt from the TPPA. 76 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry claimed in an opinion piece entitled “Forging a Pacific future,” published on October 18, 2013, that the Trans-Pacific Partnership “will drive growth and create jobs across the Asia-Pacific region and the U.S.” In particular, it “will support American jobs and investments by expanding access to markets for goods and services in a region of robust economic growth, setting high labor and environmental standards and protecting intellectual property rights.” 77 Many Americans have become quite skeptical of such claims, given the significant loss of jobs (nearly 700,000) since NAFTA took effect in 1994. In total, U.S. free trade agreements over the past two decades have netted a loss of nearly five million jobs. A study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research predicts that the TPP will cause wages for 90 percent of American workers to decrease, while wealth of the top one percent will soar. 78 This suggests that yet again, the U.S. is using its power and wealth on behalf of its capitalist class. Anwar Ibrahim, “TPPA is not in our national interest,” August 12, 2013: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/what-you-think/article/tppa-is-notin-our-national-interest-anwaribrahim#sthash.V9j3KAuH.2WuRMqRw.dpuf. He also contrasts Malaysia’s bilateral agreements with 9 of the 12 TPP partners as “fair to each country’s situation unlike TPPA which disproportionately appears to benefit big multinationals.” The TPP is open to countries in the trans-Pacific area, including China, who agree to follow the rules that are negotiated. At the time of this writing (July, 2014), Taiwan, Indonesia and South Korea are considering joining the TPPA. Many Koreans oppose it. See “10 Reasons”: http://zoominkorea.org/koreans-oppose-tpp/. 77 John F. Kerry, “Forging a Pacific future,” The Los Angeles Times, October 18, 2013, A 17. He asserts that, “America and Asia are stronger” because of “the rebalancing of our foreign policy priorities in Asia.” 78 “Job-Killing Trade Deficits Soar under FTAs,” Public Citizen, 2013; “Gains from Trade?” Center for Economic and Policy Research, 2013. Under CAFTA, the trade balance of El Salvador, Guatemala, Hon76

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Rodrigo Contreras, former Chilean TPP negotiator, wrote that “It is critical to reject the imposition of a model designed according to realities of high-income countries, which are very different from the other participating countries. Otherwise, this agreement will become a threat for our countries: it will restrict our development options in health and education, in biological and cultural diversity, and in the design of public policies and the transformation of our economies.” Contreras also cautioned that the TPP, as it stands, “will also generate pressures from increasingly active social movements, who are not willing to grant a pass to governments that accept an outcome of the TPP negotiations that limits possibilities to increase the prosperity and wellbeing of our countries.” 79 After Japan joined the negotiations, Sachie Mizohata of the Association of University Faculties in Japan wrote in the Asia Times that, “The TPP is a Trojan horse, branded as a ‘free trade’ agreement, but having nothing to do with fair and equitable treatment. In reality, it is precisely ‘a wish list of the 1% – a worldwide corporate power’.” 80 Opposition continues to grow as more chapters of the agreement, which is not available yet for public or Congressional scrutiny, have been released through Wikileaks. Democracy Now reported on January 26, 2014, that new documents “show the White House may be ready to backtrack on a series of critical regulations in order to secure a deal on the trade pact, including legally binding requirements for pollution limits, logging standards, and a ban on the harvesting of shark fins.” It also reveals that countries that are party to the TPP would rely on trade sanctions instead of fines if a country violates its obligations.” 81 duras, and Nicaragua (the poorest countries in Central America) with the US, reversed from positive for them to negative; only Costa Rica benefited in this regard. 79 Rodrigo Contreras, “The New Chessboard.” This article has been translated from Spanish. The original article appeared in the Peruvian magazine Caretas, n.d. 80 http://atimes.com/atimes/Japan/JAP-02–270913.html 81 http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/16/japan_remains_hotb ed_of_tpp_protest

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ALTERNATIVES TO NEO-LIBERAL GLOBALIZATION

“There is an alternative, or rather there are many alternatives, to the neo-liberal globalization that is happening today,” proclaims Ha-Joon Chang in Bad Samaritans. 82 With this declaration, he challenges Margaret Thatcher’s TINA thesis – “there is no alternative.” Chang writes about alternatives in his book, demonstrating that what shape globalization takes depends on national policies and international agreements. The two main alternatives in mainstream discourse are inclusive capitalism and Keynesian developmentalism. Inclusive capitalism Mark Carney outlined two ways in which central banks can contribute to inclusive capitalism: “First, our core macroeconomic objectives promote social welfare. Second, we can help to create an environment in which financial market participants are encouraged to think of their roles as part of a broader system. By building a sense of responsibility for the system, individuals will act in ways that reinforce the bonds of social capital and inclusive capitalism.” Their greatest contribution may be “driving financial reforms that are helping to re-build the necessary social capital.” These are ending too-big-to-fail, creating fair and effective markets, reforming compensation, and building a sense of vocation and responsibility. 83 While these seem to be necessary reforms, in my judgment they are not sufficient to the overall crisis. Lagarde addressed two topics in her discussion: integrity in the financial system and inclusion in economic growth. The former includes completing the financial reform agenda and changing behavior and culture, which parallel Carney’s proposals. Inclusion in economic growth focused on “the fiscal policy dimension,” part of the IMF’s core business. Generally, “fiscal policies have a good record of reducing social disparities – for example, transfers and income taxes have been able to reduce inequality by about a third, on average, among the advanced economies.” Potentially beneficial Chang, p. 39. Chang’s approach can best be described as Keynesian developmentalism. 83 Carney, op. cit. 82

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options include “making income tax systems more progressive without being excessive; making greater use of property taxes; expanding access to education and health; and relying more on active labor market programs and in-work social benefits.” She cautions, though, that policy choices must be made carefully, so that “fiscal discipline” is not lost. Her proposals are necessary and more sufficient to the possibility of inclusive capitalism. Stefano Scarpetta, director for employment, labor and social affairs at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, has outlined several “Innovative approaches to foster inclusive economic growth” in an opinion piece. He gives specific examples of some of Lagarde’s options. In addition, he addresses the issue of the negative impact of technological change in job loss which Carney referred to and the ILO report documented. “But the digital revolution can also enable inclusive growth. Internet applications and other communication advances are spreading knowledge and information to millions of poor people.” He cites two examples, one in India and one in Kenya, as illustrative. 84 Keynesian developmentalism In a provocative March, 2014, Huffington News post entitled “Time for an Arab Economic Revolution: How Keynes Can Save the Arab Spring,” Richard Heydarian contends that “the so-called ‘Arab spring’ was not merely about more political freedoms and democratic representation, but instead primarily about overturning crony capitalism in its worst manifestation.” Although relatively stable rates of economic growth were achieved under crony neoliberal capitalism, “there was no inclusive development, with relentless population growth exacerbating youth unemployment and widespread poverty among many Arab economies.” Heydarian calls for an economic revolution that equals the democratic aspirations of the masses, and asserts that it is here that Keynesian ideas on pro-active state participation in economic planning and welfare-

Stefano Scarpetta, “Innovative approaches to foster inclusive economic growth,” Taipei Times, Dec 16, 2013, p. 9: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2013/12/16/200 3579118 84

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provision make sense.” This means re-inventing the state, and “establishing a developmental regime that fosters a reorientation of the national economy towards industrial productivity, agricultural dynamism, and inclusive growth.” He suggests that “the experience of developing countries such as China and Thailand strongly demonstrates the viability of such project even in an era of economic globalization.” 85 Sassen also looks to China as an example of how financial capital helped lift countless people out of poverty. She discusses this under the heading of “changing our understanding of growth and prosperity,” observing that over the past twenty years the greater our capacity to produce wealth has become, the more radical the condition of poverty has become. Rather than use financial capital in speculative investments which served mainly to enrich the already wealthy, “we must use that new capital for large-scale investments in public goods, to develop manufacturing sectors, to green our economies and more.” Sassen’s proposal is grounded in a logic of inclusion, present in economic policies in the first decades after World War II, but formulated so as to address climate change – a major threat to peace and prosperity. 86 Obstacles to and possibilities for development of alternatives It is clear that the necessity of financial reform is central to both inclusive capitalism and Keynesian developmentalism. Although some progress has been made, as indicated by Mark Carney’s Richard Heydarian, “Time for an Arab Economic Revolution: How Keynes Can Save the Arab Spring,” Huffington Post, 03/09/2014: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-javad-heydarian/time-for-anarab-economic_b_4926484.html. This post is based on Heydarian’s recent book, How Capitalism Failed the Arab World: The Economic Roots and Precarious Future of the Arab Uprisings, Zed Books, 2014. 86 Sassen, Expulsions, pp. 147–48. In his latest book, Joseph Stiglitz offers detailed proposals along similar lines in his chapter “The Way Forward: Another World is Possible,” Joseph Stiglitz, The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future, W.W. Norton & Company, 2012 pp. 264–90. 85

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speech, both he and Christine Lagarde stress the urgency of completing this task. However, a secret draft text for the Trade in Services Agreement, TISA, released by WikiLeaks on June 20, 2014, exposes the plans of the US and EU to maintain financial deregulation and liberalization. A “Memorandum on Leaked TISA Financial Services Text” by Professor Jane Kelsey, a leading expert on international trade, was also posted on the Wikileaks website. She makes several points, most significant to our analysis are these: “The leaked text shows the US and EU, which pushed financial services liberalization in the WTO, are the most active in the financial services negotiations on TISA. The third most active participant is the renowned tax haven of Panama. They want to expand and deepen the existing regime through TISA, bypassing the stalled Doha round at the WTO and creating a new template for future free trade agreements and ultimately for the WTO. TISA is designed for and in close consultation with the global finance industry, whose greed and recklessness has been blamed for successive crises and who continue to capture rulemaking in global institutions. A sample of provisions from this leaked text shows that governments signing on to TISA will: be expected to lock in and extend their current levels of financial deregulation and liberalization; lose the right to require data to be held onshore; face pressure to authorize potentially toxic insurance products; and risk a legal challenge if they adopt measures to prevent or respond to another crisis.” 87 This is a disturbing development, but progressive social movements around the world will continue to protest and resist the corporate capture of our governments and international institutions http://wikileaks.org/tisa-financial/ emphasis added. See the interview with Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, on Democracy Now: http://www.democracynow.org/2014/6/20/a_plan_only_banksters_will _love. For a broader discussion of trade agreements and financial regulation, see “Trade Agreements Cannot be Allowed to Undermine Financial Regulations,” Public Citizen: https://www.citizen.org/documents/FinanceReregulationFactSheetFIN AL.pdf 87

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and the neoliberal hegemonic order they have established. (The disclosure of this leaked draft of TISA by Wikileaks is indicative of the positive contributions of the Internet and social media to possibilities of change.) People and social movements are also creating local and regional just and sustainable alternatives to neoliberal capitalism. Most prominent is the social and solidarity economy (SSE), which has been implemented in some Latin American countries. SSE “includes various forms of cooperative production, ethical consumption, time banking, microcredit instruments and sustainable development practices, among others.” These draw on practices based on reciprocity and solidarity, which date back to preColombian times. The concept of buen vivir (to live well) “has been incorporated in the new constitutions of Bolivia and Ecuador, and provides a policy space for the articulation of indigenous movements with policy debates and struggles.” Some elements of the social and solidarity economy, especially cooperatives, have been brought into national and regional policy frameworks across South America. This was made possible by the recapture of the state as a legitimate instrument for development and citizenship rights (as in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela).” 88 Marcelo Saguier and Zoe Brent, “Regional Policy Frameworks of Social Solidarity Economy in South America,” Occasional Paper 6, Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), June 2014. Saguier and Brent’s list of emerging forms of post-neoliberal regionalism include creation of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), expansion of membership of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) with the incorporation of Venezuela and a greater political dimension beyond its market integration orientation, launching of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) and setting up of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). However, they only discuss UNASUR and MERCOSUR in their paper. In my judgment, ALBA is a possible but contested alternative to capitalism, but is beyond the scope of this chapter. ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas) was organized by the late Hugo Chavez, when he was president of Venezuela. It now includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela and Saint Lucia. It 88

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CONCLUSION

Fostering “just and sustainable economic development” is one of the ten principles of the just peacemaking paradigm, a new paradigm for war and peace. Thus, movements creating more just and sustainable alternatives to neoliberal capitalism are contributing to the global work of just peacemaking. 89 The International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (Jamaica, 2011) issued “An Ecumenical Call to Just Peace” which eloquently describes the meaning of just peace: “Within the limitations of tongue and intellect, we propose that Just Peace may be comprehended as a collective and dynamic yet grounded process of freeing human beings from fear and want, of overcoming enmity, discrimination and oppression, and of establishing conditions for just relationships that privilege the experience of the most vulnerable and respect for the integrity of creation.” In a time of violence and terrorism, may this vision inspire our movements for global peace. 90

has developed the SUCRE, a virtual regional currency. Venezuela and Ecuador signed a bilateral trade agreement using the SUCRE, in July of 2010. Counter-Globalization and Socialism in the 21st Century: The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America¸ ed. Thomas Muhr, Routledge, 2013, is an in-depth interdisciplinary analysis of its history, possibilities, and challenges. 89 Susan Brooks Thisthlethwaite, ed., Interfaith Just Peacemaking: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on the New Paradigm of Peace and War, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. I wrote the Christian Reflection on “Foster Just and Sustainable Economic Development.” This book grew out of two interfaith consultations, in June of 2007 and January of 2010. 90 “An Ecumenical Call to Just Peace, World Council of Churches, 2011, para 11. This document is available at: http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/resources-dov/wccresources/documents/declarations-on-just-peace/ecumenical-call-to-justpeace.html