Alternative views of the economic crisis
The dramatic downturn gripping the global economy has breathed new life into old questions about how best to run our economic systems.
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[We're seeing a divergence between economics as viewed by status quo players, and stakeholders including the public itself. Is economics the exclusive domain of governments, central banks and experts? Or do "ordinary people" have a vote? If they had a vote, how would they cast it? To me, one of the most troubling aspects of the current crisis is that "ordinary people" have been cut out of the process - even by their own democratically-elected governments. Meanwhile it appears that the people who ARE in charge have screwed up big-time, and don't know for sure how to fix the mess they've created. At least, not without the risk of total economic collapse.]
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Politicians, business leaders and policymakers searched for solutions at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos.
Meanwhile, different debates were taking place at the "alternative" World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil.
There, an eclectic mix of some 100,000 campaigners, thinkers, and working people came to starkly different conclusions about the causes of the downturn, and how best to address it.
We asked four participants from around the globe to give us their opinions. Click on the links below to read their arguments.
news.bbc.co.uk
Jim |
