Globalization: What Does it Mean for Asia Pacific?
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Session Chairman Minoru Murofushi, Chairman of Itochu Corporation, Japan, commented that the demonstrations around the Crown complex were a further indication of the backlash against globalization, and that many perceive globalization to carry risks as well as benefits. The key question was how can globalization be best managed to maximize opportunities while minimizing the risks and new inequalities that may accompany it.
David Lim Tik En, Minister of State, Ministry for Defence and Ministry of Information and the Arts, Singapore, focused on two key issues in globalization – talents (and the mobility of people with talents in demand) and trade. Asia needs to learn to develop and also retain talent, and that requires a revamp of much of its culture including education infrastructure, legal systems, immigration policies and management policies, while arts and entertainment facilities will need to adapt to meet changing demands and more international tastes. A free and open trade and investment environment is necessary, but achieving agreement between many countries and cultures is difficult. Globalization could lead to benchmarks, better jobs, higher standards of living, but could result in some countries being left behind, with the gap between these groups broadening to the detriment of all.
Thomas Russo, Vice-Chairman, Lehman Brothers, USA, felt there is a growing need to overcome the problem of differing local laws by accepting best practice as a transcendent standard, particularly in areas of risk management and documentation. Particular issues of concern in international financial activity are the lack of generally accepted accounting principles; the flow of capital and the need for stable (even if unwelcome) financial rules; the need for an international standard of corporate governance; and an understanding of the rule of law.
Vandana Shiva, Director, Research Foundation of Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy, India, said, "We are working in casino economies, driven much more by machine money than by real money earned by real people." Everyone wants trade and productivity, but not for just a few. Agriculture and manufacturing are still major forces in the world, though they now have less prominence than technology. For the vast majority of the world's population, they are still the means of subsistence. However, the demands of globalization, such as the subsidization of the US soya seed market, can result in 75% of India's population losing its livelihood. The knowledge society is based in part on bio-piracy, as the knowledge of third-world countries, developed over generations, is exploited and developed (e.g. developing an improved strain of foodstuffs), and the results being sold back at inflated prices to the originators who are fined if they grow or keep the foodstuffs themselves. "The rules of free trade are working at the cost of democracy and people's freedoms."
Tatsuya Ito, State Secretary for the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Japan, spoke of the underlying causes of the recent downturn in the Asian economy, which is now beginning to pick up again. Factors in the rebound include export growth. Globalization promotes economic development but can also trigger crisis. Where crisis can be overcome, globalization can boost production and the economy, and is therefore overall a positive factor. Asia must systematically strengthen its economies, with countries working together with their neighbours, learning from their experiences, and developing local, regional and global connections.
Sharan Burrow, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions, said companies have a choice between pursuing an economically divided society, or putting people into the equation for a balanced society. Technology can benefit social and cultural development, and has already provided great benefits, but has left out the needs of many people and led to poverty, working children and the debt crisis of developing countries. The Unions' mission is to ensure a fair share for working people and families. The current situation is a shocking indictment of a working culture that denies working people a fair share. There is a growing sense of powerlessness and alienation being felt by increasing numbers of Australians, as they face downsizing, lost jobs, bank closures, unpaid overtime and government withdrawal of funding for health and education, due to corporate insistence on the bottom line. Efficiency and profit matter more than a fair share for working people.
Burrow said subsistence life-styles are being destroyed, and other than in Japan, Asia is being used as a profit bowl for globalization, not its home. Organizations and governments have talked of improving education for all, food and health, action on AIDS and greenhouse gases, but these are not being achieved and many people still suffer from lack of basic drugs, etc. In the face of corporate globalization, democracy and corporate regulation must also be global. "Why do they oppose global regulation to protect people and the environment? Economic democracy is a viable aspiration and one to which good corporate citizens should aspire." The Australian Labor Party has put forward a Corporate Code of Conduct Bill. Voluntary codes of conduct are not working. Burrow challenged the Forum to set a global floor of benchmarks and take initiatives to make them apply, and to set their own priority initiatives towards achieving faster and deeper debt relief, fair trade, more democratic global management and a code of conduct for multinationals. She acknowledged the vital role of the Forum members: "We need your assistance to shape a dignified 21st century."
The panel members were asked to comment on the demonstrations taking place in Melbourne, what problems they highlighted and how they might be addressed. Lim said the demonstration reflected anxiety either direct or indirect among the protesters, but he was concerned about its confrontational manner. Neither group can change the world to suit all their needs, but the issues must be addressed, by each country and community to suit their needs. Russo said he had spent some time talking to protesters in the blockade, and felt there is anger and therefore a lot of misunderstanding. Few things are black and white, and everyone faces ethical choices each day, giving opportunities for each person to contribute to improve the culture. Shiva commented that the demonstrators included young people who would be tomorrow's leaders; she read out a message from the demonstrators to the participants. Burrow said the Unions' objective was not to shut down the Forum, but to open it up. She told the participants: "You should recognize your own power. You have enormous power in terms of government influence and the people on the streets feel increasingly alienated. Those people want a different form of globalization. They need you to act as citizens, as well as CEOs of your companies."
Murofushi summed up, saying that globalization would no doubt be subject for continuing discussion. |
