Global Governance and the Three Sisters: The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization wield tremendous power and influence, but exclude the voices of developing countries most adversely affected by financial and trade policies. Money rules at the World Bank and the IMF, and "consensus" at the WTO is often the product of behind-the-scenes "greenroom" bargaining and pressure from trade heavyweights such as the United States. These articles address the need for democratization, accessibility, accountability and transparency at all three institutions.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/indsisters.htm
>From: "Eubulides" <paraconsistent at comcast.net>
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
>Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] JFK
>Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 14:02:32 -0800
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Joseph Wanzala" <jwanzala at hotmail.com>
>
>
> > The World Trade Organization (WTO) is among the most powerful, and one
>of
> > the most secretive international bodies on earth. It is rapidly assuming
>the
> > role of global government, as 134 nation-states, including the U.S.,
>have
> > ceded to its vast authority and powers. The WTO represents the
>rules-based
> > regime of the policy of economic globalization. The central operating
> > principal of the WTO is that commercial interests should supersede all
> > others. Any obstacles in the path of operations and expansion of global
> > business enterprise must be subordinated. In practice these "obstacles"
>are
> > usually policies or democratic processes that act on behalf of working
> > people, labor rights, environmental protection, human rights, consumer
> > rights, social justice, local culture, and national sovereignty.
> > http://www.ifg.org/wto.html
> >
>
>===================
>
>Gag.
>
>While there are a few serious international lawyers that might want to
>Constitutionalize the WTO rules for the sake of globalizing a libertarian
>approach to world trade, most of the above is boilerplate. And while the
>WTO has the potential to make much mischief for democratic governance and
>can, at times, be a huge friend of the capitalist class and enemy of the
>world's poor, it's nowhere near as troublesome as the IMF/WB or the White
>House and the Pentagon. It's because it is not designed to meet the
>challenges of the 21st century that it must go/become something else
>entirely, not because it is secretive in the way the NSA is secretive. Why
>must we confuse immense public inattention/ignorance of what it does with
>secrecy? That is a huge mistake.
>
>
>Ian
>
>
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