By Mario Soares and - -
LISBON, Sep 1 2003 (IPS)

Every major issue of our day derives from four fundamental crises: the threat to peace from the religious war that looms over us; the globalisation of the economy and the need for both ethical and juridical regulation; the growing –and intolerable– imbalance between the d eveloped world and the world of hunger and poverty; and the process of continuous and often irreversible environmental degradation, writes Mario Soares, president of Portugal from 1986-1996. The solution of the four underlying crises, and all of their progeny, would be within the reach of science and humanity if there were the political will. But at present there isn\’t, Soares writes. There are many signs of a building reaction against the global system that contributed to the current regression of the world, particularly in the area of social justice, human rights, international law, and even the operation of our democracies. It is becoming clear that today\’s reigning economicism, together with the media-inundation of societies, dominates politics and threatens justice. Things cannot go on like this.

Every major issue of our day derives from four fundamental crises: the threat to peace from the religious war that looms over us; the globalisation of the economy and the need for both ethical and juridical regulation; the growing –and intolerable– imbalance between the developed world and the world of hunger and poverty; and the process of continuous and often irreversible environmental degradation.

These are the source and engine of the vast range of problems that face us today: the worsening of violence in post-modern societies; international organised crime, which operates with impunity; the reigning uncontrollable economic system, which lacks rules or values; the growth of drug trafficking and drug use; the resurgence of certain diseases that were thought to have been eradicated and the inability to address and control epidemics like AIDS; the barriers that prevent two billion people from having access to the most basic knowledge; the dramatic increase across the world in religious fanaticism, whether Islamic or Christian, Hindu or Jewish; and global terrorism, which now threatens everyone.

The solution of the four underlying crises, and all of their progeny, would be within the reach of science and humanity if there were the political will. But at present there isn’t.

It is virtually a commonplace to assert that there is a need for a new global order, since all of the major problems we face are global. But how does one fight for a new global order if the United Nations –which should take the initiative in proposing and imposing it– is diminished, lacking in means, and has been pushed aside if not out of the picture by the dominant superpower seeking to advance its strategy of world domination?

The European Union (EU), absorbed in the complex matters of institutional reform and the addition of new members, is far from having reached the necessary consensus among member states to assert itself as an international power with a single and coherent voice.

Unlike others, I do not share the distrust of the EU or the UN, and even less of the future in the medium term. We may lack leaders with the political lucidity and aplomb necessary to transcend the present situation. This is clear. But sooner or later they will emerge. The pressure put on the EU and many of its leaders by the Bush administration was intense. Neoliberalism has permeated the thought of many European politicians, including some who identify themselves as social democrats. But this inclination is gradually falling out of style. Tony Blair’s ”Third Way” has proved to be an unacceptable compromise with neoliberalism, now made worse by the lying the prime minister was involved in to justify the war against Iraq.

There are many signs of a building reaction against the global system that contributed to the current regression of the world, particularly in the area of social justice, human rights, international law, and even in the operation of our democracies. It is becoming clear that today’s reigning economicism, together with the media-inundation of societies, dominates politics and threatens justice. The daily operations of states are corrupted by the unrestrainable interests of the major multinationals. Things cannot go on like this.

The quagmire the Bush administration has sunk itself in with the unilateral invasion and occupation of Iraq (now transformed into absolute chaos as it releases terrorism across the entire planet); the plight of Afghanistan (where NATO has agreed to intervene in violation of the logic and founding principles of the organisation), which has deteriorated to the point that even the American press now acknowledges the resurgence of the Taliban; the spiral of violence in Palestine and Israel, which definitively extinguishes any hope of peace embodied in the ”roadmap”; all of tis, not to mention the numerous other conflicts elsewhere, is a clear signal to democrats and progressives around the world that they must react, uniting in defence of the principles of law and democracy. This is the major dividing line of the world today. Many have not understood it yet, but one day they will. And included in this united front should be all Americans who oppose the Bush administration, whose numbers are growing. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

(1) This column, published in Spain by the daily La Vanguardia, is distributed in other countries by IPS.

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