A New Economic Paradigm

Concerned Malaysians need to take cognisance of the following facts:

• The global capitalist economy is ailing. The drive for profits by cutting production costs has reduced wages all over the world. As a result there is insufficient demand to fuel an economy predicated on the profit motive. The world economy is in for a long period of stagnation.

• We are reaching the limits of our environment. Oil is going to run out in the next 30 years. There is a high possibility that global warming is going to lead to ecological disaster and disruption of human society on a scale never seen before. We need to reduce our carbon footprint, and urgently. Wasteful consumption has to stop — but such consumption is profitable to the businesses!

• Modern, industrialised economies can be built without entrepreneurs. The USSR is an example of that. Yes, it was a dictatorship with a terrible human rights record. But the fact remains that a backward European country could develop into the second super-power within a span of 40 years without the help of capitalists i.e. capitalists are not essential for the development of an advanced industrial economy.

The question we need to ask ourselves is — can we devise a truly democratic political system to administer an economy where production is not for profits but is centred on human need

Towards a NEW paradigm

We need to explore these alternatives. All the great religious leaders could not have got it wrong when they advocated a more humane and caring society. We need to think out of the box. We need to look at the experiments taking place in Latin America where democratically-elected governments in Venezuela and Bolivia, which keep touching base with the voters through referendums periodically, are trying to re-distribute the wealth of the country. In the process they have unlocked the power of poor communities to help themselves and build a better, more caring society.

We need to work towards an alternative world order, starting with a community of nations that believes that:

• people come before profits;

• trade should be for the mutual benefit of the peoples of both nations and not to maximise the profits of the largest corporations;

• knowledge is the collective property of all mankind and should not be hoarded by corporations and used to generate profits.

We can’t leave the planning for the future to the prime minister and to the NEAC. They are clearly still stuck inside the old and tired neo-liberal box. Ordinary Malaysian need to start engaging in determining the future of our society. It is too important an issue to leave to politicians. The PM has said that the government will get feedback from society. Perhaps that is a good forum to start the process of dialogue about what sort of society we wish to build for future generations. — aliran.com

* Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj is an Aliran member and Sungai Siput MP.