colonization to globalization-4-Grip of finance bodies

.Pakistan or for that matter any other third world country including India can not hope for any real progress with out getting rid of world finance bodies. Imran Khan is like an aspirin for terminal cancer.   The Machinations of World Finance Bodies: On paper globalization stands for removal of barriers to free trade and closer integration of national economies but the decisions of US government and the World Bank are often made because of ideology and politics to fit with the interest of the corporations and people in power. IMF doctrine is that markets left to them selves lead to efficient outcome and there is no need of government intervention. It does not consider the opinion of the countries affected by its decisions. In crises IMF offers one size fits all solutions Under IMF's structural adjustment, fuel subsidy is cut in poor countries, and with increased cutbacks in health, incidence of AIDS rises (Thailand), children especially girls are not sent to school, poor get poorer leading to hunger-riots and loss of political instability which is restored with force of arms. It is taxation without representation. Poor countries are too scared to question IMF policies openly. Inside IMF feeling is that whatever the suffering, it was necessary (a rural physician gave a purgative to a patient. He got worse, but the medicine man kept on giving the same medicine, and told the relatives that foul material was coming out. The patient died, relatives protested. The doctor said the patient died after so much dangerous material taken out. What would have happened if the filth had stayed in!). Less Developed Countries are forced to open their market; Developed Countries keep theirs closed. Commercial interest supersedes environment, HR, Democracy and social justice. Governments using constitutional power and backed by courts used to regulate interstate commerce and the financial system. They fixed minimum wage, working conditions, unemployment and welfare and helped some industries like Telegraph. They helped agriculture by training farmers and by offering new technology and gave land grants. Now communication and transport cost has fallen more than ever, but people do not get any benefit as there is no world agency accountable to people to regulate globalization as nationalization was. IMF, WB, WTO, Banks and Corporations are all controlled by capital. The1997-98 East Asian crisis were manipulated by IMF and the US treasury in the least transparent way. Respective government had little say.   The International Financial Institution: Protests had been confined to less developed countries. 1999 protest at Seattle was the first in a developed country. Genoa followed Seattle in 2001. A protester died.   Jacques Chirac, a conservative admitted that, "globalization not making life better…" (1).-48 The US, using NAFTA destroyed Mexican agriculture with subsidized grain. But Mexicans could not enter the US to seek work and recoup losses. The actual number of people living in poverty has increase by nearly a 100 million, while total world income increased by 2.5% annually. There have been economic crises all over; sub-prime in US and the rest of the world. US deficit has been rising; still military spending has been increasing. The lot of the people of former communist countries under Market economy has worsened. In 1990 China overtook the USSR in GDP; it was 60% of Russia's in 1990. That was reversed in 2000. Washington raises its own barriers up, while forcing down the ones of the poor countries; subsidies its agriculture directly and industry through research grants. The 8th agreement on terms of trade was reached during the Uruguay round of negotiations in 1995. Clinton signed it on 12/08/94. GATT was converted into WTO on 1/1/95. The net effect was that poor countries got less for their products than what they paid for imports. Poor countries were also crippled by sudden outflow of hot money. Intellectual property rights were strengthened; profits of drug companies increased enormously. It stopped India and Brazil from giving cheap drugs to the poor and thousands were condemned to death. Drug companies backed down a bit after the outcry over medication for AIDS. Projects are recommended, designed and financed by the West and the WB, with little consideration for requirements of the recipient country and when they fail as most often do, the country has to pay any way. Environment is destroyed and corruption rises. State sovereignty is undermined. Globalization is driven by Multinational Corporations and managed in the main by IMF, WB, WTO and lesser regional banks. Unlike the UNO and ILO, IMF pays little attention to workers rights. WHO and Asian Development bank working on the Asian model in which governments take active part in shaping and guiding markets. John Maynard Keynes, British economist held that lack of demand leads to economic downturn (2b)-51. Government help increases demand and promotes increase in expenses with lowered taxes. UN monetary and financial conference at Bretton-Woods N.H in 7/1944 was part of an effort to rebuild Europe. It had assigned responsibility was for global economic stability to IMF and for reconstruction and development to WB. IMF was constituted with the 1930 depression in mind when 25% workforce was unemployed. It was supposed to put pressure on countries to maintain demand and provide liquidity. IMF reports to finance ministries and central banks. Voting system is based on economic power at the end of WW II. The US holds a veto. IMF functions re market supremacy as fundamentalists do about their religion. It provides funds for countries which follow its dogma; reduce deficit, increase interest rate and taxes. In1968 McNamara, then World Bank president, had directed Hollis Chenery, foremost development economist at Harvard, to assemble a team from all over the world. Reagan and Thatcher purged it in 1981. The new president William Clauser and economist Ann Krueger specialized in helping special interests in enriching themselves at the expense of others. At the behest of IMF, WB was coerced to give loan for projects under conditionality. IMF, created as a crisis manager, took on the role of the dictator of Less Developed Countries. After the fall of Berlin wall, IMF brought devastation to East Europe and later to Russia. WB became a junior partner in financing. WB emphasized on structural issues, items of expenditure, financial institutions, labor market and trade policy. IMF took an imperialist view; everything was its concern and dictated to WB. Both are controlled by G-7 (US, Japan, France, Germany, Britain, Canada, Italy plus Russia to make it G 8) and are fossilized like the UN Security Council. Crises have been frequent in a hundred countries due to premature market liberalization leading to global instability. GATT, a product of Bretton Woods, lowered tariff but WTO created in 1995 provides a forum; does not make rules for trade negotiations, only ensures compliance with agreements. Washington consensus was essentially in response to Latin American governments out of control budgets and rampant inflation. The policies were ill suited to countries in early stages of development and even for Latin Americans. But under the auspices of the consensus, WB, IMF, and US treasury have imposed the free market creed on the thirld world countries. Developed countries (DCs) built up economies by selectively protecting their industries till they were strong enough to compete. Forcing developing countries to open up led to disastrous consequences, social and economic. Farmers could not compete with highly subsidized European and American agriculture, lost jobs, committed suicide, before and if industry could provide alternatives. Tight monetary policies increased the interest rate and job creation became an impossible. European countries banned free flow of capital till 1970. In and outflow of hot money subsequent to market liberalization played havoc in the third world. Implosion of the USSR gave the predators a chance to go into less developed countries (LDCs).  Successful economic plan requires careful sequencing and pacing. The 1997 East Asian Crisis sent Indonesia and Thailand down the drain. Latin America has not recovered from IMF help in 1980s. Unemployment is is up to double digits; Argentina is the worst. Even in countries which benefited, only top 10% of the population was helped. Though their work in LDCs, heads of IMF (European) and WB (American) often have no experience of the LDCs. IMF consists of finance ministers of Developed Countries (DCs). WTO trade ministers and business owners are allied with their interests and owned by them. There is an incestual relationship between corporations and governments. Robert Rubin came from Goldman Sachs, largest investment bank, Stan Fisher number two at IMF from Citi-group..