The Momentum Manifesto | August 19th 2009
A. Introduction
The Western world is shocked by the economic crisis. This crisis reveals a large deficit in the arrangement of the world economy and social structures. The good news is: crises offer a window of opportunity. Indeed, crises are necessary to awaken people and make fundamental changes possible! Now the momentum is there to seize the opportunity and bring about these fundamental changes, before the window of opportunity closes!
More Than One Crisis
It would be a great mistake to respond to the financial crisis, which is an immediate and acute threat to the West, without regard to four other global crises that threaten our global society.
These crises are:
1) the scarcity of resources, including food;
2) the scarcity of raw materials for energy generation and the rapid population growth
3) the increasing pressure on the climate system;
4) the extreme poverty in which many of the world’s population live.
These four crises are inextricably intertwined with the current financial crisis. Indeed, the global economic system, with its increasing growth, drains energy resources in a faster pace than can be replaced. The economic system stimulates deforestation, overfishing and severe pollution of our natural living environment, as well as, condones the exploitation of disadvantaged people. Finally, it causes a growing inequality in the distribution of wealth, both between North and South and between rich and poor in the poorest countries.
The Momentum Manifesto
This document contains proposals for structural changes that ultimately lead to the solution of the above mentioned problems. As, the crises themselves are strongly intertwined with each other, a comprehensive approach is necessary. The complexity and interconnectedness of the current crises show that a commitment from all sides of society is needed to come to vigorous solutions.
Our call is one that aims at a long term future for both people, planet and profit. This is essential for good stewardship of our planet and its inhabitants. Not only for the next two generations, but also for the next two hundred generations. It is our firm belief that now is the time for action.
This document is an appeal to the Dutch government to declare itself in favour of global sustainable socio-economic and fiscal reforms.
The undersigned call on the government to now use the current momentum to:
- concretise its present and future action in this respect in its own government policy in the Netherlands, provided with plans with time bound target and milestones.
- advocate this publicly and actively internationally (e.g. at EU, G8, G20, and UN conferences, such as the Copenhagen summit in December 2009). We believe that the Netherlands could take the lead and be a catalyst within these international forums, in order to achieve vigorous decisions at a global level.
B. Operationalization
Below are five concrete proposals in order to tackle the five crises integrally. We distinguish several areas in which changes are necessary. A summary of the proposals is provided in the boxes to incite the development of practical policy.
1. New Global Approach to Growth and Prosperity
Worldwide, the impact of the financial-economic crisis is still hard to predict. But for many – for example in the Global South, the impact is already disastrous. In society, awareness has grown on measures of economic growth (such as GDP) which do not measure the whole picture. How can one speak of economic growth, if this growth occurs at the expense of people, biodiversity and irreplaceable resources? Our system is based on a consumption growth of several percent every year. Our production and consumption increase enormously every 10 years. Per capita, we now produce 275% of what we produced 10 years ago. And we consume per capita 225% of the fossil fuels we consumed 10 years ago. Despite many technological developments this need for growth is still highly dependent on commodities and resources. This depletion is an untenable situation!
Neo-Liberal market thinking has lead to financial markets being controlled by private actors, such as, multinational banks, venture investment funds and multinational companies. This has caused growth, at the expense of man and nature. A link to the real economy is missing. That is: the link with the socio-economic conditions of the people who make products, the environment in which products are produced including environmental friendliness, etc. This construction of parallel economic structures allows for products and economic processes to affect the real economy, deplete natural resources and exploit the social-human environment.
Action:
– An economic vision and order should be developed, in which not virtual growth, but real wealth is central, to be measured by: social-human, ecological and sustainable economic values. Everything that we appreciate – such as clean air, education and decent working conditions – should be considered by the new definition of growth and prosperity.
– The financial markets should be linked again to the real economies within which they operate. This means that money-making institutions such as banks and stock exchanges, should be linked again to their value from the actual economic processes (e.g. employment and real output).
2. Adjustment of Net Money Flows
The regulation of trade, investments and tax needs to be revised from the perspective of sustainable and equitable global development. This to remove contradictions with development goals.
The problems found in developing countries have been studied, analyzed and discussed for a long time in The Netherlands. The Netherlands has created a dozens of institutes for this purpose and wants to set an example in this by means of substantive expertise, as well as, making available an annual GDP rate for development cooperation. It is however problematic that because of the advantageous negotiating position of the North, much more money flows back to donor countries (such as the Netherlands) than goes to the South through our development cooperation and capacity building. It could be argued that The Netherlands emphasis on development cooperation is not much more than a mere palliative.
For a number of years there is a growing call for reducing the debt burden of the poorest countries. This is an absolute necessity for many reasons, such as, the financial and economic resources at the disposal of the countries in the South – such as taxes, fees, etc. – are restricted by the debts of these countries to the IMF and the World Bank. These institutes force Southern countries to impose a free market economy. Meanwhile, we in the rich North, with our dominant positions in these agencies, can get away with import tariffs on final or intermediate goods, which in turn protects our own processing industries. This is a typical example of the haves that impose an unfair and above all untenable situation on the have-nots.
Action:
– A fundamentally new approach is necessary to correct the imbalance of financial flows between the North and the South.
– The debt burden of the Southern countries should be drastically reduced. This could also be used as an incentive for agreements to reduce child labour, corruption and marginalization of minorities.
– Appointments are to be made on a fairer international approach to this debt. Within agencies like the WTO, IMF and World Bank attention should be brought to the often one-sided free market demands that they impose. This will ensure that the added value to products and services also benefits the countries where they are created.
3. Preservation and Greening of Tax Systems
Tax Systems are an important tool for promoting both sustainable and equitable economic development. The reform and international harmonization of tax systems is an incentive for sustainable development and contributes to a better distribution of costs and revenues.
Since tax systems are often of a national character, multinationals that operate on a worldwide basis are not subject to one uniform global taxation. This encourages practices of tax avoidance and tax evasion. Additional research confirms that developing countries are consequently denied income vital for their development goals.
Action:
– Fiscal measures can be used for sustainable products and services to represent their real sustainable value.
– Harmonization and new forms of taxation are needed for fairer distribution of income and expenses, also at an international level.
4. Supply Chain Responsibility
It is high time that we stop ignoring the fact that we pay less and earn more by shifting hidden, externalised costs unto the effort of others. Examples of these costs are: depletion of resources, not paying a liveable wage, environmental pollution and avoidance of tax payment. Let us rather look honestly to scarcity and impact, so we can appreciate improvements in this respect at its real value and growth. It is important that the people that operate at the local level within the chain, have influence on companies that operate or buy locally.
Action:
– Opportunities to externalise costs in production processes should be avoided, and initiatives to internalize costs, should be supported. Responsibility for this should also be allocated to the purchasers of the customers: who pays, decides.
– Extra-territorial legal agreements should be made in relation to chain responsibility.
5. Transparency
Consumers are increasingly aware that their lifestyle is directly related to the current crisis. Due to the growing interest in fair trade products, consumers are also being made aware of unfair trade agreements and cheap products being made available in the market as a result of unfair trade. Consumers demand transparency in the trade chains, wanting to know where products come from and who produced them. This is how consumers can determine what positive or negative effect their lifestyle has on people and the environment. Only then can they take responsibility as consumers.
Action:
– The Dutch government should grant consumers and purchasers the right to gain insight into the manner in which products and services are created. The Dutch Law of Disclosure of Production Chains (Openbaarheid Productieketens, WOP) is a very suitable option. This is currently only available in draft form.
6. Market Master
Through the financial-economic crisis, the Neo-Liberal ideology of an autonomous market has died quickly (e.g. by nationalization of most of the major financial institutions). While restructuring the socio-economic order, it is therefore important to both reconnect the financial markets to the real economy and to create a body to act as market master.
Action:
– Existing or new market masters should ensure sustainability issues and should be empowered to intervene when the long-term sustainability is in danger.
– Grievance mechanisms should be installed that can be used when these agreements are offended.
7. Leading Position of the Dutch Government
The government should take the lead in having the above mentioned embedded in agreements that are supported and maintained in the international arena. If applicable, the government can implement these measures nationally so the Netherlands can serve as an example and test country for the above mentioned forums and other international forums.
Action:
– The government should work towards a level playing field in order to visualize and internalize sustainability costs in social, fiscal and market systems. This allows companies to take their responsibility and compete on a sustainable value base instead of the current competition, which results in exploitation of people and planet.
– With regard to above mentioned issues, the Dutch government should take a leading and pioneering role, starting at the Copenhagen summit on the Kyoto Protocol in December 2009. The government could act in the same way at international fora such as the EU, G8, G20, UN / UNEP and WTO / RTA.
C. Key documents
The current crisis has brought about a international political will to implement fundamental and common solutions. Based on their analyses from previous years, experts from around the world issue statements and reports in order to define which direction to go in order to change the tide. Now is the time!
- In the Declaration of Tilburg experts speak about the necessary transformation of our economy towards sustainability and solidarity. In the follow-up conference in Antwerp, the statement towards radical reorientation is extended to priorities for government policies: The Appeal of Antwerp.
- The UNEP is preparing a comprehensive proposal for a Global Green New Deal, including specific policies.
- Transparency Legislation is on the agenda at The Hague and Brussels.
- The Kyoto Protocol at the Copenhagen climate summit could receive the support of America and China, provided the EU (led by Netherlands?!) inspires to this decision.
The question is: will the Dutch government put these four texts to effect? The momentum is now, but how long will it last? Within months it may be too late; political will could have faded away, all the money will have been pumped elsewhere in the economy and people will prepare for the next hype.
We strongly ask the government not to bet on the recovery of the old economy. We ask the Cabinet to look into the concrete socio-economic and fiscal reforms that experts have suggested. This way, the Netherlands will be able to influence the Copenhagen climate summit and other key meetings and have an impact on solidarity and sustainability.
The worst scenario would be a government that lets this momentum pass by, risking that the known recovery programs will leave everything unchanged. Many studies prove that this will lead to a disaster for today’s young generation – and generations to come. How do we explain this to them?
Signed by
Antonie Fountain
Blessed Wushe
Dille Dijkstra
Eelco Fortuijn
Esther Rozendal
Esther van Weele
Evelien van Wijk
Gerard Teuling
Gerinke Fountain-Brouwer
Jozua Ros
Marloes van Houten
Ronald Gijsbertsen
Sander Kouwenhoven
Tikvah Breimer
Walter aan de Wiel
Wanda Schuurman
Together the Aid & Trade Guild
Momentum Manifesto 