The Emerging Left in the "Emerging" World: Introduction

Jayati Ghosh

Editors’ note:  Back in May 2012, economist and founding Triple Crisis contributor Jayati Ghosh delivered, as part of the Ralph Miliband Lecture Series at the London School of Economics, a lecture titled “The Emerging Left in the ‘Emerging’ World.” In it, she highlights the ways in which a new and varied “emerging” left across the so-called developing world is departing from some of the  tenets of 20th century socialism (in both its social democratic and state socialist forms), as well as elements of continuity with the past. The combination of the new and the old represent an appealing vision of socialism—and one that is much better than anything simply dreamed up by a lone thinker, since it is something really happening in the world today.

We are happy to be able to present an edited version of the lecture, serialized in four parts, today and each of the following three Wednesdays, and hope that it will provoke lively discussion.

The global left is much more dynamic, especially in the South, than most people perceive. Many left movements—in Latin America, Africa, and developing Asia—are proceeding from a rejection of capitalism to imagining alternatives. As their views about what constitutes a desirable alternative to capitalism have shifted, they have come to question several key aspects of 20th century socialist orthodoxy. Here, we look at seven features of emerging left movements that suggest a move away from traditional socialist ideas, plus two important areas of continuity with the leftist thinking of the past.

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The Emerging Left in the “Emerging” World: Introduction

Jayati Ghosh

Editors’ note:  Back in May 2012, economist and founding Triple Crisis contributor Jayati Ghosh delivered, as part of the Ralph Miliband Lecture Series at the London School of Economics, a lecture titled “The Emerging Left in the ‘Emerging’ World.” In it, she highlights the ways in which a new and varied “emerging” left across the so-called developing world is departing from some of the  tenets of 20th century socialism (in both its social democratic and state socialist forms), as well as elements of continuity with the past. The combination of the new and the old represent an appealing vision of socialism—and one that is much better than anything simply dreamed up by a lone thinker, since it is something really happening in the world today.

We are happy to be able to present an edited version of the lecture, serialized in four parts, today and each of the following three Wednesdays, and hope that it will provoke lively discussion.

The global left is much more dynamic, especially in the South, than most people perceive. Many left movements—in Latin America, Africa, and developing Asia—are proceeding from a rejection of capitalism to imagining alternatives. As their views about what constitutes a desirable alternative to capitalism have shifted, they have come to question several key aspects of 20th century socialist orthodoxy. Here, we look at seven features of emerging left movements that suggest a move away from traditional socialist ideas, plus two important areas of continuity with the leftist thinking of the past.

Read the rest of this entry »

China’s Development Banks Go Global: The Good and the Bad

Kevin Gallagher

China is redefining the global development agenda. While the West preaches trade liberalization and financial deregulation, China orchestrates massive infrastructure and industrial policies under regulated trade and financial markets. China transformed its economy and brought more than 600 million people out of poverty. Western policies led to financial crises, slow growth and relatively less poverty alleviation across the globe.

China is now exporting its model across the world. The China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China (EIBC) now provide more financing to developing countries than the World Bank does. What is more, China’s finance doesn’t come with the harsh conditions—such as trade liberalization and fiscal austerity—that western-backed finance has. China’s development banks are not only doing good across the world, they are helping China’s bottom line as they make a strong profit and often provide opportunities for Chinese firms.

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G20 Counter Summit in St. Petersburg

Dale Wiehoff, Guest Blogger

On September 3 and 4, a large-scale international Counter Summit, intended as an alternative to the September Summit of the G-20, will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is taking place at the Международный Деловой Центр, nab.reki Smolenki 2, and is organized by the Post Globalization Initiative. The Summit’s ambition is to develop new principles of economic and social policy which are not based on the Washington Consensus. As part of the Summit, world renowned experts, economists, politicians and social scientists from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas will come together for panel discussions, seminars, and public lectures, including Dr. Steve Suppan of IATP. Dr. Suppan will address speculation in commodity markets.

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Panics in India

Sunanda Sen, Guest Blogger

A panic of unprecedented order has struck the crisis-ridden Indian economy. It brings to the fore what led to this massive downturn, especially when the country was touted, not long back, as one of the high growth emerging economies of Asia.

Volte-faces, from scenes of apparent stability marked by high GDP growth and a booming financial sector to a state of flux in the economy, can completely change the expectations of those who operate in the market, facing situations with an uncertain future. Possible transformations as above, were identified by Kindleberger in 1978 as a passage from manias, which generate positive expectations, to panics, which head toward a crisis. While manias help continue a boom in asset markets, they are sustained by using finance to hedge and even speculate in the asset market, as Minsky pointed out in 1986. However, asset-markets bubbles generated in the process eventually turn out to be on shaky ground, especially when the financial deals rely on short-run speculation rather than on the prospects of long-term investments in real terms. With asset-price bubbles continuing for some time under the influence of what Shiller described in 2009 as irrational exuberance, and also with access to liquidity in liberalised credit markets, unrealistic expectations of the future under uncertainty sow the seeds for an unstable order. The above leads to Ponzi deals, argues Minsky, with the rising liabilities on outstanding debt no longer met, even with new borrowing, since borrowers are nearing insolvency. Situations as above trigger panics for the private agents in the market, who fear possible crisis situations. These are orchestrated with herd instincts or animal spirits in the market as held by Keynes in 1936. In the absence of actions to counter the market forces, a possible crisis finally pulls down what in hindsight looks like a house of cards!

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Buzzwords: Responsible Mining

Robin Broad

Buzzwords and Fuzzwords — terms that became popular but mean vastly different things to different people.  We’ve had a long list: development, sustainability, good governance, civil society, accountability. “Corporate responsibility” should certainly be on that list. And the avalanche of new buzzwords and fuzzwords continues: emerging markets, inclusive growth, resilience.

But today’s buzzword winner is: responsible mining. Meaning what exactly?  Well, not surprisingly, as is the case with most buzzwords, it means whatever the user wants it to mean. So, let me try to distinguish among the top four uses of “responsible mining.”

To most corporate mining executives and, alas, also to many government officials, mining is responsible if it focuses on maximizing economic growth which, in turn, maximizes economic profits, which will make everyone better off and in the most efficient way. This, of course, is what neoclassical economic theory tells us. Socially, this will be responsible because the economic benefits will multiply and trickle down to the poor.  In terms of environmental impact, the “environmental Kuznets curve” purportedly proves that, at least in theory, as a country grows in economic terms, certain environmental pollutants decrease.

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