New global Governance: proposals for the debate

Much has been written and discussed about globalisation and its effects on our economy, politics and culture. But little has been said about how it can be managed more democratically. The recent financial and economic global crisis has emphasised the urgent need to re-think a process that seems to have escaped from the hands of governments, big business and, most importantly, the control of the public. It is generally agreed that the planet is suffering from problems that are difficult to resolve: the concentration of financial and media power, environmental degradation, demographic explosion, poverty and violence. Those supposedly in charge appear disorientated and confused and are therefore offering only partial solutions that hark back to authoritarian formulas and social, economic, and ethnic exclusion. This book contains essential and up-to-date data on economic issues trade and international finance and social issues poverty and development; and also contributes radical proposals to the most important debate of our times: how to arrive at a form of globalisation that is more democratic, more just, and above all more environmentally and socially sustainable. Only with a debate of this nature can a progressive discourse arise that can hold out the promise of a better life for future generations in Europe and the world. We hope that this text will be of use to politicians and academics, and will provide them with an understanding of what we mean when we talk of global governance.