A World of Alternatives.(alternative sustainable development, fair trade, alternative trade agreements)

By virtually all measures, it would seem that the planet is in decline. While a very few amass almost unimaginable wealth, there are still more people living in poverty than ever before. There is an unrelenting assault on the environment by wealthy opportunists and the poor alike. The earth's population may soon exceed its capacity to feed itself. When seen in the light of collapsing social and political structures and the presence of a growing movement of peoples across borders, it is easy to understand why one might dismay at the planet's future prospects. However, despite the preponderance of evidence to the contrary, there are reasons for optimism in the growth of visionary alternatives that can reverse these trends.

This edition of the Bulletin examines three growing economic movements that provide reasons for optimism and offer platforms for political action. Alternative sustainable development, fair trade, and alternative trade agreements are areas in which non-governmental organization, citizens, and activists have demonstrated successes that can reverse the devastating effects of fifty years of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Small gains they may be, but these initiatives are but a genesis for future possibility. If these efforts are to have a profound impact on the planet, they must be supported and encouraged by the actions of a growing number of people. This issue offers an overview and an extensive but by no means all-inclusive list of resources, original source materials, and analysis that will inform and provide opportunities for individual and group action to profoundly change the current state of trade and development.

ALTERNATIVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were founded at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in July 1944 at the first United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference. The economists and world leaders who were the architects of those two institutions were motivated by the belief that the potential for world economic growth was virtually without limits. The World Bank and the IMF would provide the funding that would steer developing countries toward full modernization, industrialization, and sustainable long-term economic development. Sustained economic growth and unrestricted free trade would benefit everyone, thus reducing or even eliminating poverty.

So went the theory.

The principles established at Bretton Woods remain the foundation for most global economic policymaking decisions, with growth rate having been articulated as the defining measure of "viable" economic development. Between 1950 and 1995, global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 500%. Life expectancy worldwide has risen from 46 years in 1960 to 62 in 1990 while the under-five mortality rate has been cut in half. The average number of births per woman has declined from six to less than four; and the percentage of primary-school-aged children enrolled in school has increased from 45% in 1960 to 78% in 1990.

Unfortunately, much of this statistical progress has not been shared equally by the world's poor. Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs), imposed by the IMF on many developing countries during the 1980's, had the effect of reversing economic gains made during the two preceding decades. SAPs are the rigid terms that countries must accept in order to restructure their debt, particularly when faced with default. Typically, SAPs obligate third world governments to reduce spending on education and health care, devalue currencies, and open domestic markets to foreign imports and foreign development. In essence, national economies are transformed into export economies, and domestic industry and commerce is damaged. As a result, there are more people living in poverty today than there were 50 years ago, with 1.3 billion surviving on less than $1 per day.