India: A new coalition for universal values.

TODAY, at the UN, we shall be making a bit of history. Global cadres from the worlds of business, labour and civil society have come together to forge a new coalition in support of universal values.

Why? Eighteen months ago, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, I warned international business leaders that globalisation might be far more fragile than they realised. Since then, events in Seattle and elsewhere have reinforced my warning.

But it would be tragic if local or national communities react to the challenges and shortcomings of globalisation by repeating the mistakes of history, and turning in on themselves. Why? Because open markets offer the only realistic hope of pulling billions …