Article September 13, 2010 Issue

THE DANGERS OF GLOBAL AUSTERITY

George Papandreou

George Papandreou is the prime minister of Greece, a nationa that has been much in the financial news recently. In mid-August The Christian Science Monitor published an interview he did with Global Viewpoint contributing editor Michael Skafidas in Athens. This article is composed of excerpts from his comments in that interview ("Prime Minister of Greece: "There is real danger in global austerity,' " csmonitor.com, Aug. 10, 2010). To read the whole interview, go to www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Global-Viewpoint/2010/0810/Prime-minister-of-Greece-There-is-real-danger-in-global-austerity.

[GLOBALIZATION] IS A PROCESS which we must guide or regulate and put into a framework of values. Why do we want globalization? How does it help humanity? How do we address global challenges like poverty, climate change, and energy security not just from a narrow economic viewpoint, but also from a broader perspective?

In other words, can global capitalism be humanized, or will it just be allowed to run rampant, allowing the forces that dominate to further dominate? If the new forces unleashed by globalization—whether the trillions in financial flows or the global reach of the media and technology—are not democratically controlled, we will have greater inequalities, greater concentration of power—and much greater potential for destruction....

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