Economic Development: The Change a Crisis Can Bring

Bryan

History has shown, time and time again, dramatic changes follow drastic crises. With the world in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, surely vast changes are destined to follow. As a BIC intern, I’ve had the unique opportunity to see the initial stirrings of these potential changes firsthand. In a historic meeting, the United Nations General Assembly, representing 192 of the world’s nations, met for a three day Summit (24 – 26 July, 2009) to examine the “World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development.” This was in fact the first time since the beginning of this financial crisis that all governments gathered to discuss a coordinated response to the world’s economic problems.  Having the chance to attend this conference and listen to its many expert speakers, I’ve witnessed how this  crisis has inspired collective action and addressed important ethical issues.

With a profound sense of urgency and enthusiasm, panelists and delegates at the Summit called for a genuine global response to the crisis. In his remarks at the Conference, President of the U.N. General Assembly Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, stated that the General Assembly was on the verge of taking a new step towards a human family that was focused on economic and ecological justice and “which is united with itself, nature and Mother Earth”. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stressed that “The General Assembly represents all humanity” and that “together, we must galvanize action. Together, we must support the economic rights, the social rights, the human rights of all the world’s people.” Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, likened the crisis to a “waking call” for mankind and an opportunity for a new world to be created. Just over a hundred years ago, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Baha’u’llah, ushered this same call: “Let not man glory in this that he loveth his country, let him rather glory in this that he loveth his kind. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.”   This ability of a crisis to awake such noble sentiments is truly remarkable. 

Given the global participation in the conference, important ethical questions were raised.  Expert panelists shed light on the impact of the crisis on trade, labor, equality and human rights. This was especially inspiring to me. No longer treated as just a financial problem with financial solutions, these discussions brought out the human dimensions of the crisis. In the next six months alone, it is expected that over 60 million jobs will be lost worldwide. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, these massive job losses expose women and girls to a higher risk of abuse and violence. Furthermore, in the absence of resources, girls are the first to be withdrawn from school. When food is scarce, women eat last and eat least. When employment is at stake, recessions have shown to increase discrimination—migrant workers are the first to be laid off. 

There were also ethical questions about the crisis’ impact on aid. During past economic crises, aid to the developing world has been cut off. In his opening remarks, Ban Ki-Moon cited this, saying, “Surely, if the world can mobilize more than $18 trillion to keep the financial sector afloat, it can find more than $18 billion to keep commitments to Africa.” Throughout the conference, panelists and delegations alike called for the need to make human investments and to find capital for development just as it has found capital for bailouts.

With a newfound sense of collective responsibility emerging and the ethical dimensions addressed, the path to dynamic change is starting to unfold.  The reform of the world’s financial systems and institutions, the inclusion of ethics and the consideration for all humankind is just what the world needs. Seeing the U.N. General Assembly discuss the implementation of these changes has been wonderful to witness. It confirms the counsel of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, that:

“Every age hath its own problem…The remedy the world needeth in its present-day afflictions can never be the same as that which a subsequent age may require. Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and centre your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.” 

-Bryan