A new global ethics
Global ethics in global
governance
Many elements of a global ethics are now absent from global governance. Several important institutions of global governance -- particularly the Bretton Woods institutions -- cannot claim much democratic legitimacy because they are based on the formula "one dollar, one vote," rather than on the consensus of the people. Nor are the rich nations willing to accept the same moral principles they recommend so eloquently to the poor nations. For example, laundering of drug money through the banking system is rightly condemned, while Western banks quietly accept vast sums of corrupt money from the officials of poor nations. They make a handsome profit on it, while their politicians criticize the poor nations for corrupt practices. Even the burden of structural adjustment is passed on almost entirely to poor countries, while the rich strongly resist any cuts in their high consumption standards. Market principles are advocated in all fields except in the use of the global commons, such as the global environment, where the rich nations use up over 80 per cent of the environmental resources without paying for them. Concrete suggestions for remedying this situation are made in the International Agenda.
