West's prescription for growth unhealthy: India

Times of India, Friday 14 April 2000

HAVANA: India on Thursday cautioned against imposition of standard harmonised models of economic development in the name of globalisation and said countries of the South should adopt a united stand against attempts of the North to destabilise the developing nations.

“Globalisation should not destroy distinctiveness of nations and societies. Any erosion of cultural or civilisational identity as a result of globalisation is self-defeating,” said human resources development minister Murli Manohar Joshi, deputising for the Prime Minister, at the G-77 summit.

He said globalisation was changing the world as never before and the South must be able to define the terms of this globalisation so that it took into account the development dimension as also equity.

“It is important that in the name of globalisation, standard harmonised models of economic development are not being imposed on developing countries,” the minister said adding that excessive liberalisation of the financial sector and speculative capital flows led to Latin American debt crisis and the East Asian financial crisis.

He said rather than standard globalisation, developing countries may opt for selective globalisation. It was important that globalisation should not promote only freer movement of goods and capital, while placing restrictions on movement of labour and technology.

Joshi said if comparative advantage was regarded as the rationale for globalisation, developing countries would be put to a disadvantage if their strength of competitiveness due to cheap labour was denied to them.

“Any insistence on core labour standards or social clause and linkage with trade, which will only lead to protectionism in the developed world, is not acceptable.”

“…The process of structural adjustment, the corollary of globalisation as practised today is generating the problems of unemployment, inequities, social security and such other problems of development,” he said.

The minister said it was crucial for the South to be aware of its interests in an era of rapid transformation. The pressures of uniform approach to globalisation on the south created a special challenge to maintain stability, social cohesion, economic space and employment.

Maintaining that the need for South unity had never been as strong as now, he said the South should have a uniform and united perspective. “We should be alert to the danger of future disempowerment by developed nations.”

Joshi said democracy and rule of law were not pious declarations alone but essential conditions for growth and development.

“It is satisfying to know that the G-77 countries are thinking of initiating cooperation in various identified areas and projects,” he said adding that India would be happy to contribute its expertise in projects pertaining to information technology and biotechnology.

(PTI)