SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER  2009

POLITICS

Members of the G-20 are the finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries representing 85% of the world's economy:

Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
South Korea
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
European Union* (*represented by the rotating council presidency and the European Central Bank)

Ex-officio participants: 
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); President of the World Bank; chairs of the International Monetary and Financial Committee and Development Committee of the IMF and World Bank

Thomas Merton Center Events

The TMC is an organization of people from diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world. The center, in Pittsburgh, is organizing "meetings to discuss what this economic summit will mean for both Pittsburgh and the world, and how we can work together to make it as educational an event as possible." Visit the TMC web site for information on how you can participate.

G-20 HEADING TO PITTSBURGH …..
AND SO IS RAGAZINE.CC  

Considerations in advance of the gathering

By James E. Palombo
Political Editor  

For those of you who aren’t aware, the G-20 Summit is scheduled to take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 24th and 25th. This means heads of state, diplomats and government officials from 19 countries and the European Union will convene to discuss economic concerns primarily centered on the world financial crisis and world trade issues. Talks will unfold in highly organized meetings involving agencies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization.

The Summit also means there will be a corresponding gathering of those who object to the fact that many significant issues will not be a major focus, issues tied to the environment, poverty, war and peace. This opposition will also include highly organized discussions, and will likely include demonstrations and protest. The two sides, which “have at it” across the globe, seem to represent the classic struggle between economic and social man, perhaps a struggle that will never disappear. I intend to be involved with both sides as best I can.  

Although the proximity of the Summit is an important consideration for me, it will occur a mere four-hour drive from my home in upstate New York , I have a much deeper interest in attending. Over the past eighteen years, I’ve traveled much of the world, covering Europe, the Middle East and Asia in my work as a lecturer and professor for the University of Maryland. In that time, I did my best to examine the political and economic forces that influenced the cultures where I was living. I did this not only with an eye toward knowing how other people live, but also with an interest in how things compared with the people and processes in our own country. This interest included gaining a better sense of how people in other parts of the world actually view America . (This all proved to be informative enough that two books were published with my overseas experiences of significant focus.)

Importantly, my motivation for such an examination stems from the fact that for many years I’ve worried about what’s happening in our country, where the gap seems to be growing between “what is” and “what ought to be.” In other words, our country seems to have developed an identity crisis pitting ideals against practices. We seem to point to our ideals tied to democracy almost instinctually when discussing our country, while we practice in everyday life the principles tied to capitalism. And as you might expect, the resultant “preach and practice” gap has proved troublesome on many levels.

In general, the situation has put us in such a difficult spot that, in the context of our national and international concerns, we simply do not have a legitimate grasp of our current problems, or our future options. Because we have such a limited understanding of capitalism (we tend to think and talk about our country as a democracy), we are, in essence, in the dark much of the time relative to very important issues. Correspondingly, “the gap” has also led to all types of political chicanery and an overall distrust of our political processes. Even the importance of the vote has been subject to question.

My travels across the world support the perception of this gap. Citizens of  other countries have little problem recognizing the democracy-capitalism confusion we Americans seem mired in. In fact, many from other countries have been angered about the resulting duplicity. In their eyes, we are fond of saying one thing and doing another. This contradictory dialogue may in fact be one of our most drastic international problems.

Given the global financial crisis and its direct tie to our processes, I’m not at all certain to what degree this international anger will play itself out in the context of the G-20 proceedings. Add to that an uncertainty, especially given the crisis, over our presence at the meeting. In other words, "Does/will/can America wield the significant influence Americans might hope for, especially as China and India continue to grow both as producers and consumers while America stagnates? Can we expect to be the number one mover of policy, given the anger and actual power to the contrary?"

If this image is at all frightening for the U.S., and on top of our domestic concerns it certainly should be, add in the fact that China, Russia and Brazil will be putting forth the idea at the G-20 of developing a  “supranational” world currency that would in effect replace the dollar as the primary mode of international exchange. Think what this might mean, just in terms of our buying oil.  (Also consider this: Imagine having what has been the most powerful country in the world, the United States , in a position where their political, economic and military strategies have been completely exposed through their failures, as much as through anything else. And imagine another powerful country, such as China, having a focus on becoming the ‘most’ powerful. Then imagine the Middle Eastern countries, which, after all, have no real affinity for America, thinking about how they can best leverage their oil rich resources amid world struggles. And then imagine how the European countries, with their own Union difficulties, and amid their discord over American policy associated with the wars in the Middle East and the financial crisis, might be positioning themselves. And then consider Russia 's attempts to reorganize its dissembled Union, and its interests in its own political and economic future.) Indeed, a precarious situation for the U.S.  

Certainly, the goals of making the world a better, safer and more unified place will be clearly articulated within the Summit. However, I think it’s safe to suggest the real concerns at the G-20 will be economic and political survival. The "posturing and proposing" of each nation are most likely to be based on  “Who can gain the maximum economic and political advantages, and under what conditions?” The ideological cat-and-mouse game that now dominates international affairs is likely to continue. While the U.S.  is well versed in the game, we may no longer be in the cat’s seat.

I hope with all this being said, that it’s not difficult to understand why I have an interest in the G-20. I’m not sure how much I will see or learn from being there, over and above what I might learn from just reading the reports that will follow. But I’m sure you’ll agree that “being there” is always something special. So, we’ll see what happens. My next “report” will provide some input from that perspective.  

Jim Palombo is the politics editor of ragazine.cc.. (See "About Us")

 ragazine.cc

President Obama will chair this meeting of leaders from countries around the world that represent 85 percent of the world’s economy.  At the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit, leaders will review the progress made since the Washington and London Summits and discuss further actions to assure a sound and sustainable recovery from the global financial and economic crisis.

For more information on the G-20, including results from and action items following the previous meetings in Washington and London, visit the official website:

http://www.g20.org/

Lynda Barreto