Socialism as a solution for the developing world
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November 11, 2009 2:44 AM
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On Nov. 4, Richard Sandbrook, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, visited Laurier to speak on the potential for ideological changes to facilitate future global development.
Sandbrook’s lecture was based on an article he plans to publish, entitled “Alternative Development Strategies in an Era of Ideological Flux.”
Sandbrook, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, believes that the global system has entered a period of ideological flux that was triggered by the Asian financial crisis of 1997.
“Such eras of ideological flux have two phases,” said Sandbrook. “An initial one in which the dominant economic model is widely questioned and the second phase which alternatives are implemented. We are still in the initial phase.” Sandbrook furthered that a time of post-Washington consensus is upon us.
He believes that there is a move towards more state-oriented approaches to governance and economics. “We can at least agree that focus on an alternative must be able to make a plausible case in terms of social, economic, ecological and political values.”
However, Sandbrook points out that liberal ideology still resonates with many people. As a result, if we are to change development, we must take this into account.
In an interesting and rarely voiced example, Sandbrook outlined how Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has had some success in furthering his country’s development and improving the lives of Venezuelans.
In the special case of the developing world, Sandbrook argues that a certain form of social democracy could be an alternative to neoliberalism. Furthermore, it could possibly be a catalyst for heightened development.
He claims that it is premature to dismiss all socialism as failure.
“The widespread collapse of communism and the various forms of state socialism in the late ‘80s and early 1990s and its survival in a few countries as a caricature as in North Korea or as a form of capitalism as in China and Vietnam has undercut the credibility of a socialism alternative,” stated Sandbrook.
However, Sandbrook does warn that socialism can degenerate. As a result, he warns against phenomenons like crony capitalism.
“Social democracies have achieved major successes in social development relative to the situation obtained within other countries of the same region,” suggested Sandbrook.
“Social democracy has also shown itself to be adaptable to neoliberal economic order,” he added.
Learning from the financial crisis leads to the understanding that for some, an alternative to capitalism must be sought out. For Sandbrook, a possible answer for developing countries is the adoption of some degree of social democracy to aid their integration into the global arena.
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