Manifesto for Global Democracy: Two Essays on Imperialism and the Struggle for Freedom

by Arjun Makhijani

Publisher: The Apex Press

Year Published: 2004

Pages: 176 pp.

Binding: Paperback

ISBN: 1891843214

The U.S. ideology of Manifest Destiny, now at the core of the U.S. assertion of the right to intervene anywhere and occupy anyplace, in the name of freedom, security, and civilization, is akin to South African apartheid. The roots of this exclusionary and violent concept of freedom are explored in the first essay in the book, On Freedom and Equality, and contrasted with the universal idea of freedom, based on equality, espoused by Mahatma Gandhi and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. The borders between capitalist and developing countries separate people in the way Blacks and Whites in South Africa and in the United States were forcibly segregated not so long ago. An end to this global segregation is central to the struggle for global democracy and human rights.

The second essay, From Global Capitalism to Economic Justice, gives a critique of global capitalism and the "end of history" thesis that western liberal democracy under global capitalism is the ultimate stage in human political and economic development. Going beyond a critique, it offers a vision that unites the benefits of individual and local initiatives and a more equitable distribution of wealth locally and globally.

Comments about On Freedom and Equality:

"A vast number of words have been written about freedom. Both sides in countless struggles have appealed to it. If I had to pick one essay to inform action to resist the wars that are being waged in freedom's name, like the War on Terror today, I would pick this brilliant piece of work by Arjun Makhijani, whose work I have admired for many years. It is indispensable reading in the struggle for global democracy." – Daniel Ellsberg, author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

Comments about From Global Capitalism to Economic Justice:

"One of the nation's leading environmental scientists has now turned his considerable talents to economics. The result — a profoundly disturbing account of global capitalism — is compelling." – Juliet B. Schor, Associate Professor of Economics and Head Tutor, Women's Studies, Harvard University

"A fine study of the world economy…the most convincing and comprehensive alternative assessment I know." – Richard Falk, Visiting Distinguished Professor, Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Milbank Professor of International Law, Emeritus, Princeton University

Table of Contents

Preface

Borders, by Yevgeny Yevtushenko

1) On Freedom and Equality: The Struggle for Global Democracy (2004)

Acknowledgements

Two Concepts of Freedom

Exclusionary freedom, generalized apartheid

Milton Friedman

Violence at home

Borders

Universal Freedom and Global Democracy

2) From Global Capitalism to Economic Justice: And Inquiry into the Elimination of Systemic Poverty, Violence, and Environmental Destruction in the World Economy (1992)

Preface

Acknowledgements

Part I: The War System

Chapter 1: Invitation to History

Economic Characteristics of a War System

Chapter 2: The Global Dynamic of Capitalism

Third World Exploitation by Capitalism

Capitalist Governments, Corporations, Third World Elites and Military Power

Chapter 3: Monetary Imperialism

Chapter 4: The Dynamic of Capitalism Within Countries

The Capitalist Countries

The Third World

Chapter 5: The Economic Activity of Women

Chapter 6: Capitalism and Democracy

The Third World Countries

The Capitalist Countries

Chapter 7: Centralized Socialism

Failures and Successes: Theory and Practice

Chapter 8: Capitalism and Socialism: A Comparison

Inventiveness and Initiative

Summation

Part II: Economic Justice and a Peace System

Chapter 9: Preliminary Considerations

Chapter 10: Some Elements of Economic Democracy

Governments and Markets

Restructuring the Large Corporation

Mobility of Capital and of People

National Self-determination

Private Property

Local Self-Reliance

Chapter 11: Restructuring the International System

Security of International Trade

The International Monetary System

Chapter 12: Restructuring Within Countries

Kerala, India

The United States

Harbingers of Hope: Internationalism at the Grassroots

Chapter 13: Money, Human Needs and the Environment

Monetized and Non-monetized Work

Human Needs and the Environment

Chapter 14: Economic Culture

Appendix: Restructuring the International Monetary System, by Arjun Makhijani and Robert S. Browne