Articles
Does individualism imply a minimalist State?
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It is often thought that individualism as a philosophical position must go together with dislike of state involvement in economic life. Radical individualists must like a small state, or no state at all. I think it is an utterly wrong point of view: being a radical individualist does not predispose one to be in favor of a small or big state, to favor state-provided social transfers or to be against them.
Where does this erroneous view come from? We have at least three possible sources.
From Millennium Goals to 'Distraction Gimmicks'
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Last weekend in New York heralded another of the annual UN heads-of-state summits at which inappropriate targets, processes and evaluation systems were reconfirmed. Politicians joined multilateral bureaucrats to congratulate each other for hitting many of the MDG targets during the 2000-2015 period. Now there are 17 new SDGs with 169 new targets and more than 300 indicators to aim for by 2030.
But since most state elites are not truly committed to these, the big question is whether SDGs can motivate activists working in the trenches against the systems of power that create poverty, hunger, disease and climate change. The UN, in contrast, shies away from considering or attributing causes, preferring to focus on symptoms.
World Bank Forecasts Global Poverty to Fall Below 10 %
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The number of people living in extreme poverty around the world is likely to fall to under 10 percent of the global population in 2015, according to World Bank projections released today, giving fresh evidence that a quarter-century-long sustained reduction in poverty is moving the world closer to the historic goal of ending poverty by 2030.
The Bank uses an updated international poverty line of US $1.90 a day, which incorporates new information on differences in the cost of living across countries (the PPP exchange rates). The new line preserves the real purchasing power of the previous line (of $1.25 a day in 2005 prices) in the world’s poorest countries. Using this new line (as well as new country-level data on living standards), the World Bank projects that global poverty will have fallen from 902 million people or 12.8 per cent of the global population in 2012 to 702 million people, or 9.6 per cent of the global population, this year.
Read more: World Bank Forecasts Global Poverty to Fall Below 10 %
Base Erosion and Profit Shifting: an assessment of OECD/G20 agreement
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We now see the complete picture of what BEPS will deliver, and it’s clear that BEPS will fail to reach the stated objective of ensuring that multinational corporations pay their taxes ‘where economic activities take place and value is created’. It will also fail to reach the objective of ensuring that developing countries benefit from the process.
The failure of BEPS to deliver the necessary reforms will mean that problems such as those exposed in the LuxLeaks scandal and several other corporate tax scandals can continue to exist, even if the BEPS outcomes were to be implemented.
The outcome of BEPS is increased complexity and a continued reliance on the much criticized ‘arm’s length principle’.
Read more: Base Erosion and Profit Shifting: an assessment of OECD/G20 agreement
NEW BOOK: From social protection to the social commons
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Social protection is high on the international political agenda to-day.
In 2012 the International Labour Organisation adopted a recommendation on ‘social protection floors’. One could think this is a minimalist agenda, but if all people all over the world had their rights respected, this would be a tremendous social progress. Social protection is indeed a human right, mentioned in the Universal Declaration on human rights and in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Nevertheless, more ambition is called for. I would like to go beyond ‘the floors’ and propose a programme for a ‘social common’, for the North as well as for the South. Why?
Read more: NEW BOOK: From social protection to the social commons
