THE global free market doesn鈥檛 work. However much it benefits corporations
and consumers in the rich countries, for most people it is a dismal failure.
It鈥檚 done nothing to lift the hideous burden of disease, poverty and ignorance
from the world鈥檚 poorest nations.
That is one of the conclusions of a UN report published this week
(see 鈥淭ime stands still鈥�).
When the G8 group of rich countries meets in Genoa this month, it won鈥檛 be
looking to ditch free trade, but there鈥檚 another finding in the UN report they
should look at: technology has massive potential to improve the lot of the
world鈥檚 poorest. A vaccine for malaria, or a drought-resistant variety of
sorghum should not be beyond the wit of modern scientists鈥攊f only enough
money were invested in research.
But even when the technologies exist, the depressing fact is that we can鈥檛
make them cheap enough for those who most need them. Solar panels, batteries and
light bulbs are still beyond the purse of many, but where they have been
installed, they transform lives. A decent light in the evening gives children
more time for homework and extends the productive day for adults.
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Kenya has a thriving solar industry, and six years ago pioneers also started
hooking up schools to the Internet via radio links. These people were fortunate
in being able to afford solar panels, radios and old computers. How much bigger
would the impact be if they were made and priced specifically for poor
people?
This all sounds terribly worthy. But there鈥檚 self-interest in here too. It鈥檚
to everyone鈥檚 benefit if famine, migration and political unrest can be
reduced.
Of course, technology won鈥檛 solve everything. The G8 should press for more
debt reduction, and rich governments must honour their pledge to give 0.7 per
cent of national wealth in aid. The notion of 鈥渇ree trade鈥� also needs fixing. As
Oxfam points out, for every $1 the US gives Bangladesh, it confiscates
$7 through restrictive trade practices.
And there is another player to be reckoned with鈥攖he multinationals, the
main beneficiaries of the global market. The head of research at the Swiss-based
drugs manufacturer Novartis suggests that companies should devote part of their
profits to developing 鈥渘on-commercial鈥� products. A clever marketer would argue
that it makes good sense to prime the next generation of consumers.
But this idea is likely to go down like a lead balloon in boardrooms, which
leaves it to us ordinary people to wield our power as consumers. Already,
consumers have stopped companies exploiting workforces in developing countries.
Now it鈥檚 time to wield that power to encourage companies to make technologies
available cheaply.
A big enough display of consumer power might just shame governments into
taking the developing world鈥檚 problems seriously.
