Alternative Globalization Addressing Peoples and Earth

year. In addition, a new feature appears: the land reverts to the families
who had lost it because of poverty and debt. Jubilee fully restores the access
by the poor to the resources of production and well-being. It goes far beyond
distributive justice to restitution of people’s capacity and means to provide
for life.
The traditions of the Sabbath, Sabbath year and Jubilee year in the Torah
confirm that God is a God of loving grace. To follow God is to enact this
grace and justice for all in daily life and in the institutions that govern
society. As God is the redeemer of all, loans, which place poor people in
debt bondage, should be redeemed. The overriding concern is for the poor.
The fallow year was instituted to provide food for the poor (Exodus 23:11):
justice is the fruit of rest for the land - an insight Indigenous Peoples
recognize. Impoverishment by wealth creation leads to the fragmentation
of society. The first concern is for human need, not for private ownership,
maximizing profits or following the “natural law’ of the market. The
Sabbath and Jubilee institutions are about the restoration of the people in
covenant with God. This is an intentional dismantling of institutions that
enslave people through debt bondage.
The Sabbath/Jubilee vision has played an important role in the struggle
for justice. It has, for example, inspired the struggle against slavery and
revealed how such a powerful vision can change the world. The churches’
prophetic mission regarding international financial issues also affirms that
“Another World is Possible” where:
• international financial systems are based on transparency,
accountability and democratic control;
• financial systems are at the service of the real economy - an economy
of life in the service of people and ecological sustainability; and
• international responses to financial crises preserve the ability of affected
countries and their populations to determine their own policies,
priorities and long-term development strategies.
4.4 Transformation of the global financial system
Any international financial system should be designed to maximize progress
towards justice, poverty eradication and environmental sustainability. To
reach that end, diverse strategies are needed. It is imperative to promote
debate concerning alternative systems of finance that are democratic in
the full sense of the word. Standard demands can still be made to the IMF
and WB:
• that voting structures must change, with an end to the US veto (or
that of any country) and a stronger voice for developing countries;
• decision-making must become transparent, and there must be a genuine
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