From poverty to power - Oxfam-Québec

FROM POVERTY TO POWERNew Zealand was the sole nation with universal suffrage (and eventhere, women could not yet stand for parliament). What changes ofcomparable magnitude will this new century bring? Will it, as somepredict, be the ‘Asian Century’ and see China and India eclipse the oldpowers of Europe and the USA? Is the rise of a global ‘middle class’ ofemerging nations akin to the rise of national middle classes thatheralded the downfall of autocracy and the rise of democracy and, ifso, will we move towards a system of ‘one country, one vote’ or (muchmore radical, but more justifiable in terms of rights) of ‘one person,one vote’ in global institutions? Either would be preferable to the‘one dollar, one vote’ system that prevails today in institutions such asthe IMF.And what of the UN? Will it come of age as something akin to aform of global government, perhaps with the UN Security Councilexpanding its remit from political to economic and environmentalsecurity (a process that is already under way, following its discussionson climate change)?As international institutions, laws, and treaties proliferate, somethingresembling a global government is starting to rise from themorass, but its shape is unclear and its progress is beset with reversals.It looks like a saviour to some, a monster to others. In some lights itappears to be ruled by principles of the survival of the fittest, in othersof global co-operation – Darwin or Gandhi, we do not yet know whowill prevail. But we do know that the outcome will be critical in shapingthe environment in which citizens and states struggle to eradicatepoverty and tackle inequality, suffering, and the threat of environmentalcollapse over the course of this century.426