The World Social Forum will be a new international arena for the creation and exchange of social and economic projects that promote human rights, social justice and sustainable development. It will take place every year in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, during the same period as the World Economic Forum, which happens in Davos, Switzerland, at the end of January. Since 1971, The World Economic Forum has played a key role in formulating economic policies throughout the world. It`s sponsored by a Swiss organization that serves as a consultant to the United Nations and it`s financed by more than one thousand corporations.

The World Social Forum will provide a space for building economic alternatives, for exchanging experiences and for strengthening South-North alliances between NGOs, unions and social movements. It will also be an opportunity for developing concrete projects, to educate the public, and to mobilize civil society internationally. The World Social Forum developed as a consequence of a growing international movement that advocates for greater participation of civil societies in international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). For decades, these institutions have been making decisions that affect the lives of people all over the world, without a clear system for accountability and democratic participation.

Farhang Sefidvash
Research Centre for Global Governance – RCGG
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil

rcgg@ufrgs.br

1. Origin and Problem of Globalization

Humanity has, through historical process of evolution, evolved from the condition of isolated families into tribes, which then transformed into city-states and later into nations. The world has now reached such a state of interdependence which is called the "global village" where all the nations and the peoples of the world have become highly interdependent. The phenomenon of globalization is the result of a process brought about enhanced mobility of people and the rapid means of communication reaching this state of total interdependence. The phenomenon of globalization involves all aspects of our lives including social, cultural and religious and not only the economic aspect which is commonly discussed.

We are living in a new world under a new reality, while most people still think and behave under old paradigms. They still try to apply solutions motivated by interests of certain groups or nations to a world which requires a global vision. For example, we try to use the obsolete concept of "competition" for progress in a new world where only "cooperation" can guarantee the prosperity of peoples. This is because even the industrial nations, while competing with each other, are at the same time clients of each others. Economic destruction of any one is a loss of market for themselves, so they need to cooperate to avoid the economic destruction of any nation. An example is the recent rescuing of the Japanese economy by the United States. These countries are also allies of each other against those with different ideologies. The rich nations can not afford the absolute poverty of the rest of the world as their international security is dependent on a certain level of well-being of the rest of humanity.

Therefore the problem of the world is not about the advent of globalization, but about not knowing how to handle our affairs and live under the new reality. On the contrary, globalization, which came about due to the rapid development of systems of communication and transportation, may be considered a wonderful opportunity for the peoples of the world to unite and harmonize their interests in order to benefit the most from the material and cultural resources of the world.

There are four modes of social control which establishes a world order; namely, threat, trade, integration and love. The first mode is threat or coercion which is the prevailing way of control in totalitarian or authoritarian societies. Peoples are supposed to be induced to behave as the authorities desire by the threat of punishment meted out for disobedience. The second mode is trade or exchange which is the way of control applied in relations among equals. It implies reciprocal commitments: "Do this for me, and I will do that for you". Things are done because of the exchange of favors. The third mode is a society based on integration which is characterized by an expanded concept of public goods. A public good, by definition, is something that is accessible to everyone regardless of ability to pay, simply because everyone is entitled to it. For example, children are fed and protected not because they can threaten or pay, but simply because they are children. This is the present day logic behind human rights. People have certain rights because of their birth right, being born as human beings. The fourth mode is a society based on love, the love of the Creator that binds all human beings. This is the world order of the future and considered by many at the present time as an utopia. Only religious people have hope for such a society as all the Founders of all the major religions have prophesized the dawn of such an era in the future.

3. Human Rights and Global Governance

Humanity tries at present to establish a world order based on the concept of integration. It implies that human beings as members of the human race have the same rights. We all the peoples of the world, independent of our nationalities and cultural backgrounds, we live in a world where our interests are interdependent in such a manner that the law of our survival is cooperation, to bring about a democratic global governance to guarantee our well-being, the well-being of humankind.

Human being beside his physical capacities, is endowed with certain latent capacities called spiritual capacities that distinguishes him from animals, namely the intellect, emotion and volition even though each person possesses these capacities in different degrees. This diversity is part of being a member of the human race. Human being needs to develop his physical as well as spiritual capacities to feel prosperous. This is a part of human rights which is considered as the birth rights of a human being. In religious terms human rights are God given rights.

At the heart of a strategy of social and economic development lies the issue of human rights. The body of humankind is one and indivisible, each member of the race is born into the world as a trust of the whole.

All humanity should uphold the core values of respect for life, liberty, justice and equity, mutual respect, caring, and integrity. These provide a foundation for transforming a global

neighborhood based on economic exchange and improved communications into a universal moral community in which people are bound together by more than proximity, interests, or identity. They all derive in one way or another from the Golden Rule principle, that people should treat others as they themselves wish to be treated. It is this imperative that was reflected in the call made in the UN Charter for recognition of "the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family."

An important part of human rights is the equality of rights between men and women. The lack of this equality brings injustice against half of the population of the world. As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibility, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs.

The global governance is defined by the Commission on Global Governance as the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their affairs. It is a continuing process through which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and cooperative action may be taken. Global governance involves non-governmental as well as governmental organizations, citizen's movements, multinational corporations and the global capital market. Interacting with these are global mass media. Global governance does not necessarily mean global government.

4. Economic Systems and Value System

There is a sentiment among some people that economics and morality are unrelated. This is now generally proven not to be true. Humanity has the technology and resources to feed everyone and provide an adequate living standard for all who live on earth. We have a problem of social justice due to an inadequate system of values based on greed and lack of cooperation leading to an unequal distribution of resources

Our prevailing system of capitalism feeds on the continued desire for increased consumption; therefore, the desire to consume must be artificially stimulated. This leads to manipulation of the public and a squandering of natural resources. The quality of products tend to decline in order to foster continued consumption of new items. Growth becomes an end in itself, and the quality of life is often sacrificed in the name of some vaguely defined notion of progress. Decisions as to the use of resources are made for the short-term profit of a few rather than for the long-term profit of everyone.

Research by the Club of Rome group has shown that if capital investment, unbridled growth, and unchecked exploitation of natural resources continue at anything like the present exponential rate, a major economic and social catastrophe is inevitable within about a generation. What is truly frightening is that the basic motivation of our system tends to reduce the possibility that the right decision will be made in time. There exist myths that: Growth is always good and is to be sought for its own sake; that which is new or different is necessarily better; and so forth.

Both capitalism and socialism were developed before the twentieth-century technological revolution. Both systems have as their basis production and consumption. They had to adapt to the changes brought by new technology. Technology has made the basis of socialism obsolete and the basis of capitalism dangerous.

To change these systems we must change the underlying motivation on which they are based. But what new basis to offer? The basis of our economy in this new age should be twofold: service and cooperation. The individual's basic motivation to produce should be service to others. This basic motivation should supplant both the socialist motivation of security and satisfaction of need and the capitalist motivation of desire for increasing consumption. Moreover the service motive must express itself individually and collectively through cooperation rather than through competition.

Undoubtedly the motivation of service represents a higher level of morality than the basic motivation of either socialism or capitalism. Service implies a generally less egoistic approach to life than satisfaction of need or satisfaction of desire. Similarly, cooperation rather than competition implies a less selfish kind of relationship between groups.

It is often felt that human nature is basically selfish and that the desire for increasing consumption will always be the natural basic motive for man. Let us recall, however, that the function of an economic system is that it liberates the individual for greater self-realization. In the past lack of technology put severe restraints on the possible forms of social and economic organization. Work was viewed as being only for survival; and the majority of people were forced to do jobs which were distasteful, boring, or otherwise uncreative. Work, then, carried a rather negative connotation.

The motivation of work as service is actually reinforced by human nature and by the individual's desire for self-fulfillment. Rather than contradicting human nature, this new basis gives expression to the deepest motive? that is in every individual. Rather than being impractical or idealistic, it is really the only practical way in which to organize a society in the face of the new and powerful means of production which history has thrust in our hands. The whole process of economic evolution, which began with a crude division of labor thousands of years ago, has arrived at a new stage of maturity in which work has been lifted up from its most immediate function of physical survival to a higher spiritual function. This "lifting up" process might be compared with another area of life, for example sexual relations which clearly performed a biological function at the beginning of man's evolution but which have, over the years, come to be regarded as capable of expressing deeper, spiritual aspects of man's nature when appropriately channeled.

Objections might also be forthcoming regarding cooperation. The virtues of competition are extolled as being the incarnation of the evolutionary principle of "survival of the fittest". Competition, it is said, is necessary to progress. It weeds out weak and inadequate organisms and allows the strong, healthy ones to survive

The fault with this argument is that it presumes the "criterion" of survival to remain constant throughout all stages of evolution. True, only the fittest will survive; but what is the criterion of fitness? In biological evolution there was clearly a point when brains and intellect represented superior fitness to physical strength or physical size ("growth"), for man survived against creatures who were physically stronger in every way. Thus we are clearly wrong to think that physical force and sheer size ("growth" again) are the sole criteria of survival. The criterion of fitness may vary drastically from one stage of evolution to another.

Indeed, in a world which has become a neighborhood overnight, cooperation is clearly the only means of survival. Competition may have served as a stimulus to progress at a certain stage of development, but it clearly hampers progress now. Evolution now challenges us to cooperate.

The modern situation cries out for cooperation on every level: between nations, between races, between religions, between peoples. Consider, for example, the economic waste that results from nationalistic economic competition.. Wheat, oranges, and other food-stuffs may be desperately needed in one place while being burned in another. We talk of "overproduction" when in reality we should be talking about inefficient distribution. The world is a neighborhood, and the attempt to maintain economics with artificially created local markets will not long endure.

Not only must there be cooperation on an international level. Even a single enterprise should be organized as a partnership between all parts. In this way, the traditional conflicts between capital and labor disappears since now all share in the profits and benefits of the enterprise.

5. Development and the Concept of Prosperity

Different concepts of prosperity have formed the foundations of political economic thought, these include:.

5.1 Prosperity as Wealth:

Prosperity as wealth goes back at least to Adam Smith. Smith considered the accumulation of aggregate wealth to be the cause of economic prosperity. In general, making such a generalization would imply that no rich person should be unhappy and that no poor person should experience any happiness.

5.2 The Utilitarian Perspective:

Much of modern welfare economics is oriented towards the utilitarian view of prosperity, a view that has dominated the foundation of neoclassical economic theory and debates of moral philosophy. In its most basic structure, utilitarianism views an individual as the seat of utility, satisfaction, pleasure, happiness, or desire fulfillment. An action is taken (whether consuming a particular good, contributing to charity, voting for a candidate, or deciding whether to have children, and if so, how many) if it increases happiness, satisfaction, and, in one word, utility. In essence, utility becomes the metric of our desire fulfillment, the common denominator of all our wants. The utilitarian perspective identifies desire fulfillment with prosperity. The utilitarian perspective seems to be very persuasive in defining the prosperity of humankind. After all, how could any state of affairs be considered prosperous, if the members of such a state are not happy or do not have their desires fulfilled in an utilitarian sense? Utilitarianism can not provide a consistent and coherent basis for prosperity. Individuals may prefer a certain amount of pain and misery in achieving a higher goal, something of value that goes above and beyond immediate pleasures and desires. Examples abound of personal sufferings for the achievement of a higher objective: the sleepless student struggling to pass a critical exam; the researcher, the artist, the athlete, all foregoing short-term pleasure and comfort to achieve a long-term goal. One can maximize one's overall utility by enduring some inutility in the short run in exchange for global prosperity in the long run.

Utilitarianism does not offer a mechanism whereby we can differentiate between the set of actions that leads to prosperity and that which does not. If we observe peace, it is because it increases social welfare. If we wage wars, that too is perhaps because the warring parties get more utility out of war to maintain national security than from either negotiation or surrender to opposition. In this scenario, potentially any action is justifiable on the grounds that it increases the utility of the involved parties.

In short, human beings besides satisfying their physical and material needs, seek to satisfy what is called their spiritual needs; namely developing their spiritual capacities such as intellect, emotion, and volition. For this material wealth may be a necessary but is not a sufficient condition. We also need an adequate social matrix for human beings to be able to fully develop. Therefore, the real prosperity of humankind is the result of both material and spiritual developments.

6. Need For a New Value System

We need to adopt a value system based on the human values and the golden rules taught by world traditions. We need to expand them from individual level to a global level. The Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) need to help induce a new consciousness in every individual to create a new culture based on unity in diversity. Such a value system needs to put a particular emphasis on the following:

To recognize that all the peoples of the world belong to the same human race, and thus the concept of "unity in diversity" must be established. Unity involves a dynamic process of creating harmony between diverse peoples and is opposed to uniformity.

Justice is the pillar on which unity is built upon. Without justice, it is impossible to attain the well-being of humanity. Justice has the power to uphold the structure of a world community. At the individual level, justice is the faculty that enables a person distinguish truth from falsehood. It permits an individual to see with his own eyes rather than the eyes of others. At the group level, justice is guiding line for collective decision making, through which unity of thought and action can be achieved. Through justice the interests of individuals and those of society are linked. To the extent that justice becomes a guiding concern of human interaction, a consultative climate is encouraged that permits options to be examined dispassionately and appropriate courses of action selected. In such a climate the tendencies toward manipulation and partisanship are far less likely to deflect the decision-making process.

The implications of justice for social and economic development are profound. Concern for justice protects the well-being of humanity including ecology against the interests of privileged minorities. It ensures that limited resources are not diverted to the pursuit of projects which are not the community's social or economic priorities.

The creation of a consciousness that service to humanity is the purpose of human life. This noble concept is compatible with human nature and serves as a basis for the future economic system where production as the basis of the present economic systems does no longer serve the best interests of humanity. Many modern psychologists use voluntary service as a therapy for mental health.

7. Need for Law

Freedom is a consequence of order in society and the result of having laws and obeying them. To be effective, the obedience to laws should be in the consciousness of human beings. Freedom should be as a result of obedience to a system of values believed by Man. This will result in inherent safety for the sound functioning of society. Enforced laws, even though necessary are not sufficient to guarantee the well-being of society. It is estimated that we need to legislate more than 6 millions laws to implement the 10 Commandments, let alone the problems of implementing them through any policial and judicial system .

8. Role Of Leaders

At the heart of the global crisis currently afflicting humanity, there exists a pervasive lack of ethical-moral leadership at all levels of human society, as sadly indicated by the increasing evidences of ethical laxity and corruption found among officials of the highest levels of society in both public and private institutions throughout the world. Yet if ever there were a time in history when the whole world was in most need of effective moral leadership, today is that time. For this is the first time in history that the survival of the entire human race is at risk. Therefore, it is of great importance to identify and discuss some of the most essential capabilities that characterize effective moral leadership; capabilities that should be fostered and developed within the family and the school by a comprehensive and integrated program of moral education.

It is necessary to clarify what is meant by moral leadership. The definition of the term "leadership" has many different connotations. When people are asked what it means to be a leader, they often respond with ideas like the following: "to be in charge or control," "to give orders," "to be in command," "to be number one". To meet the needs of humanity in this stage of maturity, this prevailing concept of leadership needs to be questioned and replaced with a concept that is centered on service. The goal of such new leadership is the empowerment of others to contribute to society, rather than the concentration of power over others. The primary characteristic of a moral leader should be the spirit of service: "he who serves the community most" rather than "he who dominates the community most".

Egocentric forms of leadership have unfortunately dominated the pages of history and tend to prevail in current world affairs. Autocratic, paternalistic, totalitarian, manipulative and "know-it-all" modes of leadership disempower the groups they claim to serve. Such leadership forms concentrate decision-making power in the hands of a few so that others will serve them. What the world needs now is exactly the opposite of this approach - a new type of leadership that is based on moral values and principles and that sincerely devotes its capabilities to the service of the common good.

The implementation of the system of values must be through an adequate method of "group consultation". The non-conflicting method of conflict resolution must be used to make group decisions for implementation. Its principles and procedures must be taught in every school and learned by every Non Governmental Organizations (NGO). Its objective must be to find the truth about the subject under discussion and its implication is the interest of the community at large.

The standard of truth seeking in the process of consultation is far beyond the patterns of negotiation and compromise which is customary in the present society. It is arriving at a consensus about the truth of a given situation and the wisest choice of action among the options open at any given moment. Consultation is the operating expression of justice in human affairs. So vital is it to success of the collective endeavor that it must constitute a basic feature of a viable strategy of social and economic development.

10. Education

The goals of education cannot be separated from the goals of society. Thus to speak of a new kind of education implies a new kind of society. What is this new society? What does it look like? How do its institutions function? These questions are at the root of contemplation and consultation.

The primary mission of schools should be spiritual development and service to the community. The students must learn the ethical-moral values that will stimulate their personal spiritual development, and the moral skills that will harmonize conflicting forces in their community and, through service to others, to learn to build new social relations that reflect a renewed sense of community.

Those deeply involved in establishing a new kind education must start with a vision of the normative ideals that will create unity and consensus in society. A new vision of education rests upon a new vision of society so that education may prepare students for this new society.

The universal values, such as love, peace, justice and respect, that are the basis of the moral visions of the great religious figures of all humanity have been the foundation of every society. The outstanding characteristic of today is that the universal, that which is always good and true, must become global, or operatively true everywhere, because it alone can form the basis of a single world-embracing social order. Global is the complete or matured outer expression and form of the universal. In a global, universal order the outer and the inner worlds of human beings are perfectly connected. Humankind has one consciousness, one society, a harmonious way of life, though infinite diversity remains within that unity.

When society is stable morality is like gravity, a subtle, diffuse, invisible but extraordinarily powerful cohesive force holding people within its scope to common purposes and harmonious actions, and which is most conspicuous when it is absent. Morality has to do with all things civil, social, political, and economic, without being any of these. Yet it makes these possible because it holds society’s members to shared purposes and common practices, and gives a great vision of human possibility and action. When morality works best it creates an unspoken trust, affection, love and respect, and an abiding and secure sense of human community.

A world civilization is forming upon the growing consciousness of humanity’s essential oneness, therefore to prepare students for the future, schools must attempt to educate students to live in a society which does not yet quite exist but is emerging. Schools must train students to enter into the developing social structures of this new society, to understand its fundamental values, and to use its ethical principles and practices of daily life to advance existing society towards a world civilization.

Schools that actively inculcate the principle of the oneness of humanity are nests of social change, because they are the points where two societies, the existing and the emerging, meet, conflict and connect. Students educated to act in ways that will bring about the realization of the oneness of humanity are bound to upset the equilibrium of the society in which they reside, for no present society fully expresses the oneness of humanity, for prejudice and injustice exist everywhere. But education for new moral leadership, of youth who will be shapers of a new social context, is a task that schools must take on. If ethical-moral values are the foundation of society, then ethical-moral values are, too, the foundation of education.

11. The role of UNESCO and the Non-Governmental Organizations – a proposal:

The year 2000 witnessed three historical world events initiated by the United Nations where the non-governmental organizations and civil societies, the world’s leaders of the governments and the world’s spiritual leaders gathered together at the UN Headquarters in New York to consult about the well-being of humanity. These event may be considered as the beginning of a consulting process that may finally lead to the adoption of a system of values globally.

The UNESCO may assume the main role in planning and execution of such a global program. The non-governmental organizations will have a very important role in implementing the system of values locally in their organizations and the schools everywhere around the world. The success of such a program to build a democratic global governance requires universal participation. It involves the unconditioned recognition of the oneness of humankind, a commitment to the establishment of justice as the organizing principle of society. It requires a radical rethinking of most of the concepts and assumption currently governing social and economic life. The course of social evolution has arrived at a turning point that the world is impelled into a new stage of development based on justice and unity in diversity.

The paper is a gleaning from the works deposited in the Think Tank of the Research Centre for Global Governance (RCGG). For details visit web site www.rcgg.ufrgs.br and consult the contributions of authors Eloy Anelo, Farhad Sabetan, William Barnes and William Hatcher.