Globalisation for the Common Good

Today, despite many significant achievements in science, technology, medicine, transportation and communications, and a vast increase in world trade, the globalized world economy is facing serious socio-economic, political, cultural and environmental problems, of potentially catastrophic proportions. Although many attempts have been made by international organizations like the World Bank and IMF to raise living standards, the dire poverty of billions of people and the widening gap between rich and poor, both within and between countries, point to the failure of these policies. Consequently, we face global crises of inequality, injustice, poverty, marginalization, exclusion and environmental degradation. There has also been a huge rise in crime, corruption and now terrorism. Economic and political failures have resulted in mass migrations across national borders, causing further problems of xenophobia, fear, mistrust, racism and intolerance, which are threatening the fabric of societies all over the world. So, what has gone wrong? Dr Mofid, who has taught economics at university for over 20 years, argues that the root of the problem lies in the way economics is taught, with its narrow focus on "self-interest" and "competition" as the sole motivating factors in economic activity. This ignores equally important considerations like compassion, co-operation and the common good, which are essential for a prosperous and harmonious society. Globalization today is regarded by many as a means of securing for richer individuals, corporations and nations an ever larger slice of the wealth produced, polluting the environment in their greedy pursuit of more, and locking billions into hopeless poverty. In "Globalisation for the Common Good", the author argues that it is possible to achieve a balance between economically efficient production and an equitable distribution of the wealth in a sustainable environment, so that everybody who is willing to work can share in the benefits of globalization. He puts forward an alternative economic model which has firm theological, spiritual and ethical foundations.

Table of Contents:
What economics was, what economics is - a journey from promised land to wasteland. Poverty, inequality, injustice, marginalization and exclusion - the main ingredients of wasteland. Common good, solidarity, justice, love, faith and hope - the main ingredients of the promised land. Prmoised land revisited - a philosophy for a progressive and just society. Common problems and crises - common front and common hope - an interreligious perspective

About the Author :
Dr Kamran Mofid taught economics at universities for 20 years. Recently, he has developed short courses, seminars, and workshops on economics and theology, the economics of the common good with an interfaith perspective on globalisation. In 2002 he founded the annual international conference "An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation for the Common Good."

Review :
"Kamran Mofid has presented a visionary and humane critique of globalization that merits broad and urgent attention. As an economist, he writes with particular conviction of the need to leaven an interests- and profits-based science of economics with considerations of justice and common good." --James Piscatori, professor of Islam and international relations, Oxford, and author of Muslim Politics "Remarkable book . . . the most penetrating analysis I have read on this topic, as well as the proposal that is the most optimistic." --Stanley Krippner, professor of psychology, Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, San Francisco, and coauthor, The Psychological Effects of War on Civilians: An International Perspective