cc WikimediaAfter the tragedy of Obama, the new World Bank president could well be a farce. It’s simply a matter of considering the underlying power relations.
After a chilly period as a genuine revolutionary trying to find a way forward within a blatantly corrupt version of ‘post’-colonial neoliberal nationalism, Kasrils should be warmly welcomed for any initiative he pursues.
Nearly everything President Zuma and the big corporates are doing places short-term demands above long-term thinking, both in the marketplace and at the polling place, promoting unfairness and exclusion, and thus preventing lasting prosperity and stability.
South Africa's coastal city of Durban - home to over three million - has said goodbye to long-standing City Manager Michael Sutcliffe, who reigned over a municipal version of neoliberal nationalism.
'As the soul-deprived, brain-dead, heartless climate-policy Zombie stumbled off the Durban platform in the direction of Qatar for the COP18 next year, it immediately tripped on the crumpled carbon markets,' writes Patrick Bond.
‘There is a tiny remaining hope for COP17, but only if we soon see a 1999 Seattle-style move by African delegates who know their constituents will be fried if the rich countries and South Africa have their way,’ cautions Patrick Bond.
Patrick Bond argues that there is a desperate need to connect the dots between genuine local grievances and insensitive government climate politics so as to solve the problems from both below, in the wretched townships, and above.
‘In these days of dire economic and environmental crisis, with political elites under attack from Athens to Washington, the establishment is desperate for legitimacy. Even International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff now publicly endorse ‘social justice’ at the same time they tighten austerity screws,’ writes Patrick Bond. Someone needs to hold them to account.
cc WikimediaAfter the tragedy of Obama, the new World Bank president could well be a farce. It’s simply a matter of considering the underlying power relations.
