Also a concrete self-interest.

• Author: Sauer, Wolfgang
• Position: Role of business in alleviating poverty

Can the world expect a better life for the poor with a globalized economy? Yes and No. It all depends on the capitalistic behaviour of the world, not only of the rich countries but also the rich classes of the poor and poorest countries, where they often protect themselves against the impact of foreign investments, afraid that they will lose the economic domination within their countries.

To have success, there will be freedom in every sense of the word--freedom of a working democratic society, which controls and attacks corruption, as well as in those countries that should promote free-entrepreneur productive investments. Through experience, those investments which bring labour, social behaviour and education to their employees and the human environment also need some logical guarantees:

* Guarantee for the investment;

* International acceptance of taxation;

* A positive moral environment for their responsibility; and

* Open cooperation with local Governments and authorities for the improvement of life in the region.

All these have to be a result of freedom to speak, which is the base for democracy and consequently wealth. The ethic obligation of capitalism is, without question, also responsible for helping to resolve the problems of the world.

Freedom is the guarantee for property, which is the base for globalization of the world! But to maintain freedom, there is a need for continuous vigilance. Let us avoid that globalization will be a social chaos, where the rich countries are getting richer and the poor remain where they are. Mexican author Carlos Fuentes expresses the dilemma in his words: "If governed, globalization will be an opportunity for everybody, if not governed, globalization will be inequality for everybody."

Reducing the number of poor people is one of the most serious challenges for sustainable development, and is a commitment for States and international organizations. I think that companies are especially well prepared to loin this worldwide effort.

Why is the business world a good partner in this effort? In my view, companies are the strongest beneficiaries of the capitalistic economy. Thanks to their huge productivity, they accumulated a tremendous amount of wealth and power, especially in the nineties. As a result, they are today the most productive organizations of the modern world. This profound economic and social change is the result of using advanced administration skills. Peter Drucker said that to administrate...