Global development with globalization from words to reality.

• Author: Halonen, Tarja
• Position: Guest Column

It has been said that globalization has changed the lives of the people of our era faster and more unpredictably than perhaps any other phenomenon. Globalization has given hundreds of millions of people the opportunity to achieve a standard of living incomparably higher than ever before, but it has likewise driven many into great economic distress and insecurity. The world was advancing towards internationalization long before our era began, but it was only the advent of modern information technology that triggered the digital revolution, which people see as having brought the world so close but taken power so far away.

The profit-seeking market economy has spread globally since the end of the cold war. It has demonstrated its efficiency and dynamism compared with other economic systems. The idea of entrepreneurial creativity is essential and ideally compatible with the demands of modern technology. A rapid tempo is a characteristic feature of both, but it is precisely in these characteristics that risks also lie. How does one relate security to this fast pace?

A global development also needs global ground rules. To enable us to make our world develop in a more equitable way, we must be able to manage many variables at the same time. In this, nation-States still have an important role, and we must strengthen their opportunities to create favourable conditions for people and companies to operate in. Democracy, human rights and the rule of law still create a sustainable foundation for development. At the same time, the fundamental factors for a sound, socially more lust economic development should be created.

Global rules of the game should be able to take account of international actors. The uncontrolled power of global markets has been regarded as the principal challenge, but a phenomenon that emerges parallel to it is that of supranational bureaucracy and the power of experts, in relation to which democratic oversight and guidance are inadequate. People have not, by any means, remained inactive in the face of these problems. Most have been convinced of the benefits of cooperation rather than closing doors.

We have a large number of international agreements and organizations in order to achieve better management of the situation.

The task of the World Trade Organization is a very important one. Strengthening trade liberalization is also a prerequisite for increasing prosperity in developing countries, but it is not enough. For the rules of...