The local and the global

Citation

Coleman, J. (1999), "The local and the global", European Business Review, Vol. 99 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.1999.05499aab.004

The local and the global

Edited by

John Coleman

Editorial

The local and the global

Clearly the threat of global recession is on the horizon. We should neither talk ourselves into that recession on the one hand, nor, on the other, should we be unprepared if it actually happens and the situation becomes beyond our control. Our preparations should simply be like adding a fire escape to a public building. No one would for a moment suggest that a fire escape would cause a fire but it is comforting to know that it is there should a fire break out. Perhaps this is the best way to view Jan Wylie's Global Economy Monitor.

The situation in many parts of the world is very ugly indeed and as Wylie points out in his article we have deliberately created an interdependent world. This may have its advantages in trade and international relations and in the highly desirable matter of preventing wars but it is clear that a basic fall back position should be developed by the regions and by smaller communities generally. International peace must surely be one of our highest goals but it is partially invalidated if, as in Africa, people are dying of famine for economic reasons. Wylie surveys the economies of the developed parts of the world and looks at the position in Europe and America. He actually looks at the possibility of new hopes rising out of the present economic difficulties.

A more cheerful and positive note is struck by Peter Unwin, director of the David Davies Memorial Institute, in his search for a creative role for Britain in the post-war world, which shakes us by stating the obvious: that we should take emotion into account in our political thinking. Perhaps it is in place to recall an earlier article in New European by the late Sir John Biggs-Davidson (1988) who wrote from his own personal association with Winston Churchill and expressed the hope that Europe and the Commonwealth led by Britain should construct an overarching partnership. Churchill certainly allowed emotion into his own thinking and was no little Englander but he could not conceive of a world in which Britain, with all her imperial experience, did not play a crucial role.

Martin Polden has described the amazing work of the Environment Law Foundation alluding not merely to the way environmental factors have affected law both in Britain and in the rest of the European Union but also to how local communities have been helped to use the law to defend themselves. It is clear how the ELF experience could be more widely applied in the rest of Europe but it is also evident that we could learn from our Scandinavian partners. Polden points out that "reversing the burden of proof is much under discussion by lawyers". One of the best results of this work will be for local people to make more use of the Foundation to achieve a better balance in their long-term struggle with those who they feel are not paying sufficient attention to the local effect on the ground of industry and development.

Other items include an account of Professor Yung Chul Park's talk at a CEPR lunch in the city about the disastrous economic collapse in Korea. Professor Park is the director of the Economic Institute of Korea. He complains of the herd behaviour of Western investors. Societies should not be at the mercy of the short-term whims of investors. The international community needs a sounder base for its financial activities. The human consequences are almost unthinkable. Although he did not mention it there are reports of fathers in Korea killing their whole family and then committing suicide themselves because they can no longer continue what they see as their duty to their families. There is perhaps a link here between short-termism in the sphere of investment and short-term thinking about the environment.

Social Europe: One for All by Charles Beam and other eminent European economists looks at the interaction between social policy and economic integration especially in the attempt to deepen and widen simultaneously. The importance of this report lies especially in recognising the differences between different economies and in stressing that in the dialogue between the representatives of employers and employees ... But it should be kept in mind that European federations of unions, like their national counterparts, will tend to represent employees rather than the unemployed. "Similarly, European federations of employers are more likely to represent the interests of large corporations than of small and medium-sized firms".

The address of the Environmental Law Foundation: Suite 309, 16 Baldwin Gardens, London EC1X 7RJ.

ReferenceBiggs-Davidson, J. (1988), "The two commonwealths: continental and oceanic", New European, Vol. 1 No. 3.