Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Michael E. Tigar: Yes, it is; and you in Cape Town probably understand better than many the ways in which it is corrupt and must be changed. I spent a great deal of time in South Africa, both during the apartheid period and after the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. And I have been impressed by the ways in which social struggle in South Africa to bring a greater measure of equality and non corruption has been progressing, although I must say that you see, and because I do from a distance, the dangers that lurk there. The system is corrupt because it is not expressly designed to serve the needs of the people who depend upon it. When the World Bank or International Monetary Fund extend credit accommodations to Third World countries, they condition it upon the dismantling of systems, of social welfare. When major, private corporations acquire control of parts of any economy, they act to break down organizations of workers. The World Trade Organization, the NAFTA, our own North American so called free trade area, the European Union; all of them seek as a part of their mission to break down localized controls, localized protections of the rights of workers, the rights of women, the rights of the disabled. For me, I have listened to my comrades in the African National Congress and I believe that the answer lies in socialism. I think that it is time to address fundamentally the distortions that have occurred as a result of the private ownership of the means of production, including in the Third World particularly, the domination and distortion of the potentially very rich and bountiful economies of Third World countries in the interest of corporate chieftains in the first world. So, that is our common interest.

by Michael E. Tigar

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Michael Laitman: We must reveal the egoism present in each of us as the source of all evil, we must come to desire to use everything that we have from nature only in order to come to good, and we must understand that the good depends on our society. Through globalization, we see how much we depend on each other. This will still become more revealed in the close future: how much every one of us depends on everyone else, down to the fact that if other people, who are not under my control, will not want to be benevolent towards me, then I will not have the right to exist. If I and each one of us will understand this to such a degree, then of course we will want to correct ourselves. If each person will know that he depends on everyone else, then he will want everyone else to be kind to him. In addition, he will know that others will express kindness towards him only on the condition that he expresses kindness towards them. If we succeed in understanding this mutuality—called the law of the mutual guarantee—then we will be able to arrange our life in such a way that our economic system will also change and begin providing everything for us in the best and most effective way. Then all of our interactions, including economic ones, will change in such a way that they will transform to benefit humanity. This depends only on one condition: for us to open our eyes and see that in nature, there exists a law of equality between everyone. Just like the physical and chemical laws of the still level of nature, or the biological and genetic laws of the animate level of nature, so in the nature of humanity there exists the law of life—the law of altruism. The cells of our body merit life only on the condition that every cell rejects itself and lives together with the whole body, providing it with everything necessary—in the same way, a person in society must, like a cell, provide everything for society.

by Michael Laitman

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Michael P. Totten: I don’t think there is one economic system, and certainly it’s not inherently corrupt. It’s imperfect, it’s constantly evolving. There is constant feedback going on as new technological innovations can tap into new ways of developing resources and turning them into products and creating differential pockets of power that then accelerate and cause even more imbalances. We’ve certainly seen historically that when technology gets way out ahead of our social institutions and values it can cause severe disruptions, if we think back. I am obviously in favor of what is economically justified and it’s a sad stain on our humanity that we still have tens of millions of people worldwide who are enslaved. But for the most part, we’ve changed and evolved our economic systems, as we recognize that there is a moral imperative to do so. We are a long way from all of the changes that are necessary, and I am not sure we will ever reach anything like an optimal economic system. There will always be the potential for it to run into a negative pathway, as technological innovations continue to make some parts of society more powerful than others, and if those parts of society do not have a strong moral fiber, then they could use their wealth and power to continue to exploit their own desires and satisfactions and wants to the detriment of large parts of the world population. Again, I come back to the fact that we live at this venture for the first time in a globally connected society. The collapsing cost of computers and the connectivity that globally allows voices to be heard in virtually all countries now, even in rural villages where only a stand-alone, photovoltaic solar cell connected by satellite can have a breakdown. We can challenge many of these detrimental patterns--[Audio Ends]

by Michael P. Totten

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Mohammed Arkoun: It is corrupted for sure, Corruption has reached absolutely all societies, including the most democratic societies where the political control on the world of the economy and the manipulation of fortunes, of money, is very developed. And we encountered manipulations precisely within big businesses that correspond to a generalized despoliation of those who, for example, put their savings in stock markets, and then were told one day that the business completely underwent bankruptcy for reasons due to corruption. So there is something, a considerable danger that has grown in all socities. In the rich societies on a big scale as well as in poor societies which corruption makes even much poorer, and where the population is considerably weakened and cannot defend themselves since they don't have the political and legal rights that fully-fledged citizens in democratic countries can have while contesting, while posing the problem before the justice etc. They don't have any help. That's why corruption is the absolute bad matter of the century that made, alas, considerable damages and that even dismantles mentalities, because it discourages citizens and prevents them from developing hope to participate in equal opportunities, to be able to reach a decent life in societies, because of corruption. There are numerous countries that I know personally where one cannot even get for example a passport without paying money at all levels, from the guard who lets you enter a town hall or a police station.

by Mohammed Arkoun

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Mohau Pheko: I think that the current economic system is certainly corrupt. And if we term corruption -- if we define corruption for example as a process that steals from other people in order to create that wealth, if we define corruption as the raping of Africa's resources in order for others to become much wealthier, enormously wealthier than the people who actually live in communities where these resources come from. I think that we must dismantle these systems and I think that the first way that we can begin dismantling this system is to first deconstruct what we mean by an economic system and that is looking at it from the point of view of whether it is a just system or that it is a distributed system, whether it is a system that ensures that those who are living on the margins can enjoy the wealth of nations and the fruits of our nations. But, it is also deconstructing the political systems that support these sorts of discourses, the discourse of the dominants, the discourse of subjugation, the discourse of power that it takes away power from the more powerless people. And so, I think that there is a lot of deconstruction first of all because I think we have also taken on -- we have taken on and started believing the propaganda around the economic system that exists in many of our countries that somehow growth is good for us, that somehow the market should be allowed to float on its own, but without challenging these systems. So, I think that it has become absolutely fundamental that we challenge and we help people see that these sorts of economic systems are not created to promote wealth.

by Mohau Pheko

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Monira Rahman: I think this is again, this social values and attitudes about corruption. Obviously, the current economic system is promoting corruption. I think it's the people's power and the social development of the people and education and economic development and democracy is in place where people have the right to choose their government and the laws and the system, and the economy of the country; then I think corruption can be dissolved. It's not that people inherently have this corruption. They learn from society and obviously the society which is promoting this corruption will [] but it depends on how this education is dismantling that. That is the most important one. I think we have to make examples of honesty and integrity, and in that way we can promote the social values against corruption.

by Monira Rahman

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Nadja Halilbegovich: I think it is what we make it to be. I think economic system is what we make it to be, the power of the system and its definition and usage lies within us, within the people. We have the power to redefine it and I think it's not inherently corrupt. I think it's not humane enough. I think it's inspired by greed and inequality. Again, here is that whole equation of, do we have to keep someone poor in order to remain wealthier, to keep getting wealthy and I think that that’s a wrong equation. It should really be an equation of equality. Wealth equals wealth, everyone being wealthy. In terms of -- and again I redefine wealth as having enough and living conscientiously, not having too much or having more than someone else. Just having equal access to food, to water, having the right to feed and school our children, have enough to just follow our visions and grow as human beings throughout their lives. So, I think it's what we make it to be and we should consistently and constantly work on humanizing our economic system, making it more altruistic and humane.

by Nadja Halilbegovich

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Neela Marikkar: Well, I don’t think that the systems are inherently corrupt. I think the issue is the people who are implementing and executing policies. That’s what undermines the economic systems. And I think that you need – in the ideal world you need systems. You need administrators who have ethics. You need people in governance who have ethics. You need corporate sectors that have ethics, and who are value-based. I think these are the challenges. Perhaps in the real world that is not the case. It is not easy to find people who have value-based thinking, who are ethical in all these sectors. I think one of the issues also is that, especially, in the administration and the execution, you need people – people need to earn well. Because I think as long as the world is driven by consumerism, there is so much need and demand for things and material things, and the reason is, if people don’t earn well then they seek other ways to get these, through corruption. So, the issue really is, it is not the economic systems that are corrupt. I think it’s the people, and the only way that you can address this is that -- is you have to ensure that people earn well, especially at the administrative levels, so that you would minimize the need for them to resort to corrupt practices in order to achieve what they need. And we also hope that at some point we will have people who can govern, people who are administrating policies, and corporate sector would have value-based policies. I think these are the challenges that we have to face and we have to address.

by Neela Marikkar

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Oliviero Toscani: Well, I don’t know. We say corrupt but actually it’s legal. Legal is like that. If you go against the system you go to jail, you get – you’re going to trouble. You go against the system, you go against the law, you are an outlaw if you don’t accept the government or the system or the government that has got those economic systems. So, probably we have to be outlaws. We have to be subversive, we have to do something that is against, and sometimes it’s called revolution, sometime – we have to have the courage, probably we are missing that courage to not accept the thing as they are. We have to put in discussion the system. We start to talk about corruption when we think that there is a breath of morally – morality to do and to rule. Of course, the economic system is totally corrupt, as we say, and brands are ruling, economic power are ruling. The – so-called the real power, la economia de economic power is ruling. And the economic power is not – is illegal, is on the edge of legality all the time. Even when you learn in school when you study economic, you learn to be corrupted. Economy is an illegal action, is an illegal procedure, is an immoral art.

by Oliviero Toscani

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Oscar Olivera: We cannot talk about our economic sistem. This corrupt economic system is not ours. It’s an economic system, des....This economic system is not ours. This corrupt economic system is not ours. It’s an economic system, designed by supranational entrepreneurs, by the big entrepreneurs who want to grow rich at the cost of the exploitation of the people. Hence, it’s not our system. It’s a system that has to be destroyed, that has to be torn down, and there has to be [obtained] another economic and political system, where people have the fundamental rights, that all human beings ought to have: the right to work, the right of education, health, accommodation, the liberty of expressing ourself freely. And hence i believe, it’s the peoples with their ancestral wisdom, considering, that we live in a globalized world, but globalized in the sense of a few interests. We have to [obtain] a system that is based on our [entire] wisdom, by looking in the first place at our ancestors, placing them not behind us, but rather in front of us to go on listening to their wisdom, their advice and to ask them if what we are doing is good. That’s basically it.

by Oscar Olivera

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Paul Knight: This is an interesting one. I wouldn’t say that the current economic system is corrupt. I think it’s a system that’s been created to ensure that individual prosperity and market growth and the drive for people to succeed and engage in society occurs. In that respect, the system is not inherently corrupt. However, we do need to focus on reforms that will change the situation to better distribute the wealth, better distribute growth and prosperity within our communities. We need to have the system adapted. It’s hard to say that something’s corrupt when the measurement of our success is supported by that system. Until we decide as a people that we want to change that, that this is no longer the way then the system becomes corrupt and then we can start to drive change. The system as it stands supports the overall economic goals of the society. The other thing is it’s a matter of we need to move beyond looking at economics just in terms of wealth. We need to be looking at our social issues; we need to be looking at the environment. We need to be making sure that the economics isn’t just focused on the financial. And this is a big issue. But it’s the system that we have to support the lifestyles that we all live.

by Paul Knight

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Pauline Tangiora:

by Pauline Tangiora

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Pico Iyer: No, it's not. Corruption lies in us, and not in our systems. And I think it's too easy to look to something outside ourselves for responsibility rather than taking the harder challenge of accepting that if there's corruption in the world, it begins with us. And if corruption begins with us, there is change. Revolution begins at home as everyone says. So if you want to be free of your system, go the [Thorovian] way, conscientiously object, move to another country, run for office. I think it's dangerous for us to assume that we are the position of righteousness and that corruption, evil, darkness, lies outside ourselves. The only way to begin to transform the system is to transform ourselves and then bring that transformation out into the larger world.

by Pico Iyer

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Rachid ElDaif:

by Rachid ElDaif

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Raymond Federman: Well, this question relates to the previous question about socially acceptable to hoard wealth. There is no doubt that all economic system, especially in the Western world, but I’m sure it is true of all the other parts of the world, are corrupt. How do we dismantle this? It’s not easy for us to give up certain of the other products that we buy, but we should be boycotting a number of these products. We should not buy what we don’t need from these people. We should indeed. An example is right now in America, for some vain reason, that unexplainable, so they try to give us explanations, the price of gasoline has tripled in the last couple of months. And yet people continue to drive their huge SUV, continue to buy their sunglasses. We should boycott. We should walk instead of drive all the cars. We should give up and the companies will not --. The economy is corrupt, basically, for the same reason given in the previous question, because of greed. We need more. We want to have more, and the people are willing to submit to exploitation. We must resist exploitation. It is not easy. This doesn’t mean we have to revolt and start barricades in the street, but we must find a way to have these corporations make less profit. And by less profit we must buy less of their product or we must buy other products that are in competition with them.

by Raymond Federman

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Robbie Conal: I don’t know that there is one current economic system. Did I say something bad? You scared the shit out of me. Thank you. I thank you so much. But, whatever that’s going on economically in the world doesn’t exactly play by any rules. Commerce is too complicated and people think they have too much to gain to play anything except maybe chess or soccer, whatever is up with that, by the rules. As soon as great power or wealth is involved in the equation, the rules are just a suggestion and the profit motive and opportunity for power is too great. I mean, American politicians have this problem all the time. They think that they have too much to lose at a certain point, and they are afraid to even tell the truth, or to think that an apology would actually work with their constituency. And they are wrong about that. It’s fucked up to think that you have too much to gain to tell the truth or to play fair. Fair is not a word that you really hear in economics too much. It makes me suspicious and desperate people will have nothing. What are they going to do, play by the rules? Who made those rules? What have those rules done for them lately?

by Robbie Conal

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Rodrigo Baggio: Corruption is one of the biggest challenges to our countries. World organizations like the International Transparency want to combat more and more efficiently this type of vice, this type of unimaginable sin for any society that wants to be just. Corruption: politicians and governors overpricing products and corrupting themselves for their personal enrichment and not for a development of our cities, states or countries. Corruption needs to be effectively combated. I don’t think that it exists..., that our economical system is inherently corrupt. Those who are corrupt are the people who create this system in which we are living. And it is necessary to create mechanisms and very clear rules that combat and immediately identify those who may be corrupt so that they can be identified and punished in an exemplary way. This is one of the only ways we have to show people in general that it is not worth being corrupt; that people just don’t win and don’t get punished with it. And this is why they get along with it and serve as examples for a part of our population. We need to have a more efficient and effective monitoring by civil society and follow what these people in power are doing. It is necessary that the political accounts and the budget can be each time more communicable and that people can follow, supervise and control it. But it is important not only to have punishment, but also preventive campaigns so that each time more people of good personality may want to candidate for political charges. This is something very important. In many cases people who don’t have a good personality are those who want to get into politics. And actually we have to change this situation. We have to create a culture through educational campaigns, preventive campaigns, create a culture in which people can improve their personalities.

by Rodrigo Baggio

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Roland Berger: Yes, our present system, a market economy system and a system of competition, tempts us to earn as much money as possible. And it’s absolutely possible that it’s not always being done in a legal way, i.e. it may be done illegally, through corruption. And in this case, I think, it’s important that the governments perceive their responsibility. That is, they should enact and enforce laws which prevent corruption. But that’s only one aspect. The governments, the politicians and also the citizens in general must bring out such a value system that excludes corruption that excludes profit through corruption and turns corruption into socially unacceptable way of earning money. Last but not least, it's also necessary that public service workers like teachers, policemen are properly paid for their social service and that they don’t depend on getting money from other sources and therefore are not tempted to corruption. So, to summarize, we need a value system, we need a general statutory framework which banish corruption. And then, with growing development status, growing prosperity and its fair distribution, we won’t need to fight against corruption.

by Roland Berger

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Sanar Yurdatapan: Yes, it is. Unfortunately it is. That’s why the system needs wars to keep on surviving, but they need people to fight in the wars and here’s the key question. We must try to convince people and tell them about the lies told to them to show wars as something to do, a necessity. Then we can overcome them.

by Sanar Yurdatapan