Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Lillian Holt: Essentially, yes I would say. The current economic system and we're all caught up in it aren't we? And I do see and I do believe that it is corrupt in some way when you have the haves and the have-nots. I mean in Australia, where I come from, it's a first world country and yet there's still poverty there. There is certainly poverty among the indigenous people but I'm not just talking about indigenous people. There are poor working class people. So the economic system it always seems to me about a hierarchy and within that is incorporated the haves and the have-nots. How can we go about dismantling it? Well, as Einstein said and I reiterate the quote before that I said about him. He said the language they used to build the system will not be the language that we will use to dismantle it. In terms of dismantling, how can we help? I know a friend of mine who's just given up a big house because her family has grown up and she's chosen to go into a smaller. She said my way of not participating in what she sees as a corrupt system and she's talked about the economic and political system, especially the political socio economic system, is not to partake of it or to participate in it only to the extent that she had to survive and I really admire that person for that because she wasn't into consumerism. She wasn't supporting it and by living more simple she just refuses to participate in it and I think that's what we have to do. You know, we can say hey enough is enough.

by Lillian Holt

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Livingstone Maluleke: Yes, the current economic system that was inherited mostly in South Africa is corrupt. It is corrupt because this economic base was only focusing on individuals of the same, or which of course is in the minority. Only the minority with capitalistic-incident countries and; therefore, in South Africa for an example, after the change of the many laws governing the country, there is what we called the BEA (which is the Black Economic Approach), which is an approach focusing to embrace as much people in the majority as possible. And, it is for that reason that this system of the majority inclusion in the economic empowerment is imperative. That is the only way in which we can be able to dismantle the former system. Thank you.

by Livingstone Maluleke

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Mae-Wan Ho: The current economic system is not only corrupt, it is basically wrong and misguided. And, it is the most damaging thing on earth today. That’s what leads to the over consumption of the earth’s resources that has brought on climate change. Of course, it needs a bit of assistance from science and technology. But, with this kind of mindset guiding economics, then science and technology become powerful instruments of exploitation and devastation and which is the situation we have today. Well, how do we go about dismantling it? I suggest that what we should do is to grow our own food, consume locally, trade services locally, use local currency, and just get out of the corporate machine. And, what we have to have is a system of global exchange of information, of knowledge, free exchange of resource with -- of intellectual resources in order to enable us to maximize investing in the local economy and in the local circular economy. And that’s how we can overcome this current economic system.

by Mae-Wan Ho

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Mahsa Shekarloo: Which current economic system, and what corruption? Morally corrupt? Is it legally corrupt? It’s certainly morally corrupt. -- How do you dismantle it? Well, one way you do it is you don’t buy their products. Refuse. -- This is what the consumer can do. Refuse. Boycott.

by Mahsa Shekarloo

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Mark Benecke: Every structure made by human beings centers around gathering and protecting goods. Now if you define corruption as finding shortcuts to retaining whatever you collected, then corruption is an evolutionary trait. Because initially, especially higher animals, vertebrates, but also other animals, but mostly vertebrates, they will take care of their family and their kin and their relatives first. Now corruption is the same thing. It means you are trying to find quick paths and shortcuts with people you know. So, usually, you are bribing somebody not just to get something done, but also in the end to build up a network structure and it's a buddy system between buddies. So every system made by human beings will always fall for corruption if you don't socially control it a lot. Now, for social control, there has to be a need, so first corrupt structures have to damage something. They have to damage a structure. Very obviously, once a structure is really damaged by corruption, this will be corrected automatically, because then the corruption will be found and eliminated. That’s an evolution process. Many corrupt structures were actively built, like organized crime structures, and they were built in many cases like the Mafia structures, with the knowledge of the people in power. They were part of the system by either just knowing it or not doing anything against it or profiting from it. So, I guess corruption will always take place and it's not a basic problem as long as somebody will really take care of it.

by Mark Benecke

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Martin Almada: Yes, capitalism based on human exploitation by humans, leads to the corrupt character of the economic system, besides that the system is inherently corrupt. There can be and there must a fairer and more solidary version of the model. For example, an ethnic code should be introduced for the multinational companies that take up residence in the third world countries. Because they are societies creating lobbies and they succeed in establishing in our countries corrupting our civil servants. For this reason it is very important to draft a juster and more solidary model for the third world countries.

by Martin Almada

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Masami Saionji: Will structure of current economy be the thing which really collapses? Certainly if this goes as it is, I think it will surely collapse. If we don't know the most important truth of human nature, then those of people with wealth, power, rich country, and a country having a nuclear will be stronger and stronger following their insatiable desire, and then a difference with the rich and powerful countries and the poor and powerless countries widens. Then conflicts between people occurs, and economy gets in the similar situation, it breaks down and gets worse and worse. Therefore because current economic system pursues profits, the winner gets the profit in his hand and loser becomes poorer. And in the present economical system, every global environment sacrifices itself for people's insatiable desire. To sell a lot of products every factory produces waste and poison, which violates our viewpoint, and then we loses ourselves, our life itself, and the fact of living itself. Therefore such an economic system gradually dismantles itself. So from now on, the economy should be the one which is a really good environmental economy for the earth.

by Masami Saionji

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Masuma Bibi Russel:

by Masuma Bibi Russel

Sep 9, 2006 10:40:00 AM cite

Mayank Mehta: Current economic system, I don’t think we have just one economic system. We have many economic systems. We have several economic systems in small countries. We have different economic systems in terms of corporations. And then, we have the world forum. So, perhaps, what you mean if I understand you right, is the world trade organization, which is perhaps the only global system that we can talk about in this context instead of many different ones. Yes, the world trade organization has many problems. It is governed by a couple of countries, a handful of them, which are very powerful and wealthy. The health and prosperity of a handful of country or rather a handful of corporations, and interest groups, in those handful of countries are taking the precedence over the global health of people in the world. And I don’t think that, yes it is true. In that sense, there is a fair amount of corruption or everybody’s interest is not being taken into account. Having said that, I don’t think the solution is to dismantle it, because the best thing should be to modify it, to keep the good things of this and get rid of the bad things. Most likely, and again I don’t know this, if this will work or not, the solution would be for us, all of us to get involved, educate, voice overviews peacefully, and let people know that it’s not okay for the [promise subsidies] in one country to hurt, a huge number of people in other countries. And that’ll be a good thing to let everybody live, really truly in an open economic system.

by Mayank Mehta

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 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