Written by Cecilia Kok - Published by STARBIZWEEK on 06/06/2009

As the world seeks a new economic model in response to the global economic crisis, here comes a book that challenges us to re-evaluate our values and motivations as the basis to rebuild our economies for a sustainable future.

Laurence Brahm, in The Anti-Globalization Breakfast Club, introduces the concept of “compassionate capitalism” as an alternative to the fundamentalist capitalism that we have been living with. He argues that there are powerful forces driving the economy, which conventional economic theories have disregarded.

For instance, in highlighting the Bhutanese concept of gross national happiness (GNH) for measuring economic success, Brahm reminds us that people are not driven by mere quantitative material motivations. He explains that the idea of GNH is very valuable, as it “respects culture, environment, diversity and quality of life, rather than quantity of life”.

Having spent most of his life in Asia, Brahm is more Asian than any one of us would have imagined. He draws most of his inspirations from the philosophies of this region that have, in turn, formed the backbone of the Anti-Globalization Breakfast Club.

StarBizWeek managed to catch up with Brahm, during his recent visit to Kuala Lumpur to promote his book, to understand the motive behind his writings and some of the arguments he has put forth.

What motivated you to write the Anti-Globalization Breakfast Club?
I try to be a proponent of cultural, sustainable development. You need to have economic foundations that sustain and develop culture, which is constantly evolving. You need both material and spiritual elements together. And more importantly, I support the preservation of ethnic identity because I believe our future is in our diversity. Trying to globalise everybody and have the same people in the planet may not necessarily be good for humanity.

What is the main message that you want to convey through the book?
The book tries to espouse the Himalayan Consensus as an alternative to the Washington Consensus.This involves one of the key pillars drawing upon the philosophies of this region, that is, compassion, alms-giving, and having the central person in the village or society take care and reach out to help others.

Also, the idea of environmental protection, which is embodied in the philosophies of this region, is about man working and living with nature and having a mutual respect for one another. This is so that people can live their lives in a way that saves resources for the next generation and be compassionate towards others, caring for others as much as oneself.

What is the Himalayan Consensus?
This book is a proponent of the Himalayan Consensus. There are three pillars to it. The first is throw out the onecookie-cutter-fits-all model. The Washington Consensus adopted a series of policies such as privatisation, rapid opening of equity markets, foreign exchange liberalisation and removing of subsidies. This is called a shock therapy or fundamentalist capitalism, and often it not only doesn’t work, but also creates cyclical poverty and social instability in other countries. So, if the model doesn’t work, throw it out. Theoretical models are not applicable to local solutions and circumstances. Turn to the local people for solutions. They have it. There is no one-model-fits-all. We must learn from each others’ experience – the positive and negative and try to choose the positive.

The second pillar is the philosophical approach. Call upon the rich philosophical approaches and values of this region. They can be global values.

Third, is good governance. The government’s job is to support healthcare, social security, have environmental protection legislation and give people hope and education. It is not important what form the government takes, but it is important what it does.

Why do you focus on compassionate capitalism?
We have lived with this neo-liberal, or what we normally call the fundamentalist capitalist approach of the Washington Consensus, which is very extreme. It says all things are motivated by greed. I do not believe that. Man is not motivated by greed alone. And because of our insistence on the empirical approach to analysing factors that have become part of the conventional economic theory, we negate these very powerful forces – the motivations and needs of humanity.

What does the anti-globalisation movement have to do with your book?
Having observed the anti-globalisation movement for a long time, I realised it is not a movement, and it is not anti-globalisation. It is in fact many diverse NGOs (non-governmental organisations), individuals, environmental and activist groups, and often farmers seeking subsidies or protection for their own traditional industries.

I want to give their voices an articulation because what they have been asking for is very important. It needs to be understood and should be incorporated into the policies of the institutions that they are protesting against, namely the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

So often, their voices have been dismissed unfairly as anti-globalisation. I feel what needs to be done is to take their aspirations and articulate them in a pragmatic blueprint that could be followed and implemented.

Who are the agents of change?
Ultimately, you need to have policymakers and institutions to buy-in and reform from within. Also, you need businesses and industries to internalise these ideas and manifest them through changes in their own commercial approach.

I hope to see corporations start thinking in terms of what is good for the environment and humanity. This is why I call for a concept called stakeholder value; the corporations being a stakeholder in the community, and vice versa. Based on this, we see what the company is doing for the environment, social problems and people.

We have to think about commercially rational approaches to giving companies a stakeholder value … to make companies sensitive to the needs of the people and the environment. We have to change consumer values to motivate corporations to think and operate this way. I am really pleased because I have met business leaders who are already thinking about what they can do for social causes and the environment.

Many CEOs in their individual capacity are running outreach programmes in countries within the region, trying to alleviate poverty and address social needs. They want to use their wealth and influence in their lifetime to help other people, and not wait until they die, then have someone set up a trust in their names. They want to see people’s lives transformed. We need to encourage, persuade and create policies that allow this trend to grow.

How can we promote environmentally sound business operations?
I think we are facing an environmental catastrophe. Global climate change is the most urgent task ahead. It is a question of whether humanity can survive or not, and whether we will become dinosaurs because of our own doing.

Now, corporations may not take action unless it is profitable. But I see an opportunity in this. As consumers’ values change, they will demand products that are environmentally sound, and this will become the new trend. Then, corporations will begin to react. They will have to create new business concepts and products that address the new consumer demand. In turn, corporations will demand governments to create policies that provide benefits and incentives and regulatory framework to support the change taking place.

Why do you think there is a need to revamp the WTO?
One of the major flaws I see in the WTO is its undemocratic system. It has more than 150 member countries, yet only a handful such as the G8 have the strongest voice to influence. I also see that the WTO is not removing protectionism in a fair way. It is maintaining protectionism for developed countries and liberalizing for under-developed countries; hence, contributing to cyclical poverty.

I think it has moved away from its original principle of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. I am not against protectionism. You often need protectionism to protect local industries, local jobs and local lifestyles. Maybe we need to re-evaluate what is permissible protectionism, when it should be faded out and what are the conditions for that, and in turn, make the organization more democratic. We need more parties at the table for greater consensus.

The book is published by John Wiley & Sons and is available at Borders, Kinokuniya and other major bookstores in Malaysia and online through Amazon.

Download the PDF Version

Back to Top