A global look to the local: replacing economic globalisation with democratic localisation

This paper seeks to identify the forms of economic organisation that might best support the institutionalisation of democratic participation in decisions on environment and development. Written in a non-academic and accessible style, the paper renews traditions of political and economic philosophy that propose ethical norms to guide social relations and the organisation of economic life.

The principal points of the paper include:

• localisation has the potential to foster and help institutionalise democratic participation in its broadest sense
• forms of direct and participatory democracy can spread and become institutionalised under a localisation approach that introduces a guaranteed citizen income and re-affirms a commitment to self-determination
• a host of social and environmental issues are really symptoms of a more profound and systemic problem - unsustainable economic, resource and trade policies
• economic theories pushed by translational companies have caused politicians to sacrifice the best interests of the majority of their voters for a set of policies that benefit the already dominant minority interests
• the challenge is for governments to undergo a mindwrench to change direction and adopt enforceable international agreements
• global agreements must aim to achieve the goals of economic and ecological security, rather than to guarantee the narrow interests of large corporations and foreign investors

[adapted from author]