MP, Labour’s Shadow
Chancellor, speaking at the launch of the Institute
for Public Policy Research’s (IPPR) Centre for Economic Justice
and its first report on the UK in the global economy, is expected
to say:
“Not the threat of a global downturn, nor the threat of
environmental breakdown, nor the human challenges threatened by
accelerating automation, can be addressed by countries acting
alone.
“If socialism in one country was ever possible, it certainly
isn’t now.
“There is an urgent need for those of us on the left – in all
countries – to work together in rescuing the concept of
internationalism from how it has developed in recent decades.
“We are living with the consequences of a world in which
international cooperation has come to reflect the neoliberal
economic paradigm, just as so many other aspects of life have
done.
“I don’t need to remind you of the unforgivable actions of the
European institutions and the IMF towards Greece when it faced a
crisis they were complicit in creating.
“The role of the global financial institutions in pushing a
particular economic model is now well established.
“It’s not just grotesque unfairness like the gentlemen’s
agreement that means the head of the IMF is chosen by Europeans
while the head of the World Bank is chosen by the USA. As if
nobody else in the world had an interest.
“That’s the most obvious kind of hypocrisy by the powerful. But
it’s also hypocrisy to protect working conditions for workers in
the UK, while undercutting them by allowing workers in other
countries to be exploited to a far greater degree.
“It’s hypocrisy to talk about tackling tax evasion at home while
doing nothing about British tax havens that suck wealth out of
other countries. It’s hypocrisy to wage and fund wars across the
globe and refuse entrance to refugees from those wars and to put
all the burden for carbon reduction onto the parts of the world
which were not responsible for creating the conditions that are
causing global temperatures to soar.
“Neoliberal internationalism hasn’t worked for those in poorer
countries. And as more people in wealthier countries also turn
against it we must not pander to the likes of Donald Trump who
offer reactionary isolationism as the alternative, but instead
articulate a clear vision of why working together can benefit
everyone, not just the already powerful.
“Socialist internationalism is about cooperation and solidarity.
We can’t act alone but must do so collaboratively to raise living
standards – in the broadest sense – across the board.
“The principles of that international cooperation must be agreed
across borders. Just as the solutions must be.
“So we must begin by us listening to those with experience of the
problems. It’s up to us on the left to make the case for
internationalism which the liberal so-called centre has done so
much damage to in recent decades.
“Only by learning from the paths not taken and making that
international socialist case will the left prevent a turn to
destructive nationalism, build a sustainable growth model for the
UK, and ensure that the coming decades are peaceful and just ones
in Europe and the rest of the world. Labour’s policy document ‘A
World For The Many Not The Few’ describes our alternative to
neoliberal internationalism and is taking forward the great
work done by in this area.”
Ends
Notes to editors
MP will be speaking at the
cross-party launch of the IPPR Centre for Economic Justice on
Thursday 9 Mayhttps://www.ippr.org/event/the-uk-in-the-global-economy
The IPPR Centre for Economic Justice paper, ‘The UK in the Global
Economy’, will also be published at 0001 on Thursday May 9
athttp://www.ippr.org/research/publications/uk-in-the-global-economy.
Please contact David Wastell, Head of News and Communications,
atd.wastell@ippr.org for
more information or advance copies
‘A World For the Many, Not the Few - The Labour Party's vision
for international development’
https://www.policyforum.labour.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/World_For_The_Many.pdf
