Have you really given this much thought lately that the world order that we live in today is not in favour of PNG (and other developing countries)?
More questions will arise as to why and how PNG is faring in today's global free-market economies. Similar trends also abound in other developing countries that are being strangled by economic policies that foster the global spread of capitalism. The bottom-line is that the present world order then and also the new world order now and in the future will undoubtedly change, but not in favour of PNG.
The world economic order origins can be traced back to the Breton Woods agreement in the US to address the world's problems after World War 2. A group of men, mostly from the war's 'winning side', sat down to decide how to put the world back together again, and how the new banking system should work. In a nutshell, the whole economic system was designed by the 'rich' for their own benefit. It is all about money and control. These people decided to represent everybody in the world and formed their own rich man's club.
Without trying to sound like an economist which may mean absolutely nothing to our readers here, but I can fairly deduce that the world economic order keeps PNG in some form of poverty. PNG is experiencing relative poverty. We can never completely eradicate poverty but we can always try to find ways to reduce its effects. Successive governments have yet to solve the paradox PNG finds itself in for some time now: 'resources rich' and yet 'cash poor'. Thus, despite our abundant natural resources, consistent poor resources management has resulted in little benefits to improve our people's quality of life.
Many astute observers of PNG in recent years have stated on the need for PNG not to borrow overseas economic ideas. Thirty-six years after Independence, we now need to use our homegrown strategies to address socio-economic needs. Failed economic policies are perhaps one main cause why PNG is so "cash-poor".
I think PNG can have the required negotiating power to one day in future bring this country closer into the rich man's club. But for now PNG as an Independent country still very much lacks the political clout and the strong-willed political leadership expected to successfully negotiated with global counterparts for the simple fact that the world economic order game is never going to be played on a 'level-playing field'. Otherwise PNG would not have taken more than 36 years after independent to still not get it right today.
On the other hand, the other factor is that the economic rationalism forced upon countries has led to mass consumption. This increases the range of goods and services that are not affordable by the majority (as in PNG). What this means for PNG and other developing countries is that the big business policy now is to attract the best paying customers at the expense of the rest of its population. Because the people cannot afford to get the consumer goods, they are forced into consumer poverty. One way to address this is for the government to concentrate its socio-economic focus in the rural communities. Another solution is to create job opportunities for people to afford things they need.
On the whole, today's world banking system does not just provide financial services. It is involved in the political, business and financial control of the free world. So here's the bottom-line: whoever controls the banking system more or less controls the world. Can you now see here that PNG (and other developing nations) will never ever be allowed by the rich nation members (who control the banking system) into the rich man's club in future?
In addition, in as far as the world order not being in favour of PNG; well sadly countries like PNG have few choices. PNG can only march to the drumbeat of the rich man's club. So despite what the developing capitalist nations will keep telling us today, the true reality is our world will always be divided into two halves: the rich and the poor. As long as the rich have the money, they will always control the side that has little or none. It’s more like a system of laws for global business. The rich man's club members will continue to play the proverbial 'school-yard bully' role to poor or developing countries.
PNG's economic policy in the main and as asserted by certain academics in recent times is determined by world market forces. This holds true in some ways. Governments do tailor their own economic policy to please 'those from whom we borrow,' rather than the people who voted them into office. Nevertheless, we can still try to hedge against external market forces by adopting certain innovative strategies. The government needs to now get its economic fundamentals right from here on.
The law of synergy - "the whole is greater than the part of one" should be the strategic management tool for PNG to reduce its unnecessary expenditure and waste. The nation and its people must work hard to increase domestic production and savings. We as a country must increase our exports, balance of trade, employment opportunities and to generate wealth.
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