Allowing Israel to decimate Lebanon, killing and maiming thousands of civilians and rendering half a million people homeless to recover two soldiers will no doubt make Israel victorious. But as in the past this victory will be pyrrhic and will simply trigger further violence. For terrified people of Lebanon the terror stems from Israel 's bombs as much as from Hizbolla's barrels. The history is witness. Force always creates outlaws. British know how the gunboat diplomacy has failed. There was no Hizbolla until Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 to crush PLO. Saddam Hussein was propped up by Anglo-US support to Iraq against Iran. Bin Laden was put in Afghanistan with US support to fight Russians.
George Orwell said, to see what is in front of one’s nose is a constant struggle. The world is on a short fuse. The ineptitude of global leaders has created a deadly brew of Hizboulla, Hamas, Al-Quaeda andTaliban. Stirring it together with Syria, Iran and North Korea with a touch of Pakistan will blow up the whole world and turn into an Armageddon. We must not repeat the same mistakes.
Despite the flak which the British Prime Minister’s fawning on President Bush received, Tony Blair showed remarkable maturity in his advice to the US President ‘You cannot stop this [blood shed] unless you get some international presence agreed’. It is a pity that his advice as well as Kofi Anan’s suggestion of cease fire has fallen on deaf ears.
G8’s failure in resolving the current crisis exposes its ineffectiveness. Its consequences are grim and alarming. It shows we are back to the law of jungle where might is right. If it cannot provide basic security for people how can we expect it to eradicate poverty, remove inequities and combat climate change? With UN system already in tatters because of US intransigence, we need an alternative global governance system. Business organisations provide a great hope. Despite the problems that MNCs have created they have been a hugely unifying force speeding up the process of globalisation. Their strength lies using the local differences to their advantage treating the whole world as their constituency and unmindful of pressures of local vote banks. They pride in differences, celebrate diversity and fight xenophobia.
The merger of Arcelor Mittal is a classic example. It exemplifies how business compulsions are driving out xenophobia which in the past prevented the shareholders from reaping the gains of globalisation. Throughout his five months battle with Mittal, Guy Dolle kept evoking nationalistic sentiments in Spain, France, Luxembourg & Brussels to garner support from political establishments. He even went to the extent of comparing Mittal Steel products as Asian de Cologne and his company’s produce as European Perfume. None of this worked with the shareholders and they finally dumped SeverStal for Mittal Steel purely out of economic consideration.
The uproar against the extradition of the NatWest Three is another example of parochial sentiments. They are rascals but our own rascals syndrome. British government has to be complemented for resisting the pressure and ensuring the extradition. These men have been charged of a hienous fraud, details of which are in the news section of this journal. Business community realises that 90% of the population shuns the stock markets, the very instrument for equitable wealth creation, because of the kind of shady deals of which the three have been charged with. They are determined to cleanse the system to usher transparency.
US perhaps is the only country which has come out heavily against fraudsters and has not spared even the White Knights of the Wall Street or the icons of economic success such as Sandy Weill and Martha Stuart. Its system has unmatched reputation for impartiality. There should be no cause for anyone to suspect that the extradited bankers will not receive a fair trial.
For all this it is time to consider how the political vacuum created by inept politicians can be filled by business leaders adept in collaborative strategies. Corporations have learnt over the years to tap the differences of race, culture and religions to work harmoniously in different parts of the world. As it is, it is the business that has been driving the political agenda in many ways. It is time that it is done consciously. Business organisations must come out openly to use their collective influence cohesively to prevent the world from being turned into an Armageddon.
Our last February conference in Vilamoura showed what a great role the business is playing by engaging with poor. They have moved CSR to the next level , the CSR Plus , connecting the world to the boardroom and the boardroom to the village, thus helping to remove poverty and at the same time mproving their market capitalisation. Business community has to now move beyond and play a role in combating climate change and securing long term peace. For the first time in human history, the business has the power and technology and the global experience to make a difference to human lives and should rise to fill the vacuum.
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