Economic growth

Chase of economic growth has become a global task during the past decades

Supporters of free trade first targeted the Global South, where the locals were guided to grow exportable crops or raw materials to get foreign currencies – instead of directly feeding their own population or to trade with some neighbouring countries. 

Cheap fossil fuels and guidelines of the WTO – World Trade Organization – and of the World Bank ensured this trade to be economical for the large, mainly Western corporations. Companies have been able to buy many privatised state-owned companies in favourable price as a term of international financial aid.

Countries in question lost parts of both their ability to grow food for their people and the control over some key resources (mining, telecommunications, etc.)

As “laws” in global financing and economics tend to favour the “economies of scale”, corporations have kept on bying state-owned companies, but lately from the “Western World”.

In the process multinational corporations have emerged and overgrown many countries when measured in turnover.

As money tends to be power, these giants can and are bidding countries against each other to get investments – and lobbying with international organisations and law-makers for politics, where economy overcomes ecology.

What will be the next stage of economic growth?