wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Global gulf

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

  03292
July 18, 2003
  Global gulf
Ex-missionaries cast light on widening gap between rich andpoor

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE Todays Christians are living in the
most unjust economic times the world has ever seen, and the gap between
rich and poor is widening at an alarming pace. That was the alarm raised by
retired Presbyterian missionaries Ross and Gloria Kinsler in their workshop
on global economics during the recent 2003 Churchwide Gathering of
Presbyterian Women. Its accelerating at just an incredible rate, Gloria
Kinsler said of the disparity between rich and poor. And if it doesnt
have anything to do with faith, what good is our faith? We have to love our
neighbors.The Kinslers, whose workshop was titled Economic Globalization
and Christian Discipleship, served together as missionaries in Guatemala
and Costa Rica for 27 years.There is no easy to address the problem of the
yawning gap between the worlds haves and have-nots, they said.Theres no
grand solution, because the world is cultured so differently, Gloria said.
Nobody wants to have one formula for everybody. Each country is going to
have to look for their own particular ways to solve its problem. The
Kinslers, who retired in 2000, said entities capable of regulating economic
activity and of reducing poverty, such as the U.S. government, large global
institutions and international financial institutions like the World Bank,
will probably continue contributing to the disparity.It looks as if we are
living now in the most unjust global economic situation that the world has
ever seen, and its accelerating, Ross Kinsler said. And those who are in
power, which are basically ... our government and our corporations, are
going to be sure that it keeps going in that direction, unless somebody
does something about that.Citing statistics from United Nations Human
Development reports from 1992 and 1999, and the work of economist David C.
Korten, the Kirstens said economic globalization is undermining democracy
and increasing poverty around the world.The 1999 U.N. report said that,
while in 1820 the richest 20 percent of the worlds population consumed
three times as much money and resources as the poorest 20 percent, by 1913
the margin had grown to 11 times as much, and by 1998 the rich one-fifth
were consuming 86 times as much as the poor.You can divide this up in a
number of different ways, the implications in terms of food, health care,
education, housing, everything else, Ross Kinsler said. Its very
dramatic.In their workshop on the global economy a major topic during
the Gathering the Kinslers said the major culprits include big
corporations and mega-lenders such as the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). The former missionaries said such
institutions advocate so-called free market economies based on the
principles of deregulation, liberalization and privatization. They
privatize local industry, Ross Kinsler said. Words like efficiency
really mean automation, which results in people losing their jobs.The
Kinslers, both 68, criticized the myth of development promoted by global
institutions, and said the world needs an economic system based on fairness
and justice.Nobody should have too much and no one should have too little,
Gloria Kinsler said. Justice and fairness figured in a Bible study the
Kinslers led during the workshop, which lifted up the concept of Jubilee
and debt forgiveness and called for the abolishment of slavery.The
scripture study was a reminder that we have to learn to share our
resources ... because God provided enough for everyone, Gloria said.In
reality, the Kinslers contended, economic globalization is just a way of
giving more power and freedom to global corporations and huge financial
investors. Were talking about free trade and trying to clarify that it
simply is not free, Ross said. The free-trade ideology talks about you
opening up competition to the whole world. But its like asking
kindergarteners (to compete) against NBA basketball players. Whos going to
win? Is that real competition? No, its pure domination.Globalization has
many aspects and some of them are great, no doubt, he continued. We talk
about economic globalization, and that leaves us to ask how the worlds
enormous, prodigious productive resources are being distributed.  Global
trade and investment can serve development goals, the Kinslers said, but
affluent governments create unfair rules intended to advance their own
commercial interests, often at the expense of farmers, business owners,
laborers and people struggling to overcome poverty in developing countries.
  Neo-liberalists justify low wages by proclaiming competitiveness as an
essential component of free markets. Nonsense, they said.  And what
happens when theres real competition? asked Gloria Kinsler. Somebody
buys them up. You know these huge conglomerates keep buying, buying,
buying. They want to stay on top. Thats not competition.

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