Abstract: | While globalization brings global increases in income in the aggregate, it also threatens to leave much of humankind in conditions of absolute poverty and to widen the gap between rich and poor. These trends are likely to be accentuated with the advent of the information/knowledge economy, the increasing power of multinationals, and the growing severity of environmental constraints. This article sketches these trends and then addresses the question: what are the necessary conditions for the attainment of a growing global economy with equity and acceptable environmental standards? It then tackles the issue of the prospects for these conditions to be realized under the prevailing global economic/financial system. |