[afro-nets] Food for a thought that twists the logic (2)

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Food for a thought that twists the logic (2)
--------------------------------------------

Human Right Reader 112

The Sachs Macroeconomics and Health Report: Investing in health
for economic development or increasing the size of the crumbs
from the rich man's table?
(Part 2 of 3)

Models of democracy and respect for human rights:

20. There is no indication currently that people will soon (or
ever?) be consulted on budget levels for health or indeed on the
choice of economic policies [which may even violate (or have al-
ready violated) their rights].

21. Actually, there are strong indications that the same coer-
cion that was applied to implement Structural Adjustment Poli-
cies (SAPs) will be applied for Poverty Reduction Strategy Pa-
pers (PRSPs) --through the imposition of various conditionali-
ties, for example, or through --against all odds-- pushing ac-
tions that will make the statistics of MDGs look good with no
sustainability left behind.

22. This begs the following not-so-rhetorical questions:
a) Can a donor nation consider itself democratic if it consis-
tently undermines democracy in other countries? And
b) Is a meaningful debate on democracy even possible when wealth
and power are concentrated in so few hands?

23. We are not alone in saying that there is a crisis in democ-
racy today. The louder our leaders proclaim their attachment to
its principles the more loosely they use the term. Behind the
scenes, many of them violate its most fundamental principles
with increasing impunity. At the same time, human rights are
grossly violated by the same forces which are undermining democ-
racy.

24. This has led some to speak of 'low intensity democracy',
i.e., of participation at the ballot box by a minority of the
population and of the USA having just one party: 'the business
party' with two factions. (N. Chomsky)

25. No matter how we look at it, there is gross interference by
the powerful nations in the democratic processes of developing
countries. In particular, the case of the USA is well docu-
mented. As Arundhati Roy said: "every kind of outrage is being
committed in the name of democracy ".

26. It has become obvious that Capitalism ha mastered the tech-
niques of infiltrating the instruments of democracy --i.e., the
'independent' judiciary, the 'free' press, parliament-- moulding
them to its ultimate purposes. Free elections, a free press and
an independent judiciary mean little when the free market has
reduced them to commodities available on sale to the highest
bidder. A wide repertoire of devices is used to subordinate de-
veloping countries' economies; many think the WTO is one such
device.

27. Will we ever learn that people can NOT be forced to be de-
mocratic? Democracy must have a social basis in which it can
arise, be nurtured and sustained. Only such a real grassroots
democracy in poor countries can lead to the defeat of client re-
gimes installed to serve powerful nations' economic interests.

28. Do we need to remind the reader that, for instance, a hand-
ful of corporations dominate the world's media and communica-
tions? In 2001, ten of them controlled most of what we heard,
read and saw. Yes, we do live in an information age. But we ac-
tually live in a media age in which information is limited by
boundaries cleverly made invisible. How often do we see the me-
dia denouncing the everyday violation of human rights? The bot-
tom line is that private corporations do not exert undue influ-
ence on the media. They are the media.

29. Money rules in a world in which everything is a commodity.
[A reminder of contrasts helps here: Ford Motor Company is
roughly equivalent to the economic size of Norway; Mitsui is
worth slightly more than Saudi Arabia].

30 So, in terms of models of democracy, the assumption that the
powerful nations responsible for today's world order are models
of democracy and of respect for human rights is pure propaganda.
Democracy is in crisis everywhere. But the myths about this
thrive --precisely because they are rarely subjected to scru-
tiny.

31. In such a context, it is no surprise that the Alma Ata Dec-
laration of 1978 threatened the status quo. So it was politi-
cally sanitized and reduced to a few technological interventions
that pushed primary health care back to the era of providing for
basic human needs.

This notwithstanding, we contend that the only progress possible
in public health today (and in the fight against AIDS) is a re-
turn to the wisdom of Alma Ata.

Wishful thinking, ideology and untruths:

32. Unfortunately (but not surprisingly), most 'explicitly po-
litical positions' promoted in the Sachs Report are presented as
neutral and as established facts. Only a fine line divides the
Report's ideology from untruth: There are dozens of examples of
ideology disguised as fact.

33. The pharmaceutical industry's profit margins (over 18% com-
pared to around 7% on average in other industries) are justified
as a need for them to carry-on with Research and Development of
new products. But R&D costs are far lower than the amounts de-
voted to the marketing of pharmaceutical products --27% versus
11%. Things like these receive, if at all, uncritical mention in
the Report.

34. Another example is the mention of the debt crisis as a con-
straint to health. What remains unsaid though is that the more
explicit purpose of the debt reduction initiatives on the table
these days is to make the debt 'sustainable' and, in the proc-
ess, protect the financial integrity of the IFIs.
(contd.)

Claudio Schuftan
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn

Extracted, adapted and paraphrased from the article by the same
name by Alison Katz.


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