A new global order: Bretton Woods II...and San Francisco II, Open Democracy, November 2008, with Dirk Messner

The G20 summit in Washington must focus on an inclusive and dynamic renewal of the global development agenda - a task in which Europe has a vital role to play, say Dirk Messner & Simon Maxwell.

Global leaders are preparing to meet in Washington on 15 November 2008 for a summit of the G20 group of states and representatives of leading international financial institutions. The gathering is being ambitiously named "Bretton Woods II" - echoing the conference on 1-22 July 1944 which established the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). With George W Bush presiding, and Barak Obama waiting in the wings, the delegates' task will be to fix a global financial system which has failed with spectacular and highly damaging results. They need to succeed. However, they also need to realise that financial failure is symptomatic of more fundamental failures and fissures in the global order. Fixing the plumbing will be of little help if the house is falling down................. (see link in title for full article)