Report from WCC WCC leader advocates feminist economics instead of free market By Parker T. Williamson The Layman Online Wednesday, February 15, 2006 PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL – "The neo-liberal development paradigm" – global free-market economy – makes the rich richer and the poor poorer, and lowest on the poverty scale are women, declared seminar leaders at the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches. But this systematic sin has a solution, they said: feminist economics. At the forefront of the discussion was Athena K. Peralta, consultant on Women and Economy, World Council of Churches Program on Women and Globalization. In a report published by the WCC's Justice, Peace and Creation Team and summarized at the WCC mutirao [seminar], Peralta said traditional development economics, as supported by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have "only worsened the situation" for the poor, and especially for women who are the poorest of the poor in "a patriarchal world order." Core economic policies of neo-liberal development emphasize efficiency and growth, she said. Economic institutions such as the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have shaped "the macroeconomic policy environment in developing countries," she said. These policies include the removal of tariffs and other barriers to the free flow of goods, services and capital between countries, deregulation and privatization. Such policies have proven productive for capitalist economies, she said, but they have a devastating impact on the poor in developing countries. Peralta acknowledged that free-market economy math is "sophisticated" and impressive, so much so that "critical voices are often dismissed as 'non-scientific.'" But she said that neoclassical economic theory often forgets that "markets can and have failed." Peralta did not mention the fact, often cited by economist Peter Berger, that in every case where statist economies have been attempted, the failure rate is 100 percent. "Show me one socialist country that has proven itself capable of feeding its own people," said Berger in a Washington, D.C., conference on "Bread and Freedom." For many years, countries like North Korea have blamed the weather on crop failures while its nearby neighbor, South Korea, experiencing virtually the same weather, produces sufficient crops not only to feed its people but to export to other countries. The major flaw in neoclassical economic theory, said Peralta, lies in the fact that it "factors out non-marketable goods and services such as those provided by women's care and subsistence work, rendering such work statistically invisible and worthless." Here, Peralta refers primarily to the reproductive work of women (they produce babies without compensation by the economy), as well as the nurturing, care, feeding, clothing, and other uncompensated services that women provide for their families. Any economy that fails to recognize and compensate for such services, contended Peralta, is "unjust." Peralta insisted that if these "non-marketable" factors were taken into consideration, one must conclude that there is a growing income inequality "both between and within countries." Using a measure that she calls "the global Gini coefficient," which she said is "a popular measure of inequality," Brazil and South Africa "are among the most "inequitable countries in the world." Peralta said that her data shows the need for a "feminist lens" in economic policy. "Women are generally assigned multiple (and simultaneous) economic roles that are largely uncompensated," she said. "Meanwhile, men are more often concentrated in the production of goods and services that can be sold on the market." This inequality is exacerbated, she said, by the fact that "women do not possess the same level of decision-making power as men." The bottom line: Women have suffered serious inequalities as a result of neoclassical economies because the prevailing global free market economy does not recognize or compensate their reproductive and nurturing labor. "Unpaid caring or social reproductive labor – which is essentially about the maintenance of human life outside of the market – is a vital part of any economic system." Peralta suggests that "the current global economic system, which is oppressive to many women and men, has to be changed." Tying her message into the WCC theme, she called on the WCC to endorse "transformation economics," also called "solidarity economy," and "economy of communion." She called for "a paradigm shift in the global economic system" that will be "a just, sustainable and caring global economic system." A crucial milestone in moving toward such a system is "the cancellation of illegitimate debts of developing countries," she said. Also included in this type of economics is a movement toward "cooperation rather than competition" and that "collective enterprise is likely to reap greater benefit than individual effort." Peralta summarized her position as a WCC economist, saying: "The WCC and feminist critical economists understand that nothing less than a fundamental transformation of political and economic systems is necessary if we are to address the root causes of poverty and inequality in our world today." Peralta's presentation was followed by that of a woman who told the group of a "coup" engineered by a group of women in Bolivia who "resisted" and finally "overcame" their community's water department. At issue was their contention that access to water is a "basic human right" and that no corporation or government has the right to take the water, process it and sell it to the people for a profit. This report brought resounding applause, drowning out any questions regarding the condition of the water before the offending party cleansed it of life endangering bacteria and distributed it to the community.

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