Vol.3 No.21, 27 July 2003

Review of SANE Views

June 2001 - June 2003

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For several years after the start-up of SANE in 1996 we ran a SANE Forum list which was not moderated. Anyone was welcome to offer his or her contributions. Although some contributions were very interesting and provided useful insights, the forum was also used or abused by people who wanted to disseminate ideas which were of but marginal interest to other SANE members and which drifted off SANE's main line of concern. Since then we have run a SANE Views list in which we have only posted topics which have been felt to be of direct concern to the cause of transformed or New Economics in South Africa.

Although an unmoderated SANE Forum list has been reintroduced since then, it now plays a minor role and we would welcome more extensive use being made of it. In the past it did provide a platform for introducing useful new ideas and comment from a wide range of subscribers. (All SANE Views contributions give instructions on how to subscribe)

In 2001 twenty-two SANE Views issues were e-mailed to list members. In 2002 a further thirty-nine contributions making up Volume 2 were sent out by e-mail, and so far this year a further twenty-two Volume 3 issues have been sent out to a growing list of nearly 1000 readers.

We welcome ideas for SANE topics and have sent out Views submitted to us by a range of contributors. Chief amongst these has been our chairperson, Margaret Legum. Recently her husband passed away and she has not been able to keep up a steady flow of her contributions. I know that many of you have communicated condolences to her personally.

Margaret is now fully back with us but she feels, and I concur, that we now should present more contributions from others. It is also a good opportunity to look back and review what SANE Views have been submitted so far. Anyone can find a list of these on our website but it is useful to categorise them under various headings, as I have attempted below. Authors or source of the contributions are also given. Full texts of these contributions can be accessed directly from our website (sane.org.za).

1. WHAT HAS GONE WRONG, AND WHY?

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1.4 Is There Really a More Hopeful Future for South Africa? Johan van Zyl

1.5 Understanding Development Today. Johan van Zyl

1.6 Shaping Globalisation: Nicanor Perlas

1.9 The Naked Emperor of the Social Sciences Steve Keen

1.11 No Way to run a Railroad Margaret Legum

2.1 Who Shot Argentina? Margaret Legum

2.13 Economic Realities of South Africa in 2002 Aart Roukens de Lange

2.20 Latin America: Graveyard for Structural Adjustment? Margaret Legum

2.35 The Global Economic Crisis Walden Bello

3.2 Wealth and Tax Transfers Mark Hennesy

3.11 Tax avoidance by multi-national corporations Mark Hennesy

3.16 Why South Africa's Dual Economy Persists Margaret Legum

The first contribution in this category was by Professor Johan van Zyl, SANE's long-range board member in Pretoria in the province of Gauteng. This contribution provides a useful overview of SANE perspectives on the South African and global economies. It is a prescient one, having been made well before the Rand's spectacular collapse late in 2001 and its equally spectacular recovery in 2002 and 2003. It provides very obvious evidence of the destabilising effects of speculation and manipulation of money markets. It also clearly indicates the dangers of allowing the economy to be subjected to the dictates of the so-called Washington Consensus and the vagaries of the free market.

Other contributions relate to issues such as the threat of 'elite' globalisation, the dangers of the ruling global free-market paradigm, the consequences of following the dictates of the IMF and the WTO, the manipulation of markets and money flows by multinational corporations, etc.

2. REBELLION

In this category some contributions are provided which indicate the active opposition that has been developing in academic, institutional and political environments to the global free-market and neo-liberal paradigm.

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1.7 Statement by the Cambridge 27 Post Autistic Economics Newsletter

1.8 How Malaysia Got Away With Heresy Margaret Legum

1.9 The Naked Emperor of the Social Sciences Steve Keen

3. SANE RE-THINK AND PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE

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1.1 A SANE Policy for Sustainable Economics SANE brochure

1.2 A Four-Step Programme to Transform South Africa Richard Douthwaite

1.4 Is There Really a More Hopeful Future for South Africa? Johan van Zyl

1.6 Shaping Globalisation Chris Mullins

1.10 Africa, Economic Rights, Citizenship and Dignity Norman Reynolds

1.16 Tailoring New Economics to SA Realities Aart Roukens de Lange

2.10 Making and Unmaking Poverty in South Africa Cecil Cook

2.11 Transforming the Present, Protecting the Future Enquiry into Comprehensive Social Security (Taylor Commission)

2.12 New Economics for a New Future (book reviews)

2.27 Both Free Market and Regulated Capitalism? Margaret Legum

2.34 Restructuring Taxes to Protect the Environment Bernie Fischlowitz-Roberts

3.1 A New Paradigm for Growth Margaret Legum

3.10 Courage to Think Radical and Alternative Margaret Legum

3.13 Controlling Destructive Capital Movements Margaret Legum

3.17 Public Works? Go for Something Simpler! Margaret Legum

3.18 What Chance for a G8 Rethink? Margaret Legum

4. THE BASIC INCOME GRANT

A vital pillar of SANE's platform is that of a Basic Income Grant (BIG). SANE sees this mot as a heavy burden to be carried by tax payers but as an essential measure for re- vitalising the economy and preventing collapse of South African society into chaos and total destitution.

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1.3 A Parallel Currency to Pay for a Basic Income in South Africa Aart Roukens de Lange

1.13 Basic Income in Europe, USA and Brazil Basic Income European Network (BIEN)

1.19 A BIG Idea for South Africa Margaret Legum

2.5 Social and Economic Impact of a BIG Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRI)

2.7 Developing the BIG Idea Aart Roukens de Lange

2.14 The Taylor Commission and the BIG (Comment)

2.15 Government's Response to the BIG (Comment)

2.21 New Approach to the Basic Income Grant Aart Roukens de Lange

2.38 The Basic Income Grant: The Real Issue Margaret Legum

2.39 What Next for the BIG Coalition? Norman Reynolds

5. NEW ECONOMICS IN ACTION

New Economics is largely about change in macro-economics and in national economic policies. However there are also many local initiatives that can be undertaken. SANE is involved in a number of projects in which local community currencies are used where there is a scarcity of the national Rand currency. SANE also has a vision of how a community rooted in New Economics measures might operate. This is perhaps best described by its Guinea Fowl Scenario (described in a non-SV Paper on the SANE Website).

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2.8 Getting Community Support Right Norman Reynolds

2.19 A Compassionate Economy Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane

6. MONEY AND BANKING - POLICY AND REFORM

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1.12 Various Views on Monetary Reform Bromsgrove Group

1.15 Protecting the Rand Johan van Zyl

1.21 A SANE Response to the Falling Rand Aart Roukens de Lange

1.22 The Collapsing Rand: Threats and Opportunities Aart Roukens de Lange

2.1 Who Shot Argentina? Margaret Legum

2.2 Must we Suffer Falling Rand? Margaret Legum

2.3 Innovative Response to Rand problems Johan van Zyl

2.4 Collapse of the Rand Johan van Zyl

2.6 Monetary Reform: New Zealand & South Africa Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRI)

2.9 Reform of the Rand Aart Roukens de Lange

2.24 Debt-Free Money Margaret Legum

2.25 Concern about Repo (Reserve Bank Interest) rate Margaret Legum

2.28 Are These Hardships Necessary? Johan van Zyl

2.33 If the World is so Rich, why the Scarcity? Margaret Legum

2.37 The Grip of Death Revisited Michael Rowbotham

3.3 The Dollar, the Euro and War in Iraq Aart Roukens de Lange

3.4 Interest Rates and Inflation Paul Malherbe

3.5 Japan's Phoney Slump Margaret Legum

3.6 It's all happening in the UK too Margaret Legum

3.12 Creating New Money David Boyle

3.15 Making Money Without Debt Margaret Legum

3.20 The Danger of High Interest Rates Paul Malherbe

7. COMPLEMENTARY CURRENCIES, LOCAL ECONOMICS AND FOOD SECURITY

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1.2 Restoring the Financial Rand Richard Douthwaite

1.3 A Parallel Currency to Pay for a Basic Income in South Africa Aart Roukens de Lange

2.8 Getting Community Support Right Norman Reynolds

2.26 Food Security and Global Trade Margaret Legum

2.29 New Hope for Food Policy Margaret Legum

2.31 Economics Maketh Mankind Margaret Legum

3.19 Peru's Parallel Currency Mark Hennesy

8. OTHER

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1.10 Africa, Economic Rights, Citizenship and Dignity Norman Reynolds

1.14 WTC Attacks and World Hunger Russell Bishop

1.17 Change after WTC Attack Jeffrey Newman

1.18 For SA's Poor: A New Power Struggle Jon Jeter

2.11 Comprehensive Security in South Africa? Taylor Commission

2.12 New Economics for a New Future (book reviews)

2.16 SANE Perspectives on NEPAD and the AU Aart Roukens de Lange

2.17 NEPAD: How new is this Partnership Margaret Legum

2.18 The Free Fox in a Free Henhouse Margaret Legum

2.22 Local Economics in Ladakh Helena Norberg-Hodge

2.23 SANE comments on WSSD Margaret Legum

2.30 Post WSSD as seen from SANE Margaret Legum

2.36 The Real Fundamentals Margaret Legum

3.7 A Timid Budget, not a Sane One Margaret Legum

3.8 The Telkom Privatisation Scandal Paul Malherbe

3.9 Responses to Telkom Scandal Paul Malherbe et al

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