Global Marshall Plan Initiative

“Nothing in the world is as powerful as an idea whose time has come.”
Victor Hugo

The global economic system has become detached from the national frameworks – this is a consequence of globalization and new communication technologies.

At present, the global framework is unsatisfactory. Politics has lost its primacy over the economy, as the political structures are still oriented to nations and continents, but not to the world as a whole. In addition, there is the enormous growth of the world population and the resulting increase in the consumption of natural resources.

The consequences of this development have already harmed the ecological systems and led to political tensions. The individual can hardly do anything against this if the supra-state systems pursue a path which threatens peace or is not sustainable. Because of this, numerous representatives of economy, politics, science, the media and NGOs came together in 2003 and founded the Global Marshall Plan Initiative.

The aim of the Initiative is to globally encourage economy, civil society and politics to co-operate in order to bring about global security, peace and prosperity for everybody. The Initiative wants to incorporate the successful strategies of the Marshall Plan for Europe in the aftermath of World War II and the positive experiences of the EU enlargement. Co-financing as a reward for compliance with European standards could serve as a model for development co-operation. The support of all state governments, the United Nations and international organizations should be won for the implementation of such a plan.

The iniatiators want the EU to commit itself with all the means at its disposal to implement the Global Marshall Plan, i.e. a global eco-social market economy, and to put this project on the agenda of negotiations for separate global treaties. The EU could give itself a clear profile with this new orientation and adopt a new partnership with third world countries.

The Global Marshall Plan Initiative is a continually expanding network of information and activities. The task of the Global Contract Foundation is to maintain, extend and co-ordinate this network.

Helge Bork

helge.bork@weltvertrag.org

040 - 822 904 27