Seventh International, Interdisciplinary Conference

Capitalism with a Human Face?

Some participants from the conference.   Holding the right corner of the sign is Professor Howard Freidman, Executive Director.  At the center of the sign is Professor Patricia Murphy, Chair of the International Advisory Board.  I am on the far left.

Papers from IPPNO's Seventh Conference

The schedule of presentations and events

12-12:50: Santi Nath Chattopadhyay, ISISAR, Calcutta, India:

Human Rights, Socio-economic Justice, and Globalization

Chair: Moira Baker, Radford University

1-2:00 Lunch (on our own: Lindsay or Chad, Conference Services student workers, might be of help here)

2-2:50: Mar Peter-Raoul, Marist College, Schenectady, New York:

Chair: Santi Nath Chattopadhyay, ISISAR, Calcutta

3-3:50: Purabi Ghosh Roy, Maharshi Dayanand College, Mumbai, India:

Chair: Glen T. Martin, Radford University

4:4-50: Deb Peterson, Baxter, Minnesota:

Capitalism with a Human Face: Ancient Insights into the Phenomenon of Oligarchy, its Causes, and Possible Resolutions

Chair: Purubi Ghosh Roy, Maharshi Dayanand College, Mumbai

Dinner 5-7 p.m. (on our own)

7:00 p.m.: Video documentary: Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War

9-9:50: Ron Glossop, Emeritus, St. Louis University:

Chair, Kim Gainer, Radford University

10-10:50: Craig Waggaman, Political Science, Radford University:

Losing the Balance of Consciousness: The Modern Project and the Second Reality of the Neo-Conservatives

Chair: Howard Friedman, University of Connecticut

11-11:50: Wendy C. Hamblet, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York:

Chair: Moira Baker, Radford University

12:12:50: Irina Mitina, Rostov-on-Don, Russia:

Chair: Bill Kovarik, Radford University

1-2:00: Lunch (on our own)

2-2:50: Tony Equale, Floyd, Virginia:

Chair: Ron Glossop, St. Louis University

3-3:50: Howard Friedman, Emeritus, University of Connecticut:

Chair: Rubi Maloni, University of Mumbai, India

4-5:00: Group Discussion for all Participants:

Capitalism and Empire

Howard Friedman, Chair

5-7:00: Dinner (on our own)

7:00: Keynote address: J.W. Smith, Institute for Economic Democracy, Sun City, Arizona:

Cooperative Capitalism: The Missing Human Face of Economics

8:30: Reception for Dr. Smith, Cook Hall 105

9-9:50: Melissa Burchard, University of North Carolina, Ashville:

Chair: Craig Waggaman, Radford University

10-10:50: Bill Kovarik, Media Studies, Radford University:

Chair: Wendy C. Hamblet, Adelphi University

11-11:50: Chuck Overby, Emeritus, Ohio University:

Chair: Kim Gainer, Radford University

12-12:50: Robert Blain, Emeritus, Southern Illinois University:

Four Requirements for Sustainable Global Prosperity and Permanent Peace

Chair: Bill Kovarik, Radford University

1-2:00: Lunch (on our own)

2-2:50: Rubi Maloni, University of Mumbai, India:

Chair: Patricia Murphy, St. Joseph’s University

3-3:50: Stephen Zarlenga, American Monetary Institute, Valatie, New York:

Chair: Glen T. Martin, Radford University

4-4:50: Group Discussion for all Participants:

Chair: Moira Baker, Radford University

5-630: Free Time

6:30: Rides from Ingles Hall to Selu Conservancy

7:00: Banquet at Selu Conservancy

8:00: Glen T. Martin:

Economics and the Earth Constitution

9-9:50: Gail Presby, University of Detroit, Mercy:

Chair, Moira Baker, Radford University

10-10:50: Rajarshi Sen and Shabnam Mallick, Washington, DC, and India:

Chair: Melissa Burchard, University of North Carolina Asheville

11-11:50: Tulsi Tawari, Alternative Approaches to Economics, Mumbai, India:

Chair: Kim Gainer, Radford University

12-12:50: Rashid Shaz, Peace India International, New Delhi, India:

Chair: Mar Peter-Raoul, Marist College

1-2:00: Lunch (on our own)

2-250: Group Discussion for all Participants:

(1) What have we accomplished? (2) Where do we go from here?

Chair: Glen T. Martin, Radford University

3-3:30: Summary and Concluding Remarks: J.W. Smith

4-7:00: Free time and dinner: Walk by the River near the Dedmon Center?

7:00: Group activity: Bob Blain leads us in Cooperation - the Wealth of Nations Game

*    *    *    *    *

Conference Keynote Speaker:

Dr. J. W. Smith, economist

Author of Economic Democracy - The Political Struggle of the 21st Century,  Why - The real story behind the September 11, 2001 attack on America, Cooperative Capitalism - A Blueprint for Global Peace and Prosperity, and other books.

May 26, 7 p.m., Cook Hall 107, Radford University

Open to the Public - reception to follow.

*    *    *    *    *

General Conference Theme:

Gross social and economic inequalities within the current international system make it inherently unstable. For the persistence of deep and avoidable injustice not only destroys our humanity, it invites brutal retaliation in the form of irrational violence, war, revolution, terrorism and/or the use of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, funding large military establishments to maintain an artificial stability initiates a vicious cycle:

Money and energy so diverted from socially beneficial activities could otherwise have reduced the force of instability-causing factors, among these, socio-economic inequalities. Capitalism is the driving economic force within this system and as such it is a dominant player in the determination of national and international policy. But the existence of gross inequality within and between nations is of no concern per se to the amoral workings of the market–and globalization in many cases has only aggravated inequalities.

In view of the above we ask: What are the requirements for a world of enduring peace, one in which people, social and economic equality, and nature truly matter? Can these conditions be satisfied under any form of capitalism? If not, what realizable alternatives are there?

The idea of this conference developed out of the reflection that the Peace Movement has seldom played an important role on the world scene. From this observation it was only a step to question whether the interests of capitalism (in any form) and the requirements for peace and socio-economic justice are ever formally and materially compatible. The consequences of a negative conclusion are devastating to anyone working to establish positive peace within the current system.

IPPNO's SIXTH INTERNATIONAL, INTERDISCIPLINARY WORLD CONFERENCE

– CALCUTTA, INDIA – JANUARY, 2001

International Philosophers for Peace held its sixth world conference on "Paths to Peace in a Strife-Torn World" in Calcutta, India from January 3 - 7, 2001. Philosophers, political scientists, policymakers, legal analysts, economists, grassroots activists, members of collectives and NGOs, environmentalists, and others interested in making progress towards a more peaceful, just, and viable global world  shared their ideas, visions, hopes, and practical suggestions.   Themes included:

• The role of collectives in challenging economic inequality and fostering economic autonomy
• Strategies for addressing regional and global conflicts on legal, environmental, and policy issues
• The role of forgiveness in creating peace in newly-independent nation-states
• Possibilities and pathways to creating peaceful and just relations between the state and a diversity of citizens
• An analysis of kinds of power that promote or impede peace
• An analysis of systems of domination or exploitation in today’s world that impede movements towards peace
• The role of spirituality in seeking global peace
• An analysis and examination of the relative values and problems of "outsiders" providing assistance (economic, disaster aid, famine relief)
• Moral frameworks that promote peaceful relations (rights-based? Care and compassion-based? Virtue-based?)
• The place of international law and the law of individual nation-states in bringing about more or less peace and justice
• The role of enforceable world law and/or world government in the creation of peace
• An examination of the role that discursive practices play in constructing knowledge/power relations that are more or less conducive to peace
• Methods of peaceful contestations of the dominant categories and boundaries of the political and economic domains

This conference was held in India at the invitation of ISISAR, the Indian-based society for intercultural study and research.   The huge gathering of dignitaries and participants was entitled "World Peace Thinkers Meet" and was largely organized by IPPNO International Advisory Board member, Dr. Santi Nath Chattopadyay.  A pre-conference tour of historic and cultural sights in Northern India was organized and a peace march and other local activities were arranged so that participants had a rich educational and intellectual experience.

Some Photos from the World Peace Thinkers Meet event.

Sri Lanka Office: 41, Dias Place, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka fax/phone 94-1-345483

North American Office: 313 7^th Avenue, Radford, VA 24141, USA email: gmartin@radford.edu

We have the honor of inviting you to the Eighth Provisional World Parliament. The world has visibly deteriorated in the past several years and we must have the Parliament in session as much as possible, until such time as the nations and peoples of the world hold a founding ratification convention. A brief history of the Parliament has been given on page one of the Constitution for the Federation of Earth as printed and circulated by Mr. Jagdish Gandhi at Lucknow, India. It mentions that the second session of the PWP was held at Delhi in the year 1985. It was inaugurated by the President of India and Presided over by the Speaker of the Indian Parliament. The Fifth Provisional World Parliament was in Malta in November 2000. The Sixth was held in Bangkok, Thailand in March 2003.  The Seventh Session was held in Chennai, India in December 2003.

We witness the helplessness of the United Nations in the face of impending nuclear threat in many countries, the reactivization of Russia’s nuclear program in the face of U.S. aggression, the mounting pollution of the environment, cross-border terrorism, and a host of other problems. Human rights are violated with impunity worldwide. Global warming is an established scientific fact. The U.N. has consistently failed to create a more equitable world, let alone preventing war and establishing peace. It has not even succeeded meeting basic human needs such as sanitation, environment, and clean water for all. The U.N. road to world peace does not lead to peace, nor an end to war

We will greatly value your participation in the Parliament. We look forward to seeing you at the Gompti Nagar Campus of the City Montessori School of Lucknow.  Please join us for this world-historical event. Begin planning now. Further details about cost and transportation at the Institute On World Problems website:  www.worldproblems.net.

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