ABSTRACT
Global interdependence was the theme of the Brandt Commission report in 1980, but few political leaders of the day took this theme seriously or allowed their policies to be influenced by the North-South polarization described by that august group of elder statesmen and women. Now, however, economic globalization has changed the political climate completely. Stockbrokers in Europe check the East Asian markets before breakfast, and political turmoil in Indonesia and Malaysia filters swiftly through as a domestic economic issue in the United States. Almost $400 billion is exchanged in the world currency markets every six hours-more than the World Bank has lent in its entire history. As capital markets have become deregulated, allowing for the free flow of both capital and crisis, growing attention has been given to the ethical issues associated with neoliberal economics (Lockwood and Madden 1997). No one in high office today would deny that we live in an interdependent world, though policy responses largely remain focused on immediate national interests.
