THE WORLD AFTER BUSH

As the Washington clocks strike twelve on 20th January 2009, listen carefully and you might just hear a swooshing sigh of relief travel around the world.
But a critique of what should have been done differently since 2001 is not enough.
This blog is about the new ideas that can change our world and how a 'new multilateralism' can tackle the global challenges of our age.
Change the World, Reports from the Fabian new year conference



Sunday, January 20, 2008

Change the World

The big Fabian 'Change the World' conference on Saturday went very well, with over 700 people spending a day debating the big questions on the global agenda. A relaxed David Miliband was tie-less and jacket-less to give his keynote speech. I was suited and booted, so he got a laugh at the start by asking what the world is coming to when the Fabian General Secretary is better dressed than the Foreign Secretary.

Central to Miliband's argument was that we are experiencing fundamental shifts in power, including a new 'civilian surge'.


The left has talked a lot about the essence of globalization – a new interdependence born of rising flows of people, money, culture and trade across national boundaries. But we have not talked enough about its consequence – fundamental shifts in the distribution of power. Power is shifting from West to East. It is shifting from the national to the international level. But there is a third shift – in the balance of power between government and people.


And there was a big argument - applying to both domestic and foreign policy - about the need to bring together the insights of the social democratic and liberal traditions - the necessity of combining the principles of equality with a commitment to individual freedom.

More on the conference will follow, on the Fabian website and on this blog.

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As the Washington clocks strike twelve on 20th January 2009, listen carefully and you might just hear a swooshing sigh of relief travel around the world. The Bush Presidency will not leave the legacy its architects intended. But a critique of what should have been done differently since 2001 is not enough. This blog is about the new ideas which can create a 'new multilateralism' to tackle the global challenges we face.