PART THREE

Finance at the Heart of Renewed International Cooperation

Part 3 discusses how finance is at the heart of a much-needed renewal of cooperation. Finance is a global matter and requires a concerted approach. However, finance is also more than that; it is also a tool for international cooperation. Controlled properly, finance can help the multilateral efforts to serve the common good in an effective manner.

If we are serious about addressing the challenges we all face in today’s world, then we must resist the forces of unbridled nationalism. Finance is global and does not recognize international borders. We need to take control of the power of finance, not by inventing new, even more bureaucratic systems but by refining existing institutions and making them more efficient. We have to upgrade the operating system of globalization and make sure it does not leave to one side the citizens for the sake of the system. By doing this, we can increase the legitimacy of the institutions we have created and help channel finance and resources in the most appropriate ways. A key element is a sustained effort to improve the existing institutions; these are large, long-established organizations where the core value needs to be unleashed in a much more effective way. This improvement does not involve taking the path of least resistance.

Chapter 11 considers the system that has been built since World War II, its successes, and its limitations in today’s world. Chapter 12 looks at how finance can help make the necessary adjustments to the system and truly create a tool to serve all of us.