Chairperson, hon members and the Federation of Democrats, a member of the CDA believes that the time has come to change the way we think about economics.
Traditionally, economics is about the survival of the fittest as the better way of doing things to attain what is good for society. Such reasoning creates the practice that resources or production are best utilised within a system of monopolies and cartels and that the surviving businesses must fight and bribe each other to procure business deals. At individual level, people almost destroy one another to get ahead, which is seen as an acceptable practice.
Unemployment is partly a consequence of resources being controlled by a few powerful businesses which determine the flow of supply and demand. We need a radically different global economic system. An economic system based on greed and the exploitation of people cannot survive the test of time. The global economy is facing its most dire challenge since 1939. Most First World countries are in recession and possibly depression.
We need a more compassionate market system that can limit our dependence on foreign market controls. Yes, we have to contest at global market levels, but when such contests threaten our own ability to feed and employ our nation, other measures must be initiated. For instance, our clothing industry, once a proud industry of employment, had to be substituted with inferior imports from foreign nations that are known to exploit cheap labour. We must put labour back in the hands of our people.
We must create industries that protect our environment. We build cars, but they contribute to the pollution of the environment. Let us build more railways; invest more in a public transport system that is close to the people and that reduces the costs of their travel. We need a new labour deal that differentiates between global and national requirements. I thank you.