Editorial: the quarterly of the World Council of Churches.

Raiser, Konrad ; Best, Thomas F. ; Cambitsis, Joan 等

This issue of The Ecumenical Review focuses on the complex topic of economic globalization, but not in the general -- and generally unhelpful -- terms in which it is often discussed. We have chosen rather to look at economic globalization through the "lens" of one specific region, namely Central and Eastern Europe. Over the past ten years, and since the fall of centrally-planned economies, this region has experienced dramatic political and economic transformation in the name of the globalized free market economy. But this is also a region which has strong and enduring Christian institutions, and a continuing sense of the church as a pre-eminent institution in determining values which regulate social behaviour, both personal and corporate. It offers, in short, a strategic perspective from which to reflect on the relationship of church and society in an era of economic globalization, and to ask about the resources of faith which can inform the behaviour of Christians and the churches today.

The term "economic globalization", of course, means different things to different persons. For some it is a process both inevitable and positive, indicating the unrestricted flow of financial capital around the world, unrestricted access to markets everywhere in the world, and an eventual increased prosperity through economic growth.

The reflections gathered here from Central and Eastern Europe present another view. They are, admittedly, coloured by the specific experience of a specific region with its distinctive history. Yet while acknowledging certain benefits of economic globalization for the region, they paint, overall, a deeply negative picture. For the actual experience of economic globalization in the process of transition to market economies in Central and Eastern Europe has been that an economic system, developed on the basis of choices made by others, has been imposed on the region.

From this perspective, globalization as actually practised in Central and Eastern Europe was neither inevitable nor inevitably positive. It has been experienced as reflecting an understanding of the world not as a place where there are markets (to enable the exchange of goods in order to satisfy human needs) but of the world itself as a market, as a commodity to be developed so as to return a profit. As these articles prove, any number of indicators point to the failure of many of the bright hopes mooted following the collapse of the centrally-planned economies in the region.

The experience of this region poses, it seems to us, a number of fundamental questions. One is the relation between capitalism, the rule of law, and democracy. The recent experience of Central and Eastern Europe has shown in some cases a rise in criminal behaviour, operating "in the gaps" between newly-introduced economic systems and the social and cultural institutions in place beforehand. Clearly there needs to be careful reflection on how economic systems can strengthen democratic political systems.

A second issue is the relation between economic development and the development of just and sustainable communities enabling people to live in dignity. Unfortunately English lacks a clear equivalent for the French term "mondialisation" (from the word "le monde", meaning "the world") which enables a distinction between the economic process of globalization and the broader concept of "the world becoming one". This latter process points to the growing awareness of all humanity, in all its diversity, as sharing in the fate of our one beautiful -- but threatened -- planet, and calls us to a common commitment to values which nurture and sustain life. Globalization needs to be complemented -- and even directed -- by a process of "mondialisation".

It is important to note that openings for encounter do exist, not least with a number of economists who begin to question the neo-liberal economic model, as witnessed by the comments in this issue by Joseph E. Stiglitz (see the article by McIntyre). The challenge for the ecumenical community is to ensure an honest dialogue on the issues -- not a token conversation enabling companies and other actors in the process of economic globalization to say that "the churches have been consulted", but a genuine and searching encounter for which the churches are well-prepared and informed.

The papers in this issue come from a consultation held in Budapest in July 2001 as part of a series of meetings on the impact of economic globalization in specific regions around the world. Partners for this meeting were the World Council of Churches, the Conference of European Churches and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. They represent a variety of perspectives, from the more general to the more specific, on the impact of economic globalization in Central and Eastern Europe. They are complemented by two related articles. One, by Konrad Raiser in tribute to Philip Potter, reminds us powerfully of the global dimension -- and present imperative -- of the Christian faith: we do have, after all, a Christian global identity and vision against which to test the claims of economic globalization; the second, by Gerhard Linn, traces a recent practical effort at "bridge-building", an effort with some implications for our reflection on globalization in relation to Central and Eastern Europe.