off their capital, and let corporations become dominators, sometimes holding more control than the government itself. Governance does not mean mere government. It means the framework of rules, institutions and established practices that set limits and give incentives for the behavior of individuals, organizations and firms. The challenge is to find the rules and institutions for stronger governance – local, national, regional and global – to preserve the advantages of global markets and competition, but also to provide enough space for human, community and environmental resources to ensure that globalization works for people – not just for profits. The United States has not exactly been a saint throughout these unfolding events, but rather like a country building a colonial empire through economic integration and control. Rather than working to foster forums of other like-minded nations, the United States has historically sought to undermine groups that it cannot or does not control. The United States exports more arms than anyone else, and shrugs when violence erupts around the world. Globalization has given new characteristics to conflicts. Feeding these conflicts is the global traffic in weapons, involving new actors and blurring political and business interests. But still we press on, making an effort to level the playing field in the Americas – but to help the south, or to create additional exploitation? Under a pact, signed at the end of a summit in Canada, only those countries with democratic governments will be able to be part of the free trade zone in the Americas. DemographicOver the last 100 years, the fastest growth in the divide between rich and poor has occurred. By the late 1990s the fifth of the world’s people living in the highest-income countries had: 86% of world GDP – the bottom fifth just 1%; 82% of world export markets – the bottom fifth just 1%; 68% of forei...
