I believe that understanding these developments and their implications is crucial to our quest for common ground and fidelity to the church's social teaching as we enter public policy debates. It is a process that is driven both by the imperatives of the market and by the actions of policy makers. For the last two decades, G-7 economic policy has been devoted to the creation of the global market. Trade accords have torn down barriers, and global agreements have been struck to protect property and investment. Today, a new globalized world economic order has taken shape.
Electronic communication sends instant messages across the world.
Transport girds the globe. Production, marketing, and distribution networks are international in reach. This new order is increasingly dominated by a handful of huge transnational corporations. It is fueled and foiled by deregulated capital, with over a trillion dollars changing hands in foreign exchange markets each day an amount that is many times that needed to finance trade or real investment. The power of this market is apparent.