Addressing the North-South Conference for Sustainable Development in Berne, Switzerland, on 26 May 1998, Dr Julius K Nyerere, the former President of Tanzania and current Chairman of the South Centre, expressed his personal view that while universal social principles are possible, universal social standards based on those principles are not. We reproduce below the text of his address at the Conference which was organised by the Swiss Coalition of Development NGOs. I value the opportunity to share with you my own personal views about some of the issues which working for 'sustainable development' can raise. I say 'personal views', because although I was invited as Chairman of the South Centre, I am not speaking as a representative of its member governments. I speak merely as an individual with some experience of the problems of developing countries.
Social groups have overlapping but still varying value systems.
And between countries and within countries, there are not only different levels of wealth - there are even differences in the way in which the people measure wealth. The assumption is that what we have in mind is the universalisation of Western concepts and standards. A person's 'social income' is very relevant to his 'standards of living' - his 'social standards'. Yet, the demand to include 'social issues' in international trade discussions is not being made in the context of a holistic approach to improving the human condition. On the contrary, the demand hides protectionist tendencies in the developed countries of the North.