Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations
the United States and its allies no longer had any major obstacles to the dissemination of their views on the organization of the world economy and on the meaning of international justice. Developing countries, partly out of conviction and partly because they sense the probable futility of resistance and understand the need to adapt to the new global political configuration, have abandoned their demands for revolutionary changes in the world economic and political order and are now pursuing an incremental approach in defence of their interests. Rather than controlling the activities of transnational corporations in their territories, they are offering fiscal and other incentives to attract private foreign investment. Nationalization and expropriation have disappeared from their political vocabulary. They pursue arrangements and agreements through the WTO to promote their exports and gain access to the markets of affluent countries. Global trade and participation in the world economy are the order of the day; self-reliance and self-sufficiency are perceived as antiquated concepts. Developing countries continue to press for concessions in traditional areas of negotiation between the North and the South, requesting further debt reduction or increased ODA, but their efforts are essentially focused on gaining a foothold in the dynamic sectors of the world economy. Justice is sought through efforts to ensure the elimination of measures and practices (such as domestic agricultural subsidies) that allow some countries to maintain an unfair advantage over others. The leaders of developing countries contend that if the guiding principle of the world market economy is competition on an open and even playing field, obstacles to fair competition should be removed. The most important text adopted by the United Nations in recent decades is the Millennium Declaration,lgwhich reflects a consensus on what constitutes just relations between countries with unequal power and affluence. First, it is a text centred an people rather than nations. In section l of the Declaration, entitled "Values and principles", mention is made of "the sovereign equality of all States, respect for their territorial integrity and political independence, [and the1 resolution of disputes by peaceful means and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law" (para. 4). However, among the six fundamental values considered "essential to international relations in the twenty-first century" (para. 6)-namely, freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature, anti shared responsibility-the first three clearly apply to people rather than countries. Tolerance may also be included in this group, as it implies acceptance of the differences and richness within and between societies and "a culture of peace and dialogue among all civilizations" (para. 6). Respect for nature is a value that transcends national boundaries. The last of these values, shared responsibility, necessitates the multilateral management of "worldwide economic anti social development" (para. 61, in which the United Nations has played and will continue to play a central role.