Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the United Nations
former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe opened up their economies, and a similar policy was pursued in the major countries of Asia, especially in China and to some extent in India and Pakistan, though the approaches taken to economic liberalization and market development varied from one country to another. In these countries, as in the developed world, increased inequalities in income, assets and access to essential services constituted the accepted, if not the intended, outcome of policies oriented towards the views and interests of the economic and financial elite.
6.2.2 Policies aimed at avoiding increased inequalities The majority of Western European countries, the Republic of Korea, and a few countries in Latin America managed to either maintain or improve the distribution of income at the domestic level during the period under review. The Governments of these countries did not pursue economic and financial policies radically different from those of Governments employing a decidedly neoliberal approach to the management of human affairs. They did not seek economic independence and certainly did not apply a new model of economic development. To the dismay of their critics on the left of the political spectrum, they opened their economies further to foreign and transnational capital and influence, privatized many public assets and public services, and more or less abandoned the idea that State authorities should maintain control over industrial, investment, income, and even research policies. Perhaps because they have managed to retain some of their most essential political values and traditions, ranging from conservative liberalism to liberal and social democracy, these countries have succeeded in maintaining a rough balance between the interests of big corporations and the interests of the majority of the population. They have refrained from further destabilizing or undermining the social and political influence of their unions, already weakened by the shrinking of the traditional industrial base; space has been maintained for various forms of collective bargaining on the distribution of the fruits of economic growth between labour and capital. The basic features of their tax and welfare systems have also been preserved. Government actions have consistently reflected the conviction that the interests of the general public supersede private interests. These countries have tried, with varying degrees of success, to harmonize the requirements of social cohesion with the needs of economic initiative and entrepreneurship.
6.2.3 Policies of countries with a limited range of options Most developing countries, regardless of their size or economic, social and political situation, still have a limited say in world affairs and a limited capacity to