Many economists agree that there is a significant imbalance between the growth
of global economy and the development of a free society. One of these economists
who agrees with this point is George Soros. Soros bases his dilemma mainly on
the Thai crisis that hastened the currency meltdown in Asia. Also the Russian
collapse inflicted temporary chaos on the Western financial system, and most
recently, the volatility of the world’s stock markets has caused most
investors much tremor. George Soros argues that in the last 20 years, the
emergence of market fundamentalism, that is the idea that markets need only be
regulated by the forces of profit and competition, has distorted the role of
capital to the extent that it is today a greater threat to open society than any
totalitarian. Soros argues that capitalism, when completely unregulated tends to
swerve out of control, like a car taking a curve too fast. Decision by markets
are amoral but not immoral. Soros believes that capitalism can be effectively
mediated by and open society. He does not define precisely what this means, but
he suggests that society needs to be able to experiment with cultural value
systems. Standards of right and wrong may change with technology and with social
process; however, the involvement of the state in resolving conflicts, and in a
democratic society, he sees as inevitable. According to Soros’ opinion too, to
be able to stabilize and regulate a truly global economy, the world will need a
global system of political decision-making. In short, a global society is needed
to support the global economy. A global society does not mean a global state.
What makes Soros’ claims interesting is that the greatest opposition to this
idea is coming from the United States. Nevertheless, there has never been a time
when a strong lead from the United States and other like minded countries could
achieve such powerful and benign results. With the right sense of leadership and
with clarity of purpose, the U.S. and it’s allies could help to stabilize the
global economic system and to extend the uphold universal human values.