World Trade Is Not All About Maximizing Profit – OpEd
The WTO came into force in 1995 with the clear objectives of making the trade flows among the participating nations smooth, predictable and free. After 30 long years, the smooth, predictable and free trade continues to delude the world community. When some countries use force and corrupt means to maximize profit from global trade, it shakes the foundation of sustainable economic growth. Besides, it adversely affects the social, cultural and the economic diversity in both rich and poor countries. Many political leaders failed to understand that economic growth is firmly rooted in a healthy social, cultural and natural environment. But all these years, the trading nations have focused only on financial gain from the sale of goods and services instead of creating an ideal platform for exchange of ideas, culture, skills and the best practices among different countries. Wealth without wisdom, health, harmony, education and happiness ultimately depletes wealth; this is the main cause of human sufferings in both rich and poor countries.
In the last 30 years the global economy has suffered from recessions due to the dot.com bubble, September 11 twin tower attack in the USA, Subprime Mortgage crisis in 2008-09 and Covid 19 in 2020 etc. The banks in advanced economies had lost a huge $ 2.8 trillion between 2007 and 2010. The banking sector in South East Asia was worst hit by the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-98. The post 2009 European Sovereign Debt Crisis was extremely stressful for the European banking system. The series of recessions and huge losses to the banking sector attribute to greed for profit through corrupt means and unsustainable practices. Banks cannot survive without the credit absorption capacity of different economic sectors. Here the governments should create credit absorption capacity before insisting banks to lend loans.
While maximizing profit from global trade many countries ignore the climate risk. The frequency and the intensity of natural calamities has increased in the last 30 years due to imbalance in nature caused by the human obsession to maximize profit. According to the Climate Risk Index 2025, released by the environmental think tank German watch, over 7,65,000 people lost their lives in more than 9,400 extreme weather events between 1993 and 2022. It caused economic damages totaling $ 4.2 trillion. When wealth grows without finer human emotions like love, compassion and moral courage, it breeds ego and ignorance to perpetuate human sufferings. The economic eyes of the global leaders should open to see the immense potential of nature in generating income and employment. A forest gives innumerable direct and indirect benefits to mankind. It gives more than 100 minor and major forest products, oxygen and rain. Besides, the forest keeps the climate cool, charges the ground water, prevents the forest born virus from jumping into the human bodies. Forest keeps the rivers healthy; it protects the region from floods and landslides. The destruction of forest and hills robs the livelihood of people, erodes the scope of wildlife tourism and compels the forest dwellers to become menial laborers in cities. When man is delinked from nature, his behavior deteriorates from human to beast. Hunger and malnutrition has increased across the world due to the over exploitation of natural resources and erosion of diversity. The Global Nutrition Report 2020 found that one in nine people or 820 million people worldwide are hungry. This erodes the profit made by countries through unsustainable means; the countries are compelled to spend huge amounts to settle the displaced people; they spend on freebies to keep the people’s discontent at bay. This is madness.
War, occupation of smaller countries, violence, unemployment, malnutrition and productivity loss etc are the results of unsustainable growth vision laced with false political narratives. A research by the Peace Research Institute, Oslo showed that since 2021 the overall number of conflict-related deaths, including civilians, has risen to the highest level in 30 years. All these problems confirm that there is something wrong with human thinking which should be corrected before the world becomes totally unlivable.
First, the political leaders world over should liberate themselves from the grip of businessmen. The world needs trade and business for economic prosperity but it does not need global traders controlling economic policies and in taking decisions for a country. In the past centuries kings and monarchs used to create the right environment for trade and business; they were never controlled by the traders. In India, sages and seers used to advise the kings for taking the right decisions for good governance. Now the media, academicians, the social and religious reformers should converge on one objective of promoting honest and capable political leaders in their countries.
Young leaders before starting political careers should know every inch of their countries. Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle in India, walked 79000 km to know his countrymen. He was amazed to see their immense economic potential. He came to know those potential sustainable economic activities could be tapped to make India self reliant. It helped Mahatma Gandhi conceive the idea of a Swadeshi Model based on small eco-friendly cottage industries. Mahatma Gandhi’s model is still relevant today for the entire world. Political leaders from different countries should walk, meet people, learn the skills and wisdom from the common man who silently contributes to the country’s economy, culture and social life.
Every country has unique diversity which should be preserved to make the world beautiful, energetic and livable. All countries cannot look alike; they are different and unique in their look with diversity of culture and economic activities. Countries are bound to fall if they want to look alike. Empire building with wealth, power and religion is bound to collapse because the empire does not allow creativity, human endeavor of people and diversity. Once the diversity is gone, the country has nothing left for growth and happiness. Poverty and unemployment lead to violence and arson. This madness needs to be stopped by ostracizing countries which work for building empires and destroying diversity. Mountains of gold are of no use if there is no goldsmith to make ornaments. Bio-diversity, universal brotherhood, sustainable development vision, religious tolerance and co-operation are keys to a happy and healthy world.
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