More Power To The Unelected
In the wake of the recent ‘banking crisis’, the Government is pushing ahead plans to increase powers given to the IMF in the hope that it will become the ‘financial watchdog of the world’.
The Telegraph reports that under the proposed plans ‘the IMF would take a more hands-on role in monitoring global markets and lending’ to help prevent future global monetary problems. Quite what this would practically amount to is anybody’s guess at the moment, but, based on previous form, I’m not really sure that I like the sound of what it may be implying - especially since these will not be arbitrary powers casually handed over by our politicians.
So, once again the British Government is ready to give away our sovereign powers to another democratically unaccountable external organisation without even the thought of consulting the electorate. It’s certainly worth reflecting upon the extent of the powers currently wielded by the IMF and other globe-spanning organisations over which the voter has next to no influence. Monolithic organisations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund make decisions and craft far-reaching policy initiatives that are taken without popular consent, yet affect each and every one of us.
Tony Benn, who, while being wrong about so much, was most certainly on to something when remarking recently in a speech before local Labour party members that:
I think what we’re seeing in Europe is the beginning of a much, much bigger and more dangerous trend - the death of democracy generally. Leaving aside for a moment Brussels; the IMF is not elected by anybody, the World Trade Organisation is not elected by anybody, multinational corporations are more powerful than nation states and they’re not elected by anybody. The Central Bank in Frankfurt is not elected by anybody…
Prophetic? Perhaps. Only time will truly tell. However, in the meantime, as power is slowly drained away from individual nation states (often aided quite willingly by domestic politicians,) democratic legitimacy and participation also rapidly recedes.
Decisions are taken ever further away from the voters, and the individuals that make up these supranational organisations are on the whole appointed, not elected. They are unaccountable and often have extensive powers which cannot be easily removed or extracted from their vice-like grip, and in fact often grow greater as time passes. If institutions such as the IMF are not in any real way democratic now, it is unlikely they will ever become so at anything more than a very superficial level designed to give the illusion of choice and democratic accountability – without actually providing either.
Equally disturbing in my view are the misguided notions of a utopian future that provide motivation for many IMF, World Bank, UN and EU supporters. All claim their organisations to be pursuing what is often sinisterly referred to as the ‘common good’, and whose members, much like those of the EU Commission, are very good at believing they are doing what is best for the people – just so long as the people are never actually asked.
Such moves towards undemocratic authoritarianism must be resisted at every opportunity - though this is admittedly difficult with our Labour Government currently at the helm. However, until we elect a government capable of fully resisting these far reaching constitutional changes, we will have to bide our time – but by then it may already be too late.
