Map of Japan (Pic source: Wikipedia)

On behalf of the Network of Social Democracy in Asia (SOCDEM Asia), I would like to extend our solidarity to the people of Japan and its government in these challenging times. We offer our hands of friendship and support even as the Japanese people brace the healing and reconstruction of their beloved country.  In times like this, we salute the display of the human spirit of bravery, generosity and selfless sacrifice of the emergency teams, aid workers, donors and the regular men and women on the street.  We are hopeful that healing will come and  Japan will emerge out of this ordeal stronger.

Steven Sim
Executive Secretary
SOCDEM Asia

President Aquino last night named Akbayan president and former activist Ronald Llamas as presidential adviser on political affairs.

President Aquino speaking to Ronald Llamas (in dark jacket)

The President made the announcement at a gathering in Malacanang last night to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Liberal Party.

Llamas himself confirmed the announcement with Newsbreak but declined to elaborate, noting that his appointment papers have yet to be signed.

One Palace source quoted the President as saying last night in Pilipino to his party-mates that Llamas has been “our longtime ally and comrade.” Llamas, in a short response, vowed to push for political reform that would help government address poverty and corruption.

With his appointment, Llamas will thus have to resign as board member of the Development Bank of the Philippines, a position he got after campaigning for the President.

This is an unusual appointment because presidents usually name their party-mates to this position. But Llamas has been a known close adviser of the President since the campaign. Akbayan is also a coalition partner of the LP.

Before the campaign, Llamas also served for a short time as one of former Sen. Mar Roxas’s political strategists.

A source close to the President says Llamas was the choice because he’s “acceptable” to the two dominant factions in the Aquino government, the so-called Samar and Balay groups.

A 1982 journalism graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, Llamas was a student activist and campus journalist under the Marcos years. He helped found Bisig (Bukluran sa Ikauunlad ng Sosyalistang Isip at Gawa) in the late 1980s, a political movement of socialists that included Inquirer columnist Randolph David and former UP President Francis Nemenzo.

The Bisig core, together with key sectoral groups from labor, the youth, and ex-communist and Muslim guerrillas, later established Akbayan, which won one seat in the first party-list elections in the country in 1998.

The first Akbayan congressional representative was Loretta Ann Rosales, now chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights. Another Akbayan member in government is Secretary Joel Rocamora of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.

The recent speech by Madam Sonia Gandhi is an apt closing to 2010, it is sobre call to renew our strength and at the same time hopeful for the future of social democracy in India, and we believe, as well as Asia.

We are also pleased to inform you that the report for our 3rd Regional Conference in Jakarta has been completed and is now available for download online. You can view the document here.

Once again, thank you for support and solidarity. The future is bright, let’s move towards it together!

———-

Speech by Sonia Gandhi, President of the Indian National Congress Party at the 10th Indira Gandhi Conference 2010, Friday 19th November 2010 at Teen Murti House.

Source: Congress.org.in

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh ji,
Distinguished participants
Friends

A warm welcome to all of you.

Today we commemorate Indira Gandhi on her birth anniversary. She is celebrated for her unflinching courage, for her determined leadership and for her deep and genuine concern for the poor. Among Indira Gandhi’s many personal qualities was her wide range of interests – her great curiosity about people, places and, most of all, about ideas. She kept abreast of new thinking in diverse fields and interacted with many individuals around the world who were exploring new ways of tackling contemporary issues. The Indira Gandhi Conferences honour this aspect of her personality. They also serve the broader purpose of shaping public opinion and contributing to public policy. These conferences are not just about developing a visionary agenda, they are also about ways of giving it political and economic momentum.

This year’s theme of An Indian Social Democracy may not appear apt, at a time when social democracy is under stress in the very countries where it was born and where it flourished. Today those countries are all much wealthier than India, and skeptics might say that it is too soon for India to talk about social democracy. That misses the point. In country after country, where social democracy took root, it was once for them a dream for their tomorrow. It was built, brick by brick, over many generations, energized by economic growth. In turn, it stimulated and sustained economic growth – by opening up opportunities for human development, by building social cohesion and solidarity, and by providing the framework of an intellectual and political consensus. In those countries, social democracy not only proved to be good politics, it also turned out to be good economics. It brought the state, business and labour onto a common platform in pursuit of a shared vision – the vision of a more equal, more caring society.

The issue of fairness is important in any democratic society. The broad mass of people must believe in the fairness of the system, if it is to survive. At the very least, it must offer equality of opportunity to all through universal and better education, health care and skills. This is not a matter of choice. It is a known fact that unequal societies cannot achieve their full potential or even sustain a high level of growth indefinitely. In other words, islands of prosperity in a sea of deprivation can only give rise to storms of conflict and instability. The story of India’s contrasts is well known: ability, aspiration and achievement coexist with injustice, inequity and inequality. We have more millionaires than ever before, alongside millions who struggle for two square meals a day.

We are right to celebrate our high rate of economic growth. We must do all that we can to sustain it. However, let us not forget that growth is not an end in itself. Much more important to my mind is what kind of society we aspire to be, and the values on which it should be built. Our economy may increasingly be dynamic, but our moral universe seems to be shrinking. Prosperity has increased but so has social conflict. Intolerance of various kinds is growing. Graft and greed are on the rise. The principles on which independent India was founded, for which a generation of great leaders fought and sacrificed their all, are in danger of being negated.

A coherent social democratic agenda is therefore essential. It must be based on rights and entitlements, not charity. The Right to Information, The Right to Work, the Right to Education, and the proposed Right to Food Security, represent a landmark shift in our approach to issues of welfare and human development. A new architecture of social provisioning is being put in place.

I am, of course, conscious of the gap between promise and delivery. The debate on social democracy in the West is often about ‘big versus small government’. This is less relevant to India. What we need is more effective and efficient government. The Indian state, at its many levels, needs to augment its financial and managerial capacity to deliver public goods and services better. We need greater probity, more transparency, an open attitude and a willingness to try out fresh ideas.

No social democracy is possible without a thriving and dynamic business sector generating wealth. There is a new spirit of entrepreneurship, a new awakening of enterprise in India, it needs to be encouraged. But surely, it is in the interest of business to be a major partner in promoting social objectives and caring for the environment. Some corporate leaders stand out for their dedicated engagement in purposeful and meaningful philanthropy. It is my hope that the swelling ranks of India’s wealthy will be inspired to follow their example.

Civil society has been in the forefront of giving voice to the weak, organizing them collectively and mediating on their behalf. It is also able to provide models of service delivery that are, at times, more effective than those of the Government. Partnerships with NGOs can only enrich our social democracy.

India has long presented the paradox of a democracy, where the poor majority, despite its voting power, has not always commanded its due. The challenge before us is to transcend the divides in our society to ensure that this changes. Social democracy is not populism. It is not generosity. It is the justice that our Constitution promises. The backlog is huge. Without social democracy, Indian democracy could well be undermined.

Much of what I have said reflects Indira Gandhi’s own vision of An Indian Social Democracy. As I understand it, this had four essential pillars.

First, a belief that social democracy must not only be responsive and responsible, but also representative of the many diversities in society.

Second, a conviction that social democracy is unachievable unless economic growth empowers the disadvantaged, deprived, and discriminated against.

Third, a yearning for social democracy that pays the highest attention to the preservation of the environment and regeneration of natural resources.

And fourth, a passion for social democracy that provides for a nation-state as an instrument of change and protection of national sovereignty. These issues are central to the welfare and future of any society. Drawing inspiration from this vision we in India will continue to work towards a consensus for a social democracy that will ameliorate the lives of our people.

I now have great pleasure in requesting the Prime Minister to inaugurate the 10th Indira Gandhi Conference.

The British scholar Benedict Anderson once asserts about the imagined communities. He argues, nation states begin in the minds of people. The example demonstrates the power of imagination, and with this paper, I am trying to provoke you to imagine the Indonesian welfare state, and I will argue that the imagination is quite realistic.

The concept of the welfare state as was aspired by our founding fathers must continue to flourish. The welfare state should encompass a modern attitude. It should be effective, efficient but is still based on the nation’s local wisdoms.

Because the pioneers established this Republic based on good will, we should implement their vision and should not be inferior in facing the challenges. Right now there are a number of young people who love this country and are currently working on an inventory of what the country needs for the next 50 years.

What I mean are the needs to establish and finance a complete social security system through tax collection, profit sharing of revenues from national resources, or else.

In general, the idea would look like this.

We need to organize all our capacities under one command cluster. Our capacities include, our consumption from our economic sectors, financing capacity of the welfare state, and decision making at the lowest level must be used to improve the welfare of the people.

This cluster is based on many networks working simultaneously, and the network is based on information supply and real time developments which allows reducing the inefficiency in the use of resources.

Through social cybernetics, I imagine that you will be more convinced to say: “In t time, because of an increase in oil price of 0,02 percent in t -1, Indonesia will increase X beds and Y medical equipments in district Z. These facilities are available for the people in t + 1.”

Social cybernetics has become more relevant, because since 2001 we have been conducting decentralization and local autonomy. Therefore, we are faced by the complexity of decision making at the local level which is inefficient if conducted through traditional bureaucratic approaches. We need a new system which is based on local wisdom.

Local Wisdoms
The concept of the Indonesian welfare state will prosper if it is based on local wisdoms. In Indonesia, the main spirit of local wisdom is social cooperation, and I would like to share with you two examples. The first is subak in Bali, and second the system of whale hunting in Lamalera which have been tested by a complex system.

The subak system is more than 1000 years old. What is relatively unknown to us is perhaps how social dilemmas are solved wittily there.

As we know, because of the topography, the rice fields are designed in staircase steps. Water is flowing to the rice fields from the upper to the lower streams, thus creating the possibility that owners of rice fields in the lower streams lack water. In addition the mice have become a serious threat to rice farmers in the upper as well as in the lower streams and have become a threat to everyone.

The Balinese farmers have therefore decided to water and to harvest their crops simultaneously. As a result, the mice cannot move from one subak to another and began to extinct.

The moral of the story is that through cooperation, farmers can achieve their common interest. Each farmer realizes that acting based on their individual interest could result into a smaller per capita harvest than through a collective collaboration. This structure of cooperation makes the farmers realize that they could be punished if reverting from the collaboration. This is an important lesson for the Indonesian welfare state: how to make social cooperation beneficial for everyone, so that a dynamic system can survive and is sustainable. (To be continued…)

This article is summarized from presentation delivered at the 3rd Conference of Social Democracy in Asia, Jakarta, October 19-22, 2010. Budiman Sudjatmiko is member of Indonesian Parliament in Commission 2, and also Chairman of the Institute for Welfare Democracy.

From October 19 to 23, 2010, social democratic political parties, pre-parties, scholars and activists in Asia gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia to discuss on “Growth, Social Balance and Sustainability: Perspectives for Social Democratic Economic Policies in Asia.”

One of the most interesting topics is the relationship between social democratic parties and the business community. It is easy to notice from the discussions, that social democratic parties in Asia are uneasy when talking about how should they ‘work together’ with the business community. Although history shows that social democracy is never an “anti-business” ideology, debates subsequently occurred on what kind of relationship they should create with the business, along with the main priority to put the interests of workers and the three social democratic principles; freedom, justice and solidarity.

Nevertheless, it is certain that at the heart of social democracy remains dialogue and participation. Therefore, contrary to the economic practices of the (neo)liberals, the economy is too important to be left only at the hands of a closed group of people dubbed as ‘the technocrats’. Economic and business policies should be designed, discussed, decided and subsequently implemented with the participation of all stakeholders: the government, the employers, the workers, and the community.

Based on freedom, justice and solidarity, social democracy aims at “living together” as a community, a nation, a region, and citizens of the world.  Thus, “living together” must be an end to be put above all means, including the market system. The market system is a genius to allocate resources efficiently, but it doesn’t work for justice and equality. Hence, the market is a good servant, but a bad master.

Because we live together, then partnership becomes important. We learned from the “German experience”, which they have created an association of social democratic business managers, social-democratic parties/groups could create a space where their “traditional” constituents can meet, discuss and subsequently find common ground with other groups of the society such as the business community.

The common ground would be fundamental to put forward common agenda between the social democratic parties and the business. The “Swedish experience” has shown that social democratic policies and the welfare state system were first implemented as a result of common interests and common agenda from both the workers and the employers. They wanted a system that makes Sweden work for all and indeed it has lasted for a century.

Photo above: the author (left) with Steven Sim, Executive Secretary of SocDem Asia

The key focus of the conference will be discussing economic growth from the perspective of social democracy and how social democrats in Asia can offer a viable economic model as we anticipate the failure of the neoliberal model practiced by regimes across the region. The stereotypical perception is that social democratic parties cannot deal with the economy and only are only focused on social justice.

One of the objectives of the conference, therefore will be to position profit-oriented business activities within the framework of social and economic justice. And this is important not least because of the onslaught of economic liberalization in emerging economies where not only workers are faced with mighty corporations given a free reign by governments but national businesses, especially SMEs, risk being forced to go out of business by major multinational corporations.

Social democrats believed that only via a balance between economic growth social justice and environmental sustainability can we guarantee development based on prosperity for all. Therefore, the social democracy gives priority to the supremacy of a democratic and just society over the market.

Among the speakers and organizations represented in the Conference are:

- H.E Fadel Muhammad, Indonesia Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs,

- Budiman Sudjatmiko, formerly an activist who was arrested during the New Order regime and now an MP from the Partai Demokratik Indonesia-Perjuangan (PDI-P)

- Erwin Schweisshelm Resident Director of FES Indonesia

- Jens Orback, former Swedish Minister of Democracy, Metropolitan Affairs, Integration and Gender Equality and presently the Secretary General of OPIC,

- Liew Chin Tong, a Member of Parliament from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Malaysia

- Ronald Llamas, advisor to President Benigno Aquino III and president of the Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party Philippines

- Ms Bolormaa Nordov former Minister of Education, Culture and Science of Mongolia

- Munawar Liza Zain Majyor of Sabang City, Acheh

- Martin Manurung, Executive Director of IWD

- Steven Sim, Executive Secretary of NSDA

and representatives from Cambodia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines and Sweden.

The Conference is held at the Gran Melia Hotel at the heart of Jakarta’s business and administrative district. The official title of the Conference is “Growth Social Balance and Sustainability: Perspective for Social Democratic Economic Policies in Asia”.

In the aftermath of the recent global economic depression, the core principles of social democracy have come to the fore of the global socio-political and economic discourse and political practice. This highlights the direct relevance of social democracy to global and South Asian reality. The effects of the global economic slow-down do certainly not spare South Asia.  Nations of this region seeking solutions – in some way or the other – are having social democratic principles in their minds.

It is besides this background of reality that the organizers consider it is timely and necessary to subject to debate and discussion the emerging situation with specific reference to the region’s endemic problem of poverty and distributive justice. The conference primarily seeks to interact with local knowledge on the subject and understand the South Asian economic and social challenges in order to generate regional understanding and cooperation.

In a liberal democracy, the focus is more on freedom than equality. Social democracy, on the other hand, seeks to create a level playing field by eliminating all forms of exclusions and inequalities through extensive participation at all levels of decision-making. Its ideas and norms have been debated for hundreds of years in line with human aspiration for justice and realistic economic policies.

Democracy is not just an institution to hold regular free elections but a process of collective reasoning that brings diverse viewpoints, social perspectives and voices into policy debates. Regulation of the economy for the interest of society as a whole rather than individuals is at the heart of social democracy. There are two reasons why social democracy is the best route towards gender equality. First, without compromising freedom it enables citizens to exercise their social, economic and cultural rights. Secondly, many liberal conceptions of democracy that restrict government interests in the supposedly private areas—domestic violence, suicide, child abuse, witchcraft, stigma of widowhood—are open to state laws.

The basic values of social democracy are freedom, social justice and solidarity where women and men can think, act and perform equally.

Solution of social question

“We have to draw up a programme which is not exclusively socialist but also democratic. Otherwise, we cannot claim the name of Social Democrats and think about a solution of the Social question,” says August Bebel, cofounder of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany and its active leader for over 40 years.

In line with the above saying, Nepali Congress has recently revitalised its manifesto and has adopted social democratic approach. Now Nepal needs to do the same. The country’s unique political and socio-economic scenario demands a political ideology based on social justice. When it comes to gender issues, the focus of social democracy on positive discrimination for women in societies like ours where women generally live harder lives as compared to men makes it uniquely suitable for Nepal. It takes into account the fact that women working in such societies have to balance work and family. Family and work are both important institutions of democracy and social democracy rightly gives them due attention. Above all, social democracy believes on the need to take family and work together. These social issues need to be considered seriously.

Another key aspect of social democracy is women’s freedom, which, it argues, should be comparable to men’s. It seeks to create an atmosphere where both men and women have an opportunity to enjoy their rights and freedoms. If more women are involved in the decision making positions, it speculates, stronger roots for nationalism can be laid. In Nepal, the division of labour according to gender is the main reason why Nepali women have been reduced to living their lives inside the confines of their homes rather than participating in the great tasks of nation building.  To level the playing field, it is important that gender rights be linked with constitutional and human rights.

The idea is that when women’s responsibilities begin to shift outside the home, men will have to cooperate with them in the private affairs in order to create a balanced society.  They have to remove conservative biases regarding strict gender roles.

Conclusion

As examples in other developing countries show, capitalism produces injustice in the society; while the effects of totalitarianism are also negative. Therefore the concept of social democracy, which posits that political power is essential to remove inequality, fits our society perfectly.

In a democracy, citizens are real sovereigns. Each individual has the right to decide what polices they consider the best to maintain their liberty, dignity and identity. They have an interest in being active citizens, because they have the power to shape the policy decisions that affect them.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that the majority of Nepalis want to live in a welfare state. The advocacy of a welfare state is clear sign that inequality can only be bridged through policy arguments in which the entire society takes an active part. This means, in the current context, social democracy is the best way to give Nepali citizens, especially women, equal rights to decide what they consider their best interests.

Samira Paudel
The author is associated with Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which works in areas of democracy, trade union, media and gender

The Network will be organizing its 3rd Regional Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia from the 19-22 October, 2010. The Conference this time is entitled, “Growth, Social Balance and Sustainability: Perspective for Social Democratic Economic Policies in Asia“.

Jakarta is expecting to host participants from all over Asia, including SEA countries, China, Japan, Korea, South Asia countries, Sweden and Australia. Conference brief will be uploaded to this website later.

The Conference is jointly organized with the Jakarta-based Institute of Welfare Democracy, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and the Olof Pale International Centre.

DAP strongly condemns a plan by a Christian pastor in the United States to burn copies of Al-Quran to mark the terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda on September 11, that wiped out the famed Twin Towers of New York. Such acts will only breed more hate and violence among people of different faiths.

DAP is against any form of hate crime, racism and extreme religious act whether it is committed locally or internationally. We stand for dialogues, consultation and debates rather than violence and extremism.

We call on all Malaysians regardless of race and religion to condemn this dangerous and moronic act of desecrating copies of the holy book of Quran. The American authorities must prevent this proposed burning of the Quran from happening so as not to inflame sentiments amongst Muslims especially when they are celebrating the holy Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

The American pastor Terry Jones had claimed that he wanted to “to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behavior.” However, he is mistaking the tree for the forest. His ridiculous plan will not only anger Muslims globally. drive moderate Muslims away and also distort the peaceful image of Christianity that preaches love and respects all faiths.

While terrorism, whether committed by religious fanatics or by state sponsorship, must be condemned; the idea of burning the Quran – the holy book for more than a billion Muslims all over the world – is just outrageous and unacceptable.

DAP feels that the proper way to commemorate the anniversary of the 911 attacks “is to offer solidarity with those affected by the attacks and pray for them” by ensuring that it will never be repeated again.

I am confident that all Christians as well as people of different faiths in Malaysia will honour the memory of those who perished on September 11 with prayers, solidarity and a common resolve towards peace, justice and respect in a shared society. We must also strengthen our resolve to combat terrorism and violence committed in the name of religion.

To Muslims in Malaysia and everywhere else, we offer our sincere friendship and solidarity against any form of attacks on the sacred faith. May these holy months of Ramadan and Syawal bring us peace, joy and love. Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.