I. Guiding principles of ethical economics

Spreading the concept of ethical economics is the need of the hour. The guiding principles of market economics have now got enlarged through concepts like Welfare Economics for which Prof Amartya Sen received the Nobel Prize in Economics and Ecological Economics for which Ms. Wangari Maathai was chosen for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Ethical Economics is the cornerstone of sustainable development, since it is rooted in the principles of economics, ecology and social and gender equity. Mahatma Gandhi pointed out that for economics to be ethical, it should be based on the principles of Antyodaya (unto the last of Ruskin) when he said "recall the face of the poorest person you have seen, and ask yourself whether the development project you are about to initiate will make any difference in his/her life", and Sarvodaya (social inclusion; win-win for all; a society characterized by high social synergy and capital). Ethical economics will not be possible without building it on the principles of antyodaya and sarvodaya and hence can be referred to as Gandhian Economics.

II. Dawn of Ethical Economics: Nuclear Peril

15 years ago, thanks to the bold and far-reaching initiatives of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Berlin wall had fallen, cold war hostilities had melted, and the prospect of ushering in a more peaceful and prosperous world for all seemed within reach. The euphoria of those days generated high expectations of a peace dividend that would help to wipe away much of the world's suffering. At the same time, the withdrawal of the confrontation between East and West resulted in a gradual shift of attention from the threat of imminent global self-destruction to the unresolved danger arising from huge stock piles of nuclear weapons and enriched uranium. The 54th Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs held at Seoul from 5-8 October 2004 gave a wake-up call by pointing out that the international community faces a critical turning point in the threat to global security posed by nuclear weapons. The forthcoming Third Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, being held in the spring of 2005 faces the prospect of collapse. The original Nuclear Weapon States (US, Russia, U.K. France and China) have not lived up to their obligations under Article VI of the NPT to move decisively towards the elimination of their nuclear arsenals. Meanwhile, additional members have joined this club. The comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) has not entered into force, and serious negotiations have not even started on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) to eliminate production of weapons grade Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) and plutonium.

Little is being done to control and dispose of existing stockpiles of HEU that run the risk of falling into the hands of terrorist groups. An important feature of the Contemporary divided world is the persistence of nuclear haves and have-nots.

Pugwash is totally committed to the goal of abolishing all nuclear weapons. Such a two-class world cannot endure. 2005 marks the 60th Anniversary of the use of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It also marks the 50th Anniversary of the Russel-Einstein Manifesto, which called upon everyone on our planet to remember our humanity and forget everything else. My colleagues, Prof Joseph Rotblat, Emeritus President of Pugwash and Prof Paolo Cotta Ramusino, Secretary General of Pugwash will deal with these issues shortly in greater detail. The next Pugwash Conference will be held in Hiroshima next year. Our Japanese colleagues also plan to organize a Nagasaki Forum for Nuclear-Weapon Free World from October 15-17, 2005 at Nagasaki to generate public and political interest in eradicating the expanding threat of nuclear annihilation.

Humankind needs a paradigm shift in global security which does not depend on nuclear or any other weapon of mass destruction. We need a shift from a competitive to a cooperative global security system. The International Commission on Peace and Food which I chaired, urged ten years ago in 1994, the need for the establishment of a World Peace Army, to be constituted by and open to all democratic nations, under the umbrella of the United Nations. Such a mechanism, provided it is genuinely inclusive, would offer a viable and effective alternative to national militarization. The tragedy of Iraq has underlined the urgency of a cooperative global security mechanism.

III. UN Millennium Development goals and Ethical Economics

In 2005, a review will be taken on the progress made in achieving the following goals adopted by all Nations at the UN Millennium Development Summit held in New York in September 2000.

· Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
· Reduce child mortality
· Improve maternal health
· Ensure environmental sustainability
· Achieve literacy for all
· Ensure gender justice and equity
· Form a global coalition of all concerned with the goals of Food, health, education and work for all and forever.

The UN MDGs represent the minimum needs of a human being for opportunities for a productive and healthy life. Inspite of the lofty sentiments expressed at the UN Millennium Summit and at other UN Conferences, Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) is going down, debt service burden is growing, defense and armaments expenditure is going up, trade is become free but not fair, unemployment is expanding leading to jobless economic growth, and violence in the human heart is growing. A sincere commitment to achieving UN MDGs will mark the beginning of the era of ethical economics. The review conferences, which will be held in 2005, will look back not only on MDGs but also on the promises made at Copenhagen (Poverty Summit) and Beijing (Gender Justice) ten years ago. The reviews will clearly show that political leaders both in industrialized and developing countries are yet to commence walking their talk.

IV. Ecological Security: I would like to take the UN MDGs relating to environment and hunger as examples of the growing gap between political will expressed in speeches and political action leading to concrete steps backed up by a critical mass of financial, technical and institutional resources.

a. Environment: We now have global climate, biodiversity and desertification conventions and the Montreal and Kyoto protocols but the political commitment to implement them in letter and spirit is lacking. Co2 levels in the atmosphere are the highest in 444000 years. There has been a temperature rise of 0.6°C during the last 100 years. North pole may be free of ice by 2070. The Kyoto protocol is yet to come into effect. Fortunately, Russia has recently ratified the protocol. EU is committed to preventing global warming and sea level rise. Ethical economics demands that we do not cause harm to the generations yet to be born. The poor will suffer more, since they do not possess the coping mechanisms essential for reducing the adverse impact. It was estimated at the Earth Summit held at Rio-de-Janeiro in 1992 that the amount needed to undertake priority action plans in the area of ecological security is about 150 billion dollars per year, which is less than 40% of the annual subsidy paid to OECD farmers. The loss of every gene and species limits our options for the future. For example, the locust invasion now occurring in the Sahelian region of Africa as well as in Morocco and Tunisia needs about 100 million dollars to control, but the response of donors has been slow. One way of repelling locusts is the spraying of neem extracts, and planting neem. This is why Gandhi said that Nature provides for every body's need, but not for everyone's greed.

V. Hunger-Free World

The Roman Philosopher Seneca said, "a hungry person listens neither to reason nor religion, nor is bent by any prayer". Where hunger rules, peace cannot prevail. Both endemic hunger (protein-calorie undernutrition) and hidden hunger caused by the deficiency of micronutrients in the diet can be overcome if there is a will to do so. For example, we have developed in India a programme titled Mission 2007: A hunger-free India" August 15, 2007 marks the 60th anniversary of India's independence and in 1946, Gandhi said, "to the hungry God is bread". The five interactive components of the hunger elimination strategy are the following

a) Implement all ongoing nutritional safety net programmes on a life cycle basis, starting with adolescent girls and pregnant women (to avoid children characterized by low birth weight) and extending upto old and infirm persons.
b) Enlarge the food security basket by including a wide range of locally adapted millets, leafy vegetables and grain legumes. Establish local level community Food and Feed Banks (Livestock and Livelihoods are closely retailed in many developing countries).
c) Design and introduce a Food Guarantee programme, combining the features of Food for Work and Employment Guarantee programmes.
d) Promote the formation of Self-help Groups and Cooperatives to confer on small producers the power of scale at the production and marketing phases of farming. Contract farming and farmer-private sector partnerships will help to add value to primary produce through agro-processing and help to generate new jobs.
e) Enhance agricultural productivity by bridging the gap between scientific know-how and field-level do-how, through mutually reinforcing packages through mutually reinforcing packages of technology, services and public policies.

At the global level, industrialized countries should provide market access and not erect non-tariff trade barriers. They should adopt the Doha spirit in relation to IPR in relation to drugs for treating HIV/AIDS. The benefits of scientific discoveries of importance to human health and nutrition security should be available to all.

Finally, bridging the digital divide is essential for bridging gender, technological and economic divides. The integrated use of the internet and community radio is a powerful method of reaching the unreached with locale and time specific information and for voicing the voiceless.

Good ecology is good business. Economics, which is not rooted in the principle of ethics and gender and social equity, will do more harm than good in the long run. Let this Summit mark the beginning of a new era of ethical economics, in which economics is based on human dignity and gross national happiness, as advocated by the King of Bhutan.