ブックタイトル佐藤栄作論文集９～１６

概要

佐藤栄作論文集９～１６

第15回優秀賞process.The essay introduces microcredit programs as one of the areas where the UN canplay a significant role in such a mission. It cites the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh asa model of microcredit programs, which has been emulated throughout the world,including the US -- the“epicenter”of globalization -- as an effective instrumentfor poverty alleviation. This“technology from the South,”means the provision ofmicroloans to the poor (especially women) without collateral on the basis of smallgrouppressure and solidarity. This is a prime example of tackling the negative impactof globalization with resort to still another globalization, in this case, the globalizationof the poor’s access to credit.After pointing out the inadequacy of UN effort in the area of microcredit programs,the essay proposes that an UNMCA (United Nations Micro-Credit Agency) beestablished, designed to promote microcredit across the globe in a great-scale yetcareful manner.The essay concludes that such an action would hopefully make the civil societymore capable of withstanding the disruptive vicissitudes of globalization andprotecting its members, thereby enabling the UN to re-address some of its originalgoals: the protection of fundamental human rights (particularly women’s equal rights)and the promotion of better living standards in larger freedom. That in turn wouldhelp the UN to reconstruct its identity and relevance in the 21 stcentury, an era ofdeepening globalization.673