153 9 The new world order and Pakistan

Document begins: 153 9 The new world order and Pakistan Arif Hasan (IIED invited Arif Hasan, the well-known researcher on environment and development in Pakistan, to comment on the Millennium Development Goals. Arif Hasan is one of IIED's Board members, and also a member of the Millennium Project's Taskforce 8 on improving the lives of slum dwellers. He chose to comment not on the MDGs, but on the larger issues facing his own country, Pakistan, because of his concern that the MDGs will not address these. We include this here as a final comment, as these are issues that the MDGs will have to grapple with if they really are to reduce poverty.) If a society and country can compete in the world market, it survives or occasionally prospers. If it cannot, it goes bankrupt or exists at the periphery of the world system, unable to afford imports. Its poor have to cope with impoverishment at home, or struggle to migrate to better-off countries (although facing enormous obstacles in doing so). But if a low-income country proves too successful in the world market, it is punished, as its products face trade barriers or it has to compete with enterprises 154 ...