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Global Economy and Corporate Responsibility

Focusing on the Common Good

From a progressive perspective, there is no doubt that global economic, trade and tax policies serve a higher goal. Primarily, they are instruments to reduce inequality within and between states and between the Global North and Global South. A beneficial global economic order serves the common good: It provides solutions to social issues, instead of exacerbating them.

With the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations have created a set of guidelines for the economic system of the future, and for our work as well.

Together with our partners, we are committed to shaping the global economic system so that it benefits the common good, and to implementing the Goals of the 2030 Agenda – all over the world. In this, our emphasis is on trade and tax policies and also the topic of corporate and investor responsibility.

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News About Global Economy and Corporate Responsibility

Supply chain governance: Arguments for worker-driven enforcement

16.11.2022

Interview with Marlese von Broembsen, head of legal affairs at the international organization WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and...


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The Changing World – Due Diligence Laws as the Opportunity?

Hybrid International Conference, October 18, 2022, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm with Hubertus Heil, Lara Wolters, Dr. Bärbel Kofler and others. Register here.


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China’s Role in the Multilateral Trade System

14.09.2022

A recent analysis conducted by the FES explains what is driving Beijing’s foreign trade policy and reflects on how Europe should respond.


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Inflation, pandemic, climate change: the urgent need for progressive taxation

09.09.2022

States have a choice: they can opt for austerity programs or they can decide to put in place taxes on those who have taken advantage of the crisis to...


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Too big to fail: Still a problem – A look at development finance

20.07.2022

Too Big To Fail-financial firms play a crucial role in the chronic net outflow of financial resources from the global south to the global north. Shows...


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China and the global financial architecture

25.05.2022

China is a critical component of the global financial architecture as both a member of the international institutions and as an institution-builder....


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More articles are available here.


Publications

Working in the shadows

Informal employment in Ethiopia
AddisAbaba, 2023

Download publication (800 KB, PDF-File)


For a social Europe and a fair globalisation

Guiding principles for the international work of German trade unions
Berlin, 2023

Download publication (700 KB PDF-File)


A new industrial and competition policy for the European Union

The role of trade unions
Berlin, 2023

Download publication (420 KB PDF-File)


Philipps, Robert

Building a strong digital economy

A field of action for European social democracy
Budapest, 2023

Download publication (330 KB, PDF-File)


Industrial policy for a new growth model

A toolbox for EU-CEE countries
Budapest, 2023

Download publication (1,2 MB PDF-File)



Global Economy, Corporate Responsibility and Progressive Politics

Seen from the progressive standpoint of Social Democracy, there is no doubt that the role of economic policy must be to promote prosperity for society as a whole, and to reduce inequality within and between countries. A progressive global economic order solves social issues instead of exacerbating them.

First and foremost, this means that the social benefit derived from economic actions needs to be front and center at all times. The interests of powerful, well-connected players such as investors or corporations must not be allowed to override the common good. Just like a state's citizens, economic actors have both rights and obligations: They are protected by the state but must also: adhere to the law, preserve public assets such as the environment, pay taxes, and be held responsible for any damage caused.

Because large transnational corporations often put these obligations last, states and parliaments must regulate them. The economy should be under democratic control, both nationally and internationally. Strong and democratically legitimate institutions are required to provide oversight of the global economy. The establishment of an effective system for “Global Economic Governance” is one of the most important tasks of our time, to ensure that all human beings – and not just the “1 percent” – can benefit from economic growth.

2030 Agenda: A Guide to Tomorrow's Economy

With the United Nation's 2030 Agenda, the international community has given itself a set of guidelines for shaping the global economy in the future: One person's prosperity should not come at another person's expense, or at the expense of upcoming generations. Future economic activity needs to be guided by sustainability principles and the common good. This is the only way in which states will reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which cover issues such as reducing poverty and inequality and addressing the effects of climate change.

In our work on economic issues, we are committed to:

  • reining in international financial markets,
  • reforming international trade policy,
  • fundamentally reshaping the international tax system and
  • making transnational corporations adhere to labor rights, human rights and environmental standards.
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