The Anti-Globalization Breakfast Club

As President Obama recently celebrated his first 100 days in office, I also celebrated my first 10 days in China. And it’s not much different than Arkansas (language, size, and halfway around the world aside). My sponsor, the American Chamber of Commerce – Shanghai, hosts a multitude of programs featuring high profile speakers with global impact.

Recently I attended an AmCham program featuring global activist and political columnist Laurence Brahm. I have a passing interest in environmentalism (only due to my wife’s intense interest) but I was completely mesmerized by this man.

Brahm is a corporate lawyer turned international crisis mediator in Southeast Asia (SEA). He also writes a political column for the South China Morning News http://www.laurencebrahm.com/south-china-morning-post/stimulus-on-steroids . Authoring several books on SEA economics and politics, he talked about his most recent book, The Anti-Globalization Breakfast Club. This offering “chronicles the key highlights from his years as the central bank advisor to Asian economies and shares his insights about the policy decisions made by the IMF and the World Bank. Speaking with leading international activists, he also explains reasons behind the often-violent protests associated with the anti-globalization movement at major economic conventions.”

The contrasting tone of the title immediately received my attention. ‘Anti-globalization’ instantly steeps the kettle while ‘Breakfast Club’ adds a couple of sugar cubes to sweeten the pot. Brahm took titling to another level here and uses it to appeal to a wide range of readers, from the vociferous eco-warrior to the tea-sipping humanist. Very clever.

I did some research before the event, to brush up on Brahm's history of advocacy. He has a strong reputation in South East Asia, particularly with the Chinese government. In the 90’s, Brahm consistently advocated for local, grassroots development of corporate law instead of adoption of a US based system in Laos, Mongolia, Vietnam, and China. Not only did this save those countries time and money, but also a total invasion of US legal wranglers.

Beijing’s appreciation was expressed through an exclusive opportunity to purchase a precious and rapidly shrinking hutong - walled rows of residences prominently featuring a courtyard - from the Beijing government. Many of these unique and historic architectural buildings were urban renewal candidates, replaced by newer, more modern structures. Brahm and other supporters stepped in to advocate for their preservation. His work raised awareness and slowed the rate of demolition, but Beijing continues to schedule them for demolition.

Brahm's first hutong purchase housed his office and administrative operations, but due to requests for weddings and other events, he purchased and renovated an additional hutong to use as an entertainment facility. The Red Capital Club is one of the world's premiere destinations, featuring historic communist memorabilia long thought lost or destroyed http://www.redcapitalclub.com.cn/
More recently, Brahm has dove into social enterprise, creating documentary films about Tibet: Searching for Shangri-la and Shambhala Sutra. These films chronicle his search for the mystical monastery and subsequent discovery of Shambhala. http://www.shambhalastudios.tv/

Besides showing brief clips of the documentaries during lunch, Brahm didn’t much about preserving architecture or filmmaking. He dove headfirst into outlining an alternate response to the “dark side” of globalization, the Washington Consensus. This failed policy, Brahm accuses, opens the labor market of underdeveloped economies to exploitation by companies from more developed economies. Brahm argued people on the street have to buy into the economic system in order for it to work for them. Without that, the system is vastly less effective.

His brainchild, the Himalaya Consensus, embraces three major tenets. First, throw out the economic theories and models and use pragmatism, not ideology. Secondly, encourage and support cultural and ethnic diversity by drawing on indigenous values as guiding principals of economic development. Lastly, allow each country to develop its own political system, without interference from outside powers.

This resonated with me. I always felt that despite our proselytizing of global democracy, it doesn’t work for everyone. No country should be obligated to adopt it. Heck, we don’t do a great job at it most of the time.

Not to say Brahm’s theory is without issue. An audience member pointed out that indigenous beliefs can often conflict with human rights concerns, particularly gender issues. Brahm acknowledged this, mentioning the opportunity to incrementally bridge social rights with economic growth, which sounded eerily like the ‘invisible hand’ approach that he condemned as “greedy”.

Regardless, Brahm is on to something new and refreshing, breathing a healthy dose of Eastern ‘hope’ and ‘change’ into my first 10 days in Shanghai. If AmCham continues to hit home runs like this, I just need to find a few folks that will say ‘ya’ll’ and ‘yonder’ and I’ll be right at home.



Please also check out Brahm’s recent TV appearance on CNBC where he discusses Himalayan Consensus, and how a new financial order based on grass-roots initiatives needs to emerge. http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1132961024&play=1

Time magazine has a more cynical view of Brahm here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,418623,00.html