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Neoliberal doctrines fail to cut poverty

Seminar told

Star Business Report
Privatisation and trade liberalisation instigated by neoliberal doctrines have failed to reduce poverty or ensure social protection for the poor, instead it increased concentration of wealth and disparity in the society, speakers said at a seminar yesterday.
Neoliberalism did not only cause a devastating consequence to developing countries like Bangladesh, it also has shaken the northern economy, they added.
A comprehensive set of social protection policies must be introduced to replace the unfocused and ad hoc social safety net as a strategy of addressing poverty, they said.
This should be looked into with rights-based approach instead of mere service delivery, they suggested.
Neo liberalism is a political view, arising in the 1960s, that emphasises the importance of economic growth and asserts that social justice is best maintained by minimal government interference and free market forces.
The seminar on 'Neoliberalism, Poverty and Social Protection Policies' was organised by VOICE, a research and public education organisation, at the National Press in Dhaka.
Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of VOICE, said by neoliberal market policy a great human catastrophe has been created, resulting in financial, food and climate crises.
Its result is more than 25 lakh households are falling into poverty, while there has been a 36.7 percent income decrease in the last two years due to these crises, he said.
He urged the government to formulate a comprehensive social protection policy, avoiding the prescriptions of such international organisa-tions as World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Presenting the keynote paper, researcher and development activist Monower Mustafa said market-led neoliberal development process has failed to uphold any vision for the society.
He said in Bangladesh 40 percent people are poor and
25 percent fall in the category of hardcore poor who earn less thanTk 16 to Tk 22 a day.
Labelling social safety net as a neoliberal package, he said as long as the country's economy is shaped by privatisation, deregulation and trade liberalisation, any significant change would be impossible.
Expanding the social safety net will not decrease poverty unless a complete set of social security including political and economic security along with the basic rights with dignity is ensured, Mustafa said.
He emphasised that to redefine the policies of the country and realise the needs and demands of its people, active participation of all stakeholders concerned is necessary.
Among others, Mphsin Ali, coordinator of Governance Advocacy Forum, Saiful Haq, general secretary of Biplobi Workers Party, Uma Chowdhury, director of Supro, Tanvir Siddiqui, director of Changemakers, and Aminur Rasul, director of Unnayan DharaTYust, also spoke.