for all.”^29 In this connection, the left increasingly criticized the double
standard of the economic policies of the North. By imposing on the
South trade rules and norms that they did not have to respect during
their own industrialization process, countries of the North were indeed
seen as “kicking away the development ladder.”^30 More sensitive
than before to the logic of liberalism, the left also embedded its social
concerns within a human rights approach.^31 Social movements pre-
sented the promotion of human rights as the paramount responsibility
of governments, and defined development as a process whose ultimate
goal was the realization of the political, economic, social, and cultural
rights of individuals.
Finally, the left paid more attention to the democratization of
global governance. The internationalization of production and finance
networks, it was argued, had not been accompanied by an equivalent
internationalization of social institutions.^32 Markets had become
global, but political power continued to be exercised within the
framework of national sovereignty. To better anchor market processes
in universally shared values, progressive movements called for a new
global social contract. This was another way to pursue the long-
fought battle for multilateral reforms that would give the South more
say in the management of the world economy. In a somewhat more
innovative vein, compatible with the new left emphasis on democratic
procedures, civil society organizations also asserted that the govern-
ance of development could not be entrusted to states alone, and that
poverty reduction could not move ahead without citizen involvement.
Convinced that real democracy went beyond the holding of free
elections, NGOs worked to make social groups better heard by
national governments and international organizations. Global de-
mocracy remained a long way off, but these movements did help to
(^29) United Nations,The Inequality Predicament: Report on the World Social
30 Situation 2005, New York, United Nations, 2005, p. 1.
Ha-Joon Chang,Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical
31 Perspective, London, Anthem Press, 2002.
Richard Jolly, Louis Emmerij, Dharam Ghai, and Fre ́de ́ric Lapeyre,UN
Contributions to Development Thinking and Practice, Bloomington, Indiana
32 University Press, 2004.
John Gerard Ruggie, “Taking Embedded Liberalism Global: The Corporate
Connection,” in David Held and Mathias Koenig-Archibugi (eds.),Taming
Globalization: Frontiers of Governance, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2003,
pp. 93–129.
174 Left and Right in Global Politics