Dr. Raynor teaches finance at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Delhi, and during the summer, is a visiting professor at Universidad Catholica Santo Toribio De Mogrovejo in Peru. He has worked on a number of projects in other areas of Latin America, and also was a visiting professor to China in 1994. He is especially interested in international trade and labor issues, and has significant private sector experience in the banking industry.

It seems rare when the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and U.S. military experts converge on global policy matters. Recently, however, Dr. Thomas Barnett has generated significant attention with his book The Pentagon's New Map (PNM), which emphasizes the benefits of helping economically disenfranchised nations. His "...central thesis is that today's world is divided into two categories: the "Functioning Core" of nations connected to the global economy and prospering as never before, and the "Non-Integrating Gap" of nations disconnected from the matrix of wealth and progress and therefore spinning towards chaos." (Ignatius, 2004). The Catholic Framework for Economic Life (CFEL), developed by the Bishops, also addresses issues about the disenfranchised and provides a path towards economic inclusiveness.  

In general, the CFEL and the PNM both seek a win-win scenario between the "haves" and the "have-nots". Both encourage assisting those not engaged in the economic system (a cost to those providing the assistance). Both view peace, harmony, and enhanced security as the dividend or payoff (a benefit worth the cost to those providing the assistance). What specific areas of commonality are there between the PNM and the CFEL? Consider Dr. Barnett's comprehensive model, alongside the ten major points that comprise the CFEL, which appear bracketed in boldface below:

1) [The economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy] All should participate in the economic system, and the exclusion of some is a disadvantage for everyone in the world. Dr. Barnett also refers to the excluded vs. the included as the "disconnected Gap." PNM (page 8): "In this century, it is disconnectedness that defines danger... Just as important, however, is the result that by expanding the connectivity of globalization, we increase peace and prosperity planet-wide."

2) [All economic life should be shaped by moral principles. Economic choices and institutions must be judged by how they protect, or undermine the life and dignity of the human person, support the family, and serve the common good] Globalization can enhance this, if implemented properly, which Dr. Barnett emphasizes must be done. PNM (page 124): "For each time we expand globalization's Functioning Core, we expand for all those living within it the freedom of choice, movement, and expression." Important consideration point: Economic choices may be difficult, but the execution or implementation of those choices may be even more difficult.

3) [A fundamental moral measure of any economy, is how the poor and vulnerable are faring] We must all work harder to make sure the poor and vulnerable are not "disconnected" from those who are functioning in the global economy. PNM (page 124): "Remembering that disconnectedness itself is the ultimate enemy, America can, by extending globalization in a fair and just manner, not only defeat the threats it faces today but eliminate in advance entire generations of threat ... If we as a nation accept the logic of globalization's advance, our definition of us must include them who now feel left out of globalization's benefits ..." 

4) [All people have a right to life, and to secure the basic necessities of life (e.g, food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, safe environment, economic security)] Globalization can help more people obtain these necessities if there is a secure environment with clear rules. PNM (page 124): "Real freedom exists within defined rule sets that reduce life's uncertainties to the point where individuals can efficiently run their own lives, avoiding the tyrannies of extreme poverty...". Thus, closing the PNM's "disconnected Gap" helps assure that basic necessities are available to everyone who participates. 

5) [All people have the right to economic initiative, to productive work, to just wages and benefits, to decent working conditions, as well as to organize and join unions or other associations] For this to occur, new opportunities for the oppressed must be developed, while not leaving those who are currently engaged in the system behind. For global development to be optimized, Dr. Barnett identifies four resource flows--labor, energy, capital, and security assisted by the U.S. military--and the importance of minimal restrictions on them. PNM (page 198): "The notion of keeping these four flows in balance really just meant that nothing in the global system should be allowed to prevent the flow of any of the resources from regions of deficit. In effect, labor, energy, money, and security all need to flow as freely as possible from those places in the world where they are plentiful to those regions where they are scarce."

6) [All people, to the extent they are able, have a corresponding duty to work, a responsibility to provide for the needs of their families, and an obligation to contribute to the broader society] PNM (page 122): "Globalization is a condition defined by mutually assured dependence." Both the CFEL and the PNM advocate mutually beneficial and reciprocal relationships. 

7) [In economic life, free markets have both clear advantages and limits; government has essential responsibilities and limitations; voluntary groups have irreplaceable roles, but cannot substitute for the proper working of the market and the just policies of the state] Political reform and stability enhance private and public sector balance, necessary for development. The PNM recognizes this and the need for clear expectations and rules that everyone can follow: "Barnett doesn't see America's role as a neo-imperialist global centurion. Instead, he argues, the U.S. goal must be to promote 'rule sets' that are shared by Core and Gap alike." (Ignatius, 2004).

8) [Society has a moral obligation, including governmental action, where necessary, to assure opportunity, meet basic human needs, and pursue justice in economic life] Properly functioning governments and global institutions are essential to the PNM as well. PNM (page 131): "Simply put, the process of defining global rule sets is as important as the ultimate results, because it is through the adjustment of existing rule sets that the Functioning Core accommodates new and aspiring members."

9) [Workers, owners, managers, stockholders, and consumers are moral agents in economic life. By our choices, initiative, creativity, and investment, we enhance or diminish economic opportunity, community life, and social justice] Our decisions and commitment towards developing a fair economic system for everyone can make the world more secure. PNM (page 249): "Either the Core assimilates the Gap, or the Gap divides the Core. Either the forces of connectivity prevail or the dictators of disconnectedness thrive." (249)

10) [The global economy has moral dimensions and human consequences. Decisions on investment, trade, aid, and development should protect human life and promote human rights, especially for those most in need wherever they might live on this globe] This is consistent with Dr. Barnett's PNM (page 298): "I no longer believe that America can be made safe at the expense of others. In this increasingly interconnected world, our vulnerability is not defined by the depth of our connectedness with the outside world but by the sheer existence of regions that remain off-grid, beyond the pale, and unconnected to share our fate."

Additional Considerations

The CFEL encourages economic fairness, consistent with Catholic principles. The PNM encourages economic fairness to improve global security. Even these differences however, are not incompatible: By advocating economic cooperation, the CFEL seeks to decrease friction between economic stakeholders, resulting in enhanced security.

Both the CFEL and PNM advocate humanitarian assistance to help those in need around the world. The PNM, however, views the U.S. military as an important vehicle for delivering that aid. As this is written, humanitarian assistance for the Asian Tsunami catastrophe is unfolding. Many of these tasks could only have been accomplished with the U.S. military's personnel, heavy equipment, and infrastructure.

In addition to humanitarian assistance, exporting security (considered by many to also be a form of humanitarian assistance) is another important role of the military. The PNM (page 238-9): "America has spent the last quarter-century quietly exporting security throughout East Asia, and we have better bilateral security relationships with states in that region than states there have been with one another. That is an amazing accomplishment that has allowed governments there to focus less on a military hedge against the dangerous outside world and more on economic development." Thus, a strong military that is used judicially for security and humanitarian purposes, is recognized by the PNM as an important stabilization tool. Not surprisingly, the CFEL does not emphasize the military in its broad economic structure. Still, the CFEL and PNM are consistent with each other. They both recognize that a secure environment must exist for true economic development to occur, especially in the most poverty-stricken areas of the world.

While the PNM and CFEL are both sweeping models, one potential problem area is conflict between the U.S. economy on the micro level, and the global economy on the macro level. For example, a U.S. worker who has a job outsourced is now in the "Gap" and not part of the "Core" within the U.S. economy. Even if the global common good has been enhanced, and this U.S. worker is living in a more secure world, he has still lost his job and needs to be assisted. As previously mentioned, the PNM (page 124) states: "Real freedom exists within defined rule sets that reduce life's uncertainties to the point where individuals can efficiently run there own lives, avoiding the tyrannies of extreme poverty...". For the U.S. worker who has been outsourced, however, life's uncertainties have exploded, and there are no clearly defined domestic rules or expectations. Thus, an implementation balancing act exists between the micro and macro levels.

Dr. Barnett recognizes the balance concerns in the PNM (page 304-5): "Because if we do not adequately preserve the Core, it is likely to seek too high barriers between itself and the Gap, and that will disrupt the flows that truly need to occur if the Gap is to be integrated over time. So, it is a careful balancing act." How do domestic and international institutions balance the needs of disenfranchised areas, while still helping others who may become disenfranchised in the process? Over the past few years, I have been critical of the way jobs were being outsourced in the globalization process. The speed and recklessness to which U.S. workers were often abandoned, with relatively few alternatives or safety nets was troubling. Comments I made in 2003 in a series of articles in Gary Johnson's BraveNewWorkWorld & NewWork News included the following:

- "Has globalization finally gone too far? Do the economic and societal costs of globalization now outweigh the benefits?" (Raynor, 4/14/03).

- "Are we on the fast-track to becoming a third world country? The sudden increase in outsourcing high technology and professional jobs (often referred to as off-shoring), may be sending something else abroad: our position in the world as the lead economic power." (Raynor, 10/6/03).

- "Increasingly, there is a global surplus of highly educated workers, which is too enticing for U.S. firms to ignore. Not only can they hire high-end workers for a fraction of domestic salaries, but they often also save money by avoiding U.S. OSHA, EEOC, EPA, and other regulations." (Raynor, 12/17/03).

Other concerns in 2003 about the implementation aspects of globalization were expressed in the context of the CFEL: "When U.S. corporations ship jobs out of the U.S. on such a mass scale, however, it does not appear to be consistent with the goals of the CFEL. It is not as simple as a worker from the Phillippines replacing a U.S. worker. If this were the case, many of faith could at least rationalize domestic job losses, though painful, on the basis that the less fortunate in other parts of the world are benefitting. Indeed, most skeptics see job outsourcing as a globalization tool used in the proverbial "race-to-the-bottom". Whatever country is the lowest cost producer at the moment has the advantage." (Raynor; June, 2003).

The reservations I had about the implementation aspects of globalization still exist. Globalization must proceed in a way that does not simply trade one disenfranchised individual for another. In many ways however, we have no choice but to see this process through; we must make globalization work for everybody. The prospect of not doing this well is both morally wrong and dangerous. Globalization cannot be reversed, and skeptics must accept the inevitability that this is the future our world is heading towards. There is no turning back at this pivotal point. Do we really understand the significance of this moment in our history? PNM (page 245): "Globalization will remain out of balance so long as America herself remains out of balance, and America will remain out of balance until we achieve a new understanding of what constitutes real crisis in our age." Helping to improve the lives of those most desperate for economic development, consistent with the PNM and the CFEL, will be in our best interest and help de-escalate global tension. 

The U.S. can rise to the occasion, but we must first recognize that only we are in such a unique position to provide the leadership the world so desperately needs. "Can the United States regain respect and lead the world toward free trade, not so much by narrow, often bilateral exchange of 'concessions," but by its own example of free trade?" (Pearson, 2004).

Conclusion

Many individuals have embraced the CFEL, not because they are Catholics, but because it makes sense. Similarly, many individuals with diverse backgrounds--not just military--have also embraced the PNM, as its logic and comprehensiveness have become ever more well known. Both the CFEL and PNM encourage economic inclusiveness to obtain peace and global stability. PNM (page 304): "What America gets in return is the end of war as we know it... It gets a global economy with nobody left on the outside... In sum, shrinking the Gap gets us the final piece to the puzzle that is global peace." Global peace, consistent with the PNM and the CFEL, provides an environment for the expansion of economic development. There are no guarantees, however, and for everybody's sake, we must get our domestic and international institutions in order to better facilitate these objectives.

References

Barnett, Thomas P.M. The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in The Twenty-First Century. G.P. Putnam's Sons. New York. 2004. ISBN: 0-399-15175-3.

Ignatius, David. (12/13/04). "Winning a War for the Disconnected." Washington Post.

National Conference of Catholic Bishops. "The Catholic Framework For Economic Life". Woodstock Business Conference Report, Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University. (1997). Vol. 4,1.

Pearson, Charles. (12/16/04). "U.S. Trade Policy: Leading By Example". The Globalist. 

Raynor, William (12/17/03). "Global Outsourcing and the Disappearing Middle Class". newwork.com.

Raynor, William (10/6/03). "Outsourcing Jobs Off-Shore: Short and Long-Term Consequences". newwork.com

Raynor, William (4/14/03). "Globalization and the Offshore Outsourcing of White-Collar Jobs". newwork.com

Raynor, William (June, 2003). "Outsourcing Jobs and The Catholic Framework for Economic Life". Journal of Religion & Society. Creighton University Press, June, 2003. ISSN: 1522-5658. Vol. 5.