This page explains why governments and political parties are no longer able to solve our mounting global problems. It explains what the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) is and why it offers an alternative and effective means of solving global problems.

What prevents governments from solving global problems?

It’s a common belief that politicians and governments have the power to solve many of today’s mounting global problems; problems like global warming, poverty, diminishing natural resources and so on. Solutions to these problems certainly exist in the form of taxes, regulations and a switch to new environmentally friendly technologies. All that is lacking, it is always said, is the political will to implement them.

So why don’t politicians and governments implement them?

The real difficulty is that these solutions would inevitably cost businesses more. Higher taxes or regulations on businesses would make them less profitable. So, no government dares implement these solutions alone because they fear that corporations and investors would simply move or sub-contract their operations to some other country where taxes and regulations are less severe, and where costs are lower. Countries that try to solve global problems would suffer a loss of inward investment and jobs. In short, implementing solutions to global problems would cause an individual nation to lose out against competitor nations. And every nation participates in the global economy so they all suffer from the same fear.

"The blunt truth about the politics of climate change is that no country will want to sacrifice its economy in order to meet this challenge." [UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair. The Guardian, 3.11.05].

What’s worse, to solve mounting unemployment problems, nations often weaken social and environmental protection regulations and planning laws to make doing business in their country more attractive to global investors and corporations. The idea is that this will bring more investment and jobs – and for a while it does! Until competitor nations do the same thing.

That is why nothing changes except that our problems only get worse. It’s a vicious circle in which all nations are caught; a dangerous game which no nation can ultimately win. As global environmental, social and economic problems are left to worsen, all of us must eventually lose.

"There is a collective action problem internationally." [UK Environment Minister, David Miliband. The Financial Times, 6.12.06].

So, are corporate executives or global investors to blame?

If politicians have become the victims of the vicious circle caused by the free movement of capital and corporations, surely this must be the fault of investors or corporate executives? But this is not so. Because corporate executives and investment managers are forced to seek out the most profitable investments and opportunities and this often means sacrificing social and environmental interests in order to maximize profitable returns. With the shares of major corporations quoted on global stock markets, any corporate executive who fails to maximize profits will lose out to less scrupulous competitors. As the executives themselves say, “if we don’t do it, our competitors will”. The same goes for global investors who are rated by the returns they obtain for their clients. So investors and corporate executives are generally no less aware of global problems than the rest of society. But they, like our politicians, are trapped in the same vicious circle of destructive competition and they have no way out.

Seen in this way, global warming, excessive corporate power, the growing energy crisis and our many other global problems are not the real issue. Because the underlying problem that prevents solutions to all of them is the same: it is that nations are caught in a vicious circle of destructive competition from which they cannot escape. Global warming, poverty, energy insecurity and so on are not the problem.

The problem is a lack of international cooperation!

Why do I feel so powerless in this situation
and why has my vote become meaningless?

The destructive competition between nations caused by the global free movement of capital and corporations is also why simply changing the party in government makes little or no difference. Because any party that comes to govern has no choice but to maintain its nation’s international competitiveness and its attractiveness to global investors and corporations in a bid to maintain or improve levels of employment. Even Green parties, when they come to power, are forced to discard or severely dilute their policies to avoid capital, jobs and investment disappearing to other countries. Looking to politicians and governments alone to solve our problems has thus become substantially futile. The fear of capital and corporations moving elsewhere has created a situation which forces all of them to adopt policies which are market and business-friendly. That is why all political parties once they come to govern end up implementing much the same policies. It’s also why increasing numbers of citizens realize that their votes no longer make much difference and that is why so many of us no longer bother to vote in national elections.

To solve global problems citizens around the world need to drive politicians and governments from destructive international competition to fruitful global cooperation. The Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) is one way – perhaps the only way - we citizens can make that happen.

But just when you thought your vote had become meaningless, the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) offers citizens around the world a way to make their votes more powerful than they ever thought possible.

What is the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol)?

SIMPOL A novel way of voting

The Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) offers a way for citizens world-wide to use their votes in a new way to drive politicians and governments to implement solutions to global problems. The Simultaneous Policy puts citizens in control! Simpol is two things: it is a policy and it is a process.

As a policy, Simpol will consist of a range of measures to solve global problems. These measures will be designed not by politicians or by unaccountable global institutions such as the World Trade Organisation, but by citizens around the world who support Simpol or by our chosen independent experts. Simpol will be our people’s policy for solving global problems and it is to be implemented by all or sufficient nations simultaneously. Simultaneous implementation means that no nation risks losing out to any other. With simultaneous implementation, we break the vicious circle of destructive competition and eliminate all the excuses for inaction and delay.

But Simpol is also a powerful political process which allows citizens to use their votes to drive politicians and governments to cooperate in implementing Simpol. To join in this effort, you are invited to “adopt” Simpol. This means you pledge to vote in future national elections not for a particular politician or party; but for ANY politician or party – within reason – who has signed the pledge to implement Simpol alongside other governments. Or, if you favour a particular party, you encourage your preferred party to sign the Simpol Pledge. So, by adopting Simpol, you give strong preference at future elections to politicians who support Simpol but you do so without in any way compromising your individual freedom of decision as a voter. This means that ALL citizens, whether right or left, black or white, Christian or Muslim, can adopt Simpol and so play their part in solving global problems.

Many politicians are signing the Simpol Pledge simply because they think it’s a good idea.

That’s because many of them realise that existing forms of government-to-government treaty-making are incapable of delivering real solutions while nations are forced to compete destructively with one another.

Whether politicians voluntarily support Simpol or not, citizens who adopt Simpol are placing them under unprecedented political pressure. This is because many seats in parliaments around the world – and even entire elections - are being won or lost by a very small number of votes. So, as more and more citizens adopt Simpol, politicians are increasingly being faced with a carrot and stick scenario:

The Carrot: Signing the pledge to implement Simpol alongside other governments holds no risk for politicians because it does not require them to implement Simpol until sufficient other nations have also signed. In the meantime, politicians can continue to implement their existing policies as now. But signing the pledge means they make themselves eligible to gain the votes of citizens who have adopted Simpol.

The Stick: But if politicians fail to sign the Simpol Pledge, it could cost them their seat and hand it to another candidate who has signed the Simpol Pledge. With more and more seats and entire elections hanging on fine margins, and with previously apathetic voters re-entering politics as adopters of Simpol, politicians who fail to sign the Simpol Pledge increasingly risk losing out to those who do. By adopting Simpol, citizens are thus making it in the vital electoral interests of politicians to sign the Simpol Pledge.

Simpol could thus be described as perhaps the first and only form of global electoral politics. It is, perhaps, the only campaign that allows citizens around the world to use their votes in national elections to drive politicians to solve global problems.

Adopting Simpol is free.

It’s your global democratic right and, in the absence of any other means of using your vote to solve global problems, adopting Simpol is also your global democratic responsibility! We invite you to exercise that right and responsibility now. Please click on the “Adopt” button on the left to register your adoption.

Note about the next slide: Some text presenting this slide is needed here. It may also be placed in another section.

If you have any further questions about Simpol or ISPO, we suggest you to consult the FAQ section.

Top