Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday opened
an economic symposium in Paris by calling for the 'moralization' of
the capitalist system.
'We must work, not for the destruction of capitalism - which would
be a catastrophe - but for its moralization,' Sarkozy said at the
opening of the symposium New World, New Capitalism, which he
established as a response to the economic crisis.
'Either we re-found capitalism or we destroy it,' Sarkozy said as
he called for an economic system based on the value of work rather
than finance.
'Purely financial capitalism has perverted the logic of
capitalism,' the French president said. 'Financial capitalism is a
system of irresponsibility and... is amoral. It is a system where the
logic of the market excuses everything.'
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also addressed the conference, and
called for the establishment of a 'charter for a long-term reasonable
economy' similar to the United Nations Charter.
'Our response (to the economic crisis) must be more than a few
rules,' Merkel said. 'The crisis is an opportunity to create an
international architecture of institutions.'
Merkel also called on politicians to remain firm even after the
crisis has been resolved.
'There is a risk that when everything is functioning normally
again that the financial institutions will tell politicians not to
meddle,' she cautioned. 'We must remain determined.'
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is one of the
co-sponsors of the symposium, with Sarkozy, told participants that
investment patterns must be changed.
'We must invest in the future,' Blair said, and called for funds
to be put into renewable energy, science, innovation and education.
The symposium was downgraded from a summit because few world
leaders chose to attend. In addition to Sarkozy and Merkel, only
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was present on Thursday.
Other participants at the two-day conference include Economics
Nobel Prize winners Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz, World Trade
Organization head Pascal Lamy and the president of the European
Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet.
USA
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