THE global free market doesn't work. However much it benefits corporations and consumers in the rich countries, for most people it is a dismal failure. It's done nothing to lift the hideous burden of disease, poverty and ignorance from the world's poorest nations.
That is one of the conclusions of a UN report published this week (see "Time stands still"). When the G8 group of rich countries meets in Genoa this month, it won't be looking to ditch free trade, but there's another finding in the UN report they should look at: technology has massive potential to improve the lot of the world's poorest. A vaccine for malaria, or a drought-resistant variety of sorghum should not be beyond the wit of modern scientistsif only enough money were invested in research.
But even when the technologies exist, the depressing fact is that we can't make them cheap enough for those ...
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