Professor Graham Lister reviews "The G20 and the three global crises: what prospects for global health?" a recent editorial article published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health by Dr. Roberto De Vogli and Dr. David Gimeno.

This is a socialist rant but one I agree with. The authors attack the global capitalist system and the failure of global governance in both financial management and in ecological and development management.

They point out that the global capitalism of the neo-liberal system supports and rewards both fiscal and ecological irresponsibility. This could be likened to the development of unconstrained capitalism in the era of industrialisation, that produced great hardships only eventually addressed by the development of national regulatory and welfare systems. Globalization has circumvented such national constraints on capitalism and needs to be addressed by radical global governance rather than to breathe new life into the failing system of global capitalism as attempted by the G20. They hope that citizen based social movements will challenge the current order and create a more democratic basis for global governance for world citizens. A great vision but to be honest don't really say how this will happen.

The article The G20 and the three global crises: what prospects for global health? is available in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, February 2010, Volume 64, Issue 2