The Future of Embedded Liberalism

Abstract

In this final chapter I pursue three tasks. In the first two sections I summarize the findings from the case studies and draw some general conclusions with regard to notions of international justice, the practice of justification and the legitimacy of global governance. I then highlight the evolution and persistence of the clash between embedded liberalism and redistributive multilateralism as rival designs for global governance, which in this book has been identified as the central conflict over global justice. The most remarkable finding is how consistently the United States has defended, and often imposed, the liberal design against attempts at introducing multilateral redistribution. I devote another section to the question of why the United States has been sponsoring the embedded liberalism design so consistently. Finding it firmly anchored in the nation’s political culture I proceed to examine the prospects for redistributive elements in international governance. Two recent proposals for embedding the liberal economy on a global scale are discussed in the concluding section. One is the “Global Marshall Plan Initiative” that relies on international taxes and the redistribution of its revenues to developing countries. The other proposal is John Ruggie’s idea to rely on voluntary commitments by transnational corporations to take over some of the social policy tasks that governments have proven unable to tackle.