Last days for the G-7.

• Author: Flavin, Christopher
• Position: Seven leading industrialized countries

Now that the hype of the G7 Economic Summit in Denver is past, it is time to consider whether these annual gatherings of the "seven leading industrialized countries," are worth the time and money that goes into preparing them. Held each year since 1975, these summits no longer fulfill their original purpose: dealing with the major economic problems of the time by coordinating the actions of seven nations.

With the twenty-first century rapidly approaching, this narrow club of rich countries is simply in no position to shape the future of the world economy, let alone deal with broader questions that will shape that economy, such as population, technology, and the environment - the very issues that were dealt with a week after the G7 Summit at a special session of the U.N. General Assembly. Indeed, from this perspective, the G7 is beginning to look as faded as a snapshot from the 1970s.

The G7 countries now represent just 40 percent of the world's economy and a mere 11 percent of its population. Four of these post-World War II "powers" are middle-sized European countries - of limited and diminishing importance as the world moves into the twenty-first century.

G-7 E-9 United States United States Japan Japan Germany European Union United Kingdom Russia France China Italy India Canada Indonesia Brazil South Africa It is time therefore to replace the G7 with a new group of nations that is in better position to grapple with the most important issues of the day. Let's call it the E9 - a coalition of nine demographic and ecological superpowers.

Like the G7, the E9 would include the United States and Japan. The European Union would get a third seat, representing current G7 members Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, as well as nine smaller countries. The fourth scat would go to Russia, with a population of 150 million people, as well as the world's largest geographical territory.

The rest of the E9 would be made up of so-called developing countries - which today contain two-thirds of the world's population, and last year had an average rate of economic growth of more than 6 percent. China, with one-fifth of the world's population, and already the number one consumer of coal and grain, would be a key member of the E9. Just below China in its global significance is India, with a population four times that of the United States - much of it desperately poor.

Next in line in their regional and global importance are Indonesia, with a population...