Who legitimates the role taken by the Group of Seven, a small clique of unrepresentative industrialized nations, acting as the board of directors for the world economy over a period of two decades? It has been criticized as totally failing to act on a wide range of issues on which global leadership is required. Its communiques are regularly criticized as exercises in blandness. If no measures are taken to improve the group's efficiency and legitimacy, its credibility and influence can only continue to decline.