Anti-globalization

Anti-globalization is a term most commonly used to describe the political stance of the grouping of social movements which are prominent in protests against global trade agreements and the negative consequences for the poor, for the environment and for peace which they claim follow from them. Participants in these movements often reject the term "anti-globalization", preferring to describe themselves as the Global Justice Movement, the Movement of Movements, the alter-globalization movement or the Anti-corporate Movement.

Organization

Although over the past years more emphasis has been given to the construction of grassroots alternatives to (capitalist) globalization, the movement's largest and most visible mode of organizing remains mass decentralized campaigns of direct action and civil disobedience. This mode of organizing, sometimes under the banner of the Peoples' Global Action network, tries to tie the many disparate causes together into one global struggle. For each member, exposure to other causes helps create a sense of solidarity and may lay the groundwork for a consensus process and the basis of unity for the movement overall, which could eventually include any, all or none of the doctrines listed above.

Related Topics:
Peoples' Global Action - Consensus process - Basis of unity

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Peoples' movements around the world are working to demonstrate that the path to sustainable development, social and economic justice lies in alternative models for people-centred and self-reliant progress, rather than in neo-liberal globalisation.

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In many ways the process of organizing matters overall can be more important to activists than the avowed goals or achievements of any component of the movement.

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At corporate summits, the stated goal of most demonstrations is to stop the proceedings. Some demonstration slogans to this effect include:

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"WEF? Shut it down!", "Capitalism? No thanks! We'll shut down your banks!", and "WTO? No! WTO? No!". Although the demonstrations rarely succeed in more than delaying or inconveniencing the actual summits, this energizes the mobilizations and gives them a visible, short-term purpose (in addition to their long-term goals). Critics claim that this form of publicity is expensive in police time and the public purse. Although not supported by many in the movement, rioting has occurred in Genoa, Seattle and London and extensive damage can be done to the area, especially "capitalist" targets like McDonalds Restaurants.

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Despite (or perhaps because of) the lack of formal coordinating bodies, the movement manages to successfully organize large protests on a global basis, using information technology to spread information and organize. Protesters organize themselves into "affinity groups," typically non-hierarchical groups of people who live close together and share a common goal or political message. Affinity groups will then send representatives to planning meetings. However, because these groups are easily and frequently penetrated by law enforcement intelligence, important plans of the protests are often not made until the last minute. One common tactic of the protests is to split up based on willingness to break the law. This is designed, with varying success, to protect the risk-averse from the physical and legal dangers posed by confrontations with law enforcement. For example, in Prague during the anti-IMF and World Bank protests in September 2000 demonstrators split into three distinct groups, approaching the conference center from three directions: one engaging in various forms of civil disobedience (the Yellow march), one (the Pink/Silver march) advancing through "tactical frivolity" (costume, dance, theatre, music, and artwork), and one (the Blue march) engaging in violent conflicts with the baton-armed police, with the protesters throwing cobblestones lifted from the street. (See Guardian report)

Related Topics:
Information technology - Affinity groups - Prague - Anti-IMF and World Bank protests in September 2000 - Pink/Silver - Tactical frivolity

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These demonstrations come to resemble small societies in themselves. Many protesters take training in first aid and act as medics to other injured protesters. Some organizations like the National Lawyer's Guild and, to a lesser extent, the ACLU, provide legal witnesses in case of law enforcement confrontation. Protesters often claim that major media outlets do not properly report on them; therefore, some of them created the Independent Media Center, a collective of protesters reporting on the actions as they happen.

Related Topics:
National Lawyer's Guild - ACLU - Independent Media Center

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Some within the movement argue that this creation of "small societies" is the most important part of the large protests, more important in fact than simply opposing the meetings and organisations which are the nominal target. This show this influence on the movement of the anarchist idea that those attempting to change the world should concentrate on "creating the new society in the shell of the old," rather than waiting until after a revolution at some point in the future. See, for example, the leaflet Summits and Plateaus by the Leeds May Day Group. Other parts of the movement, especially leninist groups, argue that it is impossible to create a genuinely new society until after the current ruling system has been overthrown.

Related Topics:
Anarchist - Leninist

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