Anti-Globalization Movement - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Page 1 of 13 Anti-Globalization Movement
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Anti-globalization movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1 of 13 Anti-globalization movement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The anti-globalization movement is critical of the globalization of capitalism. The Anti-consumerism movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement[1], alter- globalization movement, anti-corporate globalization movement[2], or movement against neoliberal globalization. Corresponding terms in other languages are mouvement altermondialiste[3] (French), globalisierungskritische Bewegung (German), or Movimento no-global (Italian). Participants base their criticisms on a number of related ideas.[4] What is shared is that participants stand in opposition to the unregulated political power of large, multi-national corporations and to the powers exercised through trade agreements Ideas and theory and deregulated financial markets. Specifically, corporations are accused of seeking Society of the Spectacle · to maximize profit at the expense of sabotaging work safety conditions and Culture jamming · standards, labor hiring and compensation standards, environmental conservation Corporate crime · Media principles, and the integrity of national legislative authority, independence and bias · Buy Nothing Day · Alternative culture · sovereignty. Recent developments, seen as unprecedented changes in the global Simple living · Do it economy, have been characterized as "turbo-capitalism" (Edward Luttwak), "market yourself · fundamentalism" (George Soros), "casino capitalism" (Susan Strange),[5] "cancer- Microgeneration · stage capitalism" (John McMurtry), and as "McWorld" (Benjamin Barber). Autonomous building · Cultural Creatives · Commodity fetishism · Anti-globalization activists generally call for forms of global integration that better Cultural hegemony · provide democratic representation, advancement of human rights and more Conspicuous egalitarian states.[6] consumption · Ethical consumerism Related social movements Anarchism · Alter- Contents globalization · Anti- globalization movement · 1 Ideology and causes within the movement Environmentalism · Situationist International · 1.1 Opposition to international financial institutions and transnational Postmodernism · Socialism corporations Popular works 1.2 Global opposition to neoliberalism Culture Jamming: 1.3 Anti-war movement Hacking, Slashing, and 1.4 Appropriateness of the term Sniping in the Empire of 1.5 Influences on the anti-globalization movement the Signs · No Logo · The Corporation · Affluenza · 2 Organization Escape from Affluenza · 3 Key grassroots organizations The Theory of the Leisure 4 Demonstrations and appointments Class · Fight Club · 4.1 Berlin88 Surplus: Terrorized Into 4.2 Madrid94 Being Consumers 4.3 J18 Persons and 4.4 Seattle/N30 organizations 4.5 Law enforcement reaction Adbusters · Freecycle · Ralph Nader · Green 4.6 Genoa party · John Zerzan · Noam 4.7 International Social Forums Chomsky · Ron English · 5 Criticisms from pro globalization proponents Naomi Klein · Thorstein Veblen · Guy Debord · 5.1 Claims of lack of evidence Michael Moore · Michel 5.2 Disorganization Foucault · RTMark · The 5.3 Addressing problems incorrectly Yes Men · Reverend Billy · 5.4 Lack of "Third World" support CounterCorp Related subjects 6 References Advertising · Capitalism · 7 See also 8 Further reading http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement 7/13/2009 Anti-globalization movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 2 of 13 9 External links Economic problems · Left wing politics · Sweatshops · Anti- Ideology and causes within the movement consumerists · Social movements Supporters believe that by the late 20th century those they characterized as "ruling elites" sought to harness the expansion of world markets for their own interests; this combination of the Bretton Woods institutions, states, and multinational corporations has been called "globalization" or "globalization from above." In reaction, various social movements emerged to challenge their influence; these movements have been called "anti-globalization" or "globalization from below."[7] Opposition to international financial institutions and transnational corporations Generally speaking, protesters believe that the global financial institutions and agreements undermine local decision-making methods. Corporations exercise privileges that human citizens cannot: 1. moving freely across borders, 2. extracting desired natural resources, and 3. utilizing a diversity of human resources. They are able to move on after doing permanent damage to the natural capital and biodiversity of a nation, in a manner impossible for that nation's citizens. Activists goals are for an end to the legal status of "corporate personhood" and the dissolution of free market fundamentalism and the radical economic privatization measures of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization. The activists are especially opposed to "globalization abuse" and the international institutions that promote neoliberalism without regard to ethical standards. Common targets include the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and free trade treaties like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). In light of the economic gap between rich and poor countries, movement adherents claim “free trade” without measures in place to protect the environment and the health and well being of workers will contribute only to the strengthening the power of industrialized nations (often termed the "North" in opposition to the developing world's "South"). A report by Jean Ziegler, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, notes that "millions of farmers are losing their livelihoods in the developing Protest against the G8-meeting countries, but small farmers in the northern countries are also suffering" and in Heiligendamm, 2007. concludes that "the current inequities of the global trading system are being perpetuated rather than resolved under the WTO, given the unequal balance of power between member countries." [12]. Activists point to the unequal footing and power between developed and developing nations within the WTO and with respect to global trade, most specifically in relation to the protectionist policies towards agriculture enacted in many developed countries. These activists also point out that heavy subsidization of developed nations' agriculture and the aggressive use of export subsidies by some developed nations to make their agricultural products more attractive on the international market are major causes of declines in the agricultural sectors of many developing nations. Activists often also oppose some business alliances like the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), as well as the governments which promote such agreements or institutions. Others argue that, if borders are opened to capital, borders should be similarly opened to allow free and legal circulation and choice of residence for migrants and refugees. These activists tend to target organizations such as the International Organization for Migration and the Schengen Information System. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-globalization_movement 7/13/2009 Anti-globalization movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 3 of 13 It is sometimes also argued that the U.S. has a special advantage in the global economy because of dollar hegemony. These claims state that dollar dominance is not just a consequence of U.S. economic superiority. Globalization historians claim that dollar dominance has been achieved also by political agreements such as Bretton Woods System and OPEC dollar-only oil trade after the U.S. broke with the gold standard for the dollar. Global opposition to neoliberalism World Bank/IMF protesters Through the Internet, a worldwide movement began to develop in opposition smashed the windows of this PNC Bank branch located in to the doctrines of neoliberalism which were manifested on a global scale in the Logan Circle the 1990s when the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and neighborhood of Washington, Development (OECD) proposed liberalisation of cross-border investment and D.C. trade restrictions through its Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). This treaty was prematurely exposed to public scrutiny and subsequently abandoned in November 1998 in the face of strenuous protest and criticism by national and international civil society representatives. Neoliberal doctrine argued that untrammeled free trade and reduction of public-sector interference would bring benefits to poor countries and to disadvantaged people in rich countries(citatation). Anti-globalization advocates urge that preservation of the natural environment, human rights (especially workplace rights and conditions) and democratic institutions are likely to be placed at undue risk by globalization unless mandatory standards are attached to liberalisation. Noam Chomsky states that[8][9] The term "globalization" has been appropriated by the powerful to refer to a specific form of “ international economic integration, one based on investor rights, with the interests of people incidental. That is why the business press, in its more honest moments,