Fighting the System

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Fighting the System

• Anti-globalization Protests

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The Second Super- Power Anti- War Protest Lon
don, 2003
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Madrid94

• The 50th anniversary of the IMF and the World
  Bank, which was celebrated in Madrid in October
  1994, was the scene of a protest by an ad-hoc
  coalition of what would later be called
  anti-globalization movements. They tried to drown
  the bankers' parties in noise from outside and
  held other public forms of protest under the
  motto "50 Years is Enough". While Spanish King
  Juan Carlos was addressing the participants in a
  huge exhibition hall, two Greenpeace activists
  climbed to the top and showered the bankers with
  fake dollar bills carrying the slogan "No s for
  Ozone Layer Destruction". A number of the
  demonstrators were sent to the notorious
  Carabanchel prison.

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J18 Protests, London 1999

• One of the first international anti-globalization
  protests was organized in dozens of cities around
  the world on June 18, 1999, with those in London
  and Eugene, Oregon most often noted. The drive
  was called the Carnival Against Capitalism, or
  J18 for short. The protest in Eugene turned into
  a riot where local anarchists drove police out of
  a small park. One anarchist, Robert Thaxton, was
  arrested and convicted of throwing a rock at a
  police officer.

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Seattle N30, 1999
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Seattle N30

• The second major mobilization of the movement,
  known as N30, occurred on November 30, 1999, when
  protesters blocked delegates' entrance to WTO
  meetings in Seattle, USA. The protests forced the
  cancellation of the opening ceremonies and lasted
  the length of the meeting until December 3. There
  was a large, permitted march by members of the
  AFL-CIO, and another large, unauthorized march by
  assorted affinity groups. The protesters and
  Seattle riot police clashed in the streets after
  police fired tear gas at demonstrators blocking
  streets. Over 600 protesters were arrested and
  dozens were injured. Three policemen were injured
  by friendly fire, and one by a thrown rock. Some
  protesters destroyed the windows of storefronts
  of businesses owned or franchised by targeted
  corporations such as a large Nike shop and many
  Starbucks windows. The mayor put the city under
  the municipal equivalent of martial law and
  declared a curfew. As of 2002, the city of
  Seattle had paid over 200,000 in settlements of
  lawsuits filed against the Seattle Police
  Department for assault and wrongful arrest, with
  a class action lawsuit still pending.
• Seattle N30 Slideshow

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Genoa

• The Genoa Group of Eight Summit protest from July
  18 to July 22, 2001 was one of the bloodiest
  protests in Western Europe's recent history, as
  evidenced by the death of a young Genoese
  anarchist rioter named Carlo Giuliani during two
  days of violence and rioting by fringe groups,
  and the hospitalisation of several peaceful
  demonstrators. Police have subsequently been
  accused of brutality, torture and interference
  with the non-violent protests (which composed the
  majority of the demonstrations). Several hundred
  peaceful demonstrators, rioters, and police were
  injured and hundreds were arrested during the
  days surrounding the G8 meeting most of those
  arrested have been charged with some form of
  "criminal association" under Italy's anti-mafia
  and anti-terrorist laws. As part of the
  continuing investigations, police raids of social
  centers, media centers, union buildings, and law
  offices have continued across Italy since the G8
  summit in Genoa. Many police officers or
  responsible authorities present in Genoa during
  the G8 summit, are currently under investigation
  by the Italian judges, and some of them resigned.
  Some have since admitted to planting Molotov
  cocktails in order to justify the Diaz School
  raids, as well as faking the stabbing of a police
  officer to frame activists

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Who are these protesters?

• Members of the anti-globalization movement
  generally advocate anarchist, nationalist,
  socialist, social democratic or Eco-socialist
  alternatives to liberal economics, and seek to
  protect the world's population and ecosystem from
  what they believe to be the damaging effects of
  globalization.
• Support for human rights NGOs is another
  cornerstone of the anti-globalization movement's
  platform.

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Who are these protesters?

• They advocate for labor rights, environmentalism,
  feminism, freedom of migration, preservation of
  the cultures of indigenous peoples, biodiversity,
  cultural diversity, food safety, and ending or
  reforming capitalism. Many of the protesters are
  veterans of single-issue campaigns, including
  anti-logging activism, living wage, labor union
  organizing, and anti-sweatshop campaigns.

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Does being Anti-Globalization mean youre
anti-global?

• No, not necessarily. Most protestors actually
  think in very-global terms. The J18 protests, to
  name one, took place in several countries
  simultaneously.
• Some participants consider the term
  "anti-globalization" to be a misnomer, and one
  which has been used to make inaccurate criticisms
  of the movement. They say the term, for example,
  implies a negative perspective in that it simply
  argues for protectionism or even nationalism.

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Does being Anti-Globalization mean youre
anti-global?

• In fact, they argue, the movement is actually
  self-consciously internationalist, organising
  globally and advocating for the cause of
  oppressed people around the world. One element
  that makes up the movement is the No Border
  network, which argues for unrestricted migration
  and the abolition of all national borders.

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What are they protesting against?

• Generally speaking, protesters believe that the
  global financial institutions and agreements
  undermine local decision-making methods. Many
  governments and free trade institutions are seen
  as acting for the good of transnational (or
  multinational) corporations
• These corporations are seen as having privileges
  that most human persons do not have moving
  freely across borders, extracting desired natural
  resources, and utilizing a diversity of human
  resources.

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What are they protesting against?

• They are perceived to be 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 also claim
  that corporations impose a kind of "global
  monoculture".
• Some of the movements' common goals are,
  therefore, an end to the legal status of
  so-called "corporate personhood" and the
  dissolution or dramatic reform of the World Bank,
  IMF, and WTO.The activists are especially opposed
  to what they view as "globalization abuse,
  promoting globalisation without regard to ethical
  standards.

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What are people complaining about?

• Disorganisation
• Addressing problems incorrectly One argument
  often made by the opponents of the
  anti-globalization movement (especially by The
  Economist), is that one of the major causes of
  poverty amongst third-world farmers are the trade
  barriers put up by rich nations and poor nations
  alike. The WTO is an organisation set up to work
  towards removing those trade barriers. Therefore,
  it is argued, people really concerned about the
  plight of the third world should actually be
  encouraging free trade, rather than attempting to
  fight it. People in the third world, they argue,
  will not take any job unless its better than the
  next best option they have. Thus if you deprive
  him of his best option, you have made his life
  worse. Further in this vein, it is argued that
  the protesters' opposition to free trade is
  sometimes aimed at protecting the interests of
  Western labor (whose wages and conditions are
  protected by trade barriers) rather than the
  interests of the developing world. This is
  sometime summed up as "keep the poor, poor".

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What are people complaining about?

• Addressing problems incorrectly This contrasts
  with the stated goals of those in the movement,
  which are to improve the conditions of ordinary
  farmers and workers everywhere.Anti-globalization
  activists counter these claims by arguing that
  free trade policies create an environment for
  workers similar to the prisoner's dilemma, in
  which workers in different countries are tempted
  to "defect" or "betray" other workers by
  undercutting standards on wages and work
  conditions. This is because if you neighbor makes
  more money, this obviously makes you poorer.
  Therefore, the anti-globalization movement
  supports a strategy of cooperation for mutual
  benefit, where you cooperate by not improving
  your life while your neighbor does not improve
  his. This strategy is in line with the notion of
  Internationalism
• Failure to propose solutions
• Motivations/Violence
• Lack of Evidence

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• Protesters claim they are against Globalisation
  Abuse. What do you think they are referring to,
  based on your research into the mechanisms of
  Globalisation?
• What are some of the criticisms laid against the
  anti-globalisation movement?
• Do you think Anti-Globalisation is actually a
  form of internationalism? Explain your answer.
• For homework, choose an anti-globalisation
  protest and compile the following
• A timeline, a collection of praise, a collection
  of criticism and any consequences