In Defence of Marxism - Globalisation
#main-body {width:100%;} #content{width:79.1%;margin-right:0.5%;} #sidebar{width:19.6%;}In Defence of Marxism HomeAbout usContact usJoin UsOur HistoryLinksSitemap Globalisation Since the Seattle
demonstration a worldwide anti-capitalist movement has developed. Every time
one of the big international capitalist institutions (IMF, WB, WTO, etc.) meets
they are met with the protests of workers and youth from different parts of the
world. In this section we aim to provide an analysis of world capitalism, how it
works and where it is going. We also aim to offer reports on the various
protests taking place.
Together with this section we suggest you look at our Economic Analysis
section for a series of in-depth analytical articles on world economic developments.
Neoliberalism – dead or only sleeping?   By Mick Brooks Thursday, 09 October 2008  "Neoliberalism", sometimes called "market
fundamentalism", i.e. the policy of non-intervention by the state in
the economy, has been the dominant ideology of the bourgeoisie for close to
three decades, involving widespread privatisation and all the
other policies that go with it. The present economic meltdown,
however, is forcing governments to intervene, regulate, and even
nationalise firms because they have no choice. So is "neoliberalism"
dead?
International Marxist Tendency at the European Social Forum - a breakthrough By Socialisten, Sweden Friday, 26 September 2008 Last week comrades of the IMT from several
countries intervened very successfully at the European Social Forum
in Malmö, Sweden, finding an audience for their ideas and
making contacts with new layers of activists.
We will just have to eat cake… By Harry Paine in Winnipeg, Canada Monday, 18 August 2008 We received this
interesting comment on the food crisis, originally published in the
Manitoba Society of Seniors' monthly journal "Fifty
plus".
Capitalist Food Crisis: No End in Sight By Karl Belin in the USA Friday, 25 July 2008 As the recent Rome
summit of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) fades
from the headlines (as few as they were in the U.S.), the workers and peasants
of the world, and particularly those of the so-called Third World, are once
again left to fend for themselves.
Why are so many people going hungry? By Socialist Appeal Wednesday, 02 July 2008 There are about 1 billion people in the world subsisting on
$1 a day or less. These people typically spend 80% of their income on food. For
them the present food price rises mean catastrophe. Why are so many going hungry? Why are food prices going up
all the time? These are the questions the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation has been asking at its meeting this June. So far it hasn’t come up
with any solutions.
May Day 2008 reports By In Defence of Marxism Friday, 02 May 2008 Yesterday workers all over the world were celebrating May Day. The general mood reflected the sharpening class contradictions and anger against capitalist misery, but also against the bureaucracy of the labour movement. Here we are publishing reports of our supporters from the USA, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Britain and Spain (in Spanish).
"How the working class went global" - Book Review By Julian Sharpe Thursday, 10 April 2008 This is a book that every young activist, trade unionist or socialist will
want to read. The book, based on historical examples from the past 190 years,
shows that the workers are facing basically the same problems as ever, in spite
of what any of our "post-modernist" friends would like us to believe.
Review of “Disaster capitalism” by Naomi Klein – Capitalism is a disaster By Barbara Humphries Wednesday, 27 February 2008 Most reviews of "Disaster capitalism" so far
have focussed on the use of natural disasters to change policies in favour of
the capitalists. But the book goes much further than this - it shows that it is
capitalism itself which is the disaster.
Ford: Global Company, Global Struggle By David May Monday, 11 February 2008 The big corporations in North America, Western Europe and Japan are moving
more of their factories abroad in search of lower wages. But in the process they
are tying the interests of the international working class more closely
together. In global companies like Ford, the interests of a section of workers
on almost every continent are directly linked. The answer to capitalist
globalization is to link up workers’ struggle
worldwide.
Supermarkets and the food we eat By Mick Brooks Wednesday, 03 January 2007 In Britain and
internationally supermarket chains have come to dominate the food distribution
market. The tendency to monopolisation is evident. But with it go many
practices that literally endanger our health, and with it also working
conditions, wages, the environment and so on. The only answer is to take them
over, remove the profit motive and run them in the interests of all working
people.
Recent report on wealth distribution confirms what we already knew By Steve Jones - www.socialist.net Friday, 22 December 2006 Marx long ago pointed out that the capitalist mode of
production naturally leads to greater and greater concentration of wealth in
the hands of the few. The recent report of the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the
United Nations University (UNU-WIDER) reveals how far this process has gone.
What better argument do we need for socialism?
The philanthropy of Warren Buffett: capitalism with a human face? By Maarten Vanheuverswyn Friday, 07 July 2006 The second richest man on earth, investor Warren
Buffett, made headlines last week with his plan to give away $37 billion of his
$44 billion fortune to charities. The main beneficiary will be the richest man
on earth, Bill Gates, who will put the cash in his Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation. There are, however, some glaring contradictions in this fairy tale.
The World Cup - Who's Cashing In? By Steve Jones Friday, 09 June 2006 As the 2006 World Cup kicks off in Germany Steve Jones looks at the
commercialisation of football and the impact of profiteering on the
sport and the fans.
Globalisation and Imperialism By Mick Brooks Tuesday, 11 April 2006 The dominant idea of contemporary
bourgeois thinking is that increasing international integration of
economic activity, or “globalisation” will lead to prosperity and
peace for all. But globalisation is not a concept that helps us
understand the world around us. It is an ideological construct used
to trumpet capitalist victory – to conceal the crisis-ridden nature
of the system and its perpetual failure to meet the needs of the
world’s working class.
Globalisation and empire By Michael Roberts Wednesday, 07 December 2005 Globalisation really means the rise of the American Empire. That was the capitalist story of the 20th century. The story of the 21st century will probably be the fall of the American empire as the imbalances in the system unravel. Will the world slip back into some new form of barbarism or will it be replaced by real globalisation, namely world socialism? Letter and reply on globalisation – is it progressive or not? By Luca Lombardi Thursday, 27 October 2005 We recently received this letter from a reader who made some criticisms of an article published some time ago on this website, The ILO and the myth of “fair globalisation”. We are also publishing a reply from the author. G8 lies exposed By Phil Mitchinson Friday, 16 September 2005 When the 'Great Deal'
on poverty and debt was announced at the G8 binge in Scotland in July, some people rushed to cheer it. Now, as the
real facts come out, the truth confirms the G8 promises for what they really
were. War on Poverty Means War on the Poor By Phil Mitchinson Monday, 04 July 2005 The Gleneagles G8 summit meeting will not go down in history as the day
world poverty ended. World musicians have been trying to raise
awareness about world poverty and put pressure on politicians. The next
day, George W Bush appeared on TV to reassure us that nothing concrete
will be done for the poor. Instead of appealing to these people we
should be organising to overthrow them and their rotten system. G8 Alternatives Summit Review By In Defence of Marxism Sunday, 03 July 2005 In the wake of one of the largest demonstrations in the history of
Scotland, Edinburgh hosted one of the biggest political debates in the
country in recent times. Up to 4,500 people spread over five different
venues in the city centre participated in the G8 Alternatives Summit. Small Stop the War Coalition demonstration marches through Edinburgh By In Defence of Marxism Sunday, 03 July 2005 Today the Stop the War Coalition called for a demonstration against the
occupation in Iraq following up from yesterday's huge Make Poverty
History march. Over 200,000 take to the streets of Edinburgh to protest against the misery produced by capitalism By Ramon Samblas in Edinburgh Saturday, 02 July 2005 Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators today rejected the fact that 2/3
of the world's population live on the poverty line. Ramon Samblas
reports from the Make Poverty History March in Edinburgh. Marxist.com supporters at the Make Poverty History demo By In Defence of Marxism Saturday, 02 July 2005 Marxist.com supporters from Edinburgh as well as Glasgow, London,
Cambridge, Birmingham, Newcastle, Cambridge and Liverpool joined
protesters at the Make Poverty History march today. Their aim was to
put forward the ideas of Marxism as the way to end capitalism – the
real cause of poverty nowadays. Hands Off Venezuela tackling poverty at the G8 summit By Hands Off Venezuela Saturday, 02 July 2005 The Hands Off Venezuela campaign had a good presence in today’s anti-G8
protests in Edinburgh. A couple of London based supporters joined their
comrades in Edinburgh to inform the protesters about what is happening
in Venezuela. Read the article on the Hands Off Venezuela website. Debt relief for poor countries at the G8 summit: First step towards a real solution or a cunning exercise in image building? By Fenia Van den Brande and Wim Benda Thursday, 30 June 2005 As the G8 summit approaches the focus of the entire world is on Third
World debt. G8 leaders are expected to announce the cancellation of
debt for 18 of the world's poorest countries. Will this gesture
actually achieve anything, or is it simply an attempt on the part of
the imperialists to clean up their image? G8 summit, democracy and the right to protest By Ray Smith in Edinburgh Thursday, 30 June 2005 Over the last month we have seen how all the various ideological
‘arguments’ of capitalism have been used to stop people from protesting
at the coming summit of the eight most important political
representatives of capitalism in the world. Gleneagles: The G8 comes to town By Brian Conlon in Edinburgh Wednesday, 29 June 2005 The G8 is coming to town. During the G8 summit in Gleneagles we will
see a whole range of experts and analysts lecturing us about the
beauties and the problems of the world market, but that will only be a
smoke screen behind which to hide the real issue. Globalisation and the G8 Summit By Heather Scott Thursday, 23 June 2005 Globalisation was supposed to bring progress and prosperity to the
Third World. The reality is that it has only brought more poverty and
misery. G8 Gleneagles summit: Capitalism is not the solution – it is the problem By Mick Brooks Monday, 13 June 2005  The
G8 countries are to meet at Gleneagles in July. In the build up to this
summit the Blair government has been making a lot of noise about debt
relief. But instead of going down the debt of the underdeveloped
countries keeps going up. Mick Brooks looks at why this is happening. The Shackles of Imperialism – Third World Debt By Rob Lyon Monday, 14 February 2005 
Since the tsunami disaster in South Asia in December of last year, the
bourgeois media have paid a lot of attention to the misery and poverty
of the Third World. Many people, including British Chancellor of the
Exchequer Gordon Brown, have called for the cancellation of Third
World debt. Will this actually be done, and if so, what would it really achieve? In the wake of the tsunami disaster: Millions donated but where are they going? By Erik Demeester Monday, 17 January 2005 A lot of money was spontaneously donated by millions of people to help
the victims of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The governments were
then embarrassed into promising further millions. But will this money
reach its destination? And will the governments come up with the
promised funds? Originally written in Dutch and for a Belgian public,
this article by Erik Demeester gives some revealing statistics about
what is really happening and unveils the hypocrisy of the mass media
campaign. The Tsunami Disaster – Horror Without End By Rob Lyon Wednesday, 05 January 2005  Ten days after the devastating tsunami that wreaked havoc in the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004 it is becoming increasingly clear that much more could have been done to avert the massive destruction and the death of 146,000 people (so far) in the region. It is also clear that a lot more could be done to assist in aid and relief after the disaster. One billion children in extreme poverty: a holocaust on a world-scale By Maarten Vanheuverswyn Friday, 10 December 2004  UNICEF
has just released its annual report that showed that at least one
billion children, half of the world's children, suffer from poverty,
war and the Aids epidemic. This figure is in itself a shocking
condemnation of the kind of system we live in. The system needs to be
overthrown. Naomi Klein speaks to an audience of anti-war activists in London By Ray Smith Thursday, 25 November 2004 In her usual style Naomi Klein provided many interesting facts, but
failed to reach any concrete conclusions of how we can or whether it is
actually necessary to abolish capitalism. In essence she would like
another kind of capitalism, a more humane capitalism, which of course
is utterly utopian. Massive Demonstration closes the European Social Forum 2004 By Ray Smith Tuesday, 19 October 2004 On October 17, between 70,000 and 100,000 marched through Central
London behind a banner with slogans against the imperialist war in
Iraq, racism and privatisation. Photo gallery of In Defence of Marxism at the ESF By In Defence of Marxism Tuesday, 19 October 2004 In Defence of Marxism, the French comrades of La Riposte, Hands Off
Venezuela and the Sindicato Estudiantes had stalls at the ESF 2004.
Here are some pictures. ESF meeting on Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolution By In Defence of Marxism Monday, 18 October 2004 Yesterday, October 17, In Defence of Marxism and the
Hands Off Venezuela campaign organised a meeting on Venezuela and the
Bolivarian revolution at the European Social Forum in London. The room
was packed with young people and trade unionists from all over the
world. ESF meeting on the trade union situation in Venezuela and Colombia By In Defence of Marxism Monday, 18 October 2004 In addition to the meeting on Sunday, Hands Off Venezuela also
organised a meeting on Saturday on the the trade union situation in
Venezuela and Colombia. See also the Spanish version. Jeremy Dear and Gonzalo Gomez speaking at the ESF By In Defence of Marxism Monday, 18 October 2004 Hear Jeremy Dear, General Secreatry of the National Union of
Journalists, and Gonzalo Gomez, editor of the Venezuelan Revolutionary
website Aporrea.org, speaking at the ESF. In Defence of Marxism at the European Social Forum 2004 By In Defence of Marxism Thursday, 07 October 2004 This year’s European Social Forum is taking place from 15-17 October in London. The same as last year, In Defence of Marxism
will be there putting the socialist case. This we will do by having
several stalls with Marxist publications and books. However, we are
also participating in the debates themselves. The ILO and the myth of fair globalisation By Luca Lombardi Wednesday, 12 May 2004 What is the essence of the ILO (International Labour Organisation)? Some in
the labour movement have the illusion that it can be a genuine force for
defending workers' rights. Luca Lombardi analyses a recent ILO document, A
Fair Globalization: Creating opportunities for all, and shows that in
reality the ILO makes a lot of statements about ethics, morality, "fair
development", etc., but in reality it is an instrument in the hands of the
bosses. In Defence of Marxism at the Paris European Social Forum By Roberto Sarti Tuesday, 18 November 2003 On November 12-16 the second European Social Forum was held in Paris.The attendance did not reach the numbers of the first ESF in Florence, nonetheless around 35-40,000 people registered during the three days of meetings and workshops and around 100,000 took part in the demonstration on Saturday 15th against the war and the occupation of Iraq and against the cuts in the welfare state and to living standards all over Europe. Cancun fiasco reveals real nature of WTO By Mick Brooks Monday, 22 September 2003 Last September 14, world trade talks broke down in Cancun, Mexico. Everybody
blamed everyone else. Before the conference, British delegate Patricia Hewitt
had predicted, "if we fail, it will be a disaster for world economy." And this
is true, for the collapse could stun the already fragile prospects of economy
recovery. The Cancun summit - The WTO on the edge of the abyss By Luis Enrique Barrios (Militante, Mexico) Friday, 19 September 2003 Instead of further integrating the world's economies, the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) summit in Cancun actually succeeded in
creating more polarisation and deeper divisions between its members. The viability of the
WTO, which since Seattle
(December 1999) has gone from failure to failure, is more than ever in doubt. Luis Enrique Barrios,
from the Mexican Marxist paper Militante
analyses the breakdown of talks and future prospects. Growing world poverty and conflict shows the barbarity of capitalism By David Mitchell, PCS Representative Home Office Group (Personal Capacity) Wednesday, 09 July 2003 The 1990's has seen a huge increase in poverty around the globe. The gap
between the rich and the poor is getting wider, and if current trends continue
then it will be the year 2147 before areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa can hope
to halve the number of people in poverty. Greece - The Thessalonica anti-EU demonstrations By Aggelos Irakleidis in Athens Friday, 27 June 2003 The EU summit that was recently organized in Thessalonica from June 19 to 21
was met with tens of thousands of Greek workers and youth showing their
opposition to the this international club of capitalists gangsters. The European
"leaders" were discussing the new EU Constitution and the problems of illegal
immigration. 2003 World Social Forum - The thirst for change comes up against a rubber wall By Roberto Sarti Thursday, 06 February 2003 The recent third World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre (Brazil) was held
in a period in which great changes are taking place in the world situation. This
was reflected in the huge number of visitors to the WSF. For the first time
there were more than 100,000, which is a clear sign of the changing mood across
the whole of Latin America. Protest demonstrations at the EU summit in Copenhagen, Denmark By Michael Styrk and Andreas Bulow Tuesday, 17 December 2002 While the leaders of the European Union were meeting, thousands of people also turned up
for three anti-EU demonstrations. Michael Styrk and Andreas Bulow in Denmark describe what
happened. The European Summit in Copenhagen: a "historic step forward" or a recipe for greater divisions? By Marie Frederiksen in Copenhagen Monday, 16 December 2002 On December13-15 the European Union summit was held in Copenhagen. On the
agenda was the enlargement of the EU to the East and Turkey’s
application for membership. Marie Frederiksen in Copenhagen looks at the contradictions
that will emerge from the enlargement of the EU. On the basis of the developing crisis
of world capitalism the future for a more integrated Europe looks bleak. One million workers and youth march in Florence against the war in Iraq and the Berlusconi government By Roberto Sarti Monday, 11 November 2002 The 50,000 people taking part in the European Social Forum last week in Florence
were far more than the organisers had expected. The last day, Saturday, saw one
million people marching in Florence against the war in Iraq and the Berlusconi
government. There was a thirst for revolutionary ideas among the youth who were
present, not seen since the 1970s. By Roberto Sarti, of the Italian Marxist
paper
FalceMartello. Neo-liberalism, globalisation and the response of the left By Jordi Martorell Tuesday, 15 October 2002 This is the transcript of a speech given by Jordi Martorell at the Rand
Afrikaans University in South Africa on October 10, 2002. It sums up our
understanding of the struggle against capitalism today and also provides many
useful links to our articles on globalisation and the workers' movement
internationally. The protests against the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Salzburg - A first balance-sheet By the Der Funke Editorial Board Tuesday, 17 September 2002 This is a report of the demonstration in Salzburg against the World Economic Forum from Der Funke.
The international "anti-globalisation movement" has reached an entirely new stage after the mass protests
against the G8 in Genoa and after the second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. This attempt
to structure the movement into so-called Social Forums has been accompanied by the increasing political
influence of openly reformist forces. Earth Summit: No solution for the masses just a lot of hot air By Mick Brooks Thursday, 12 September 2002 Mick Brooks reports on the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, where representatives
of governments, big business and NGOs met to discuss the laudable aims of
eradicating poverty and environmental destruction.
The fundamental flaw behind the Summit is that it relies on market forces to
deal with the problems of poverty and the environment.
But market forces are not the solution - they are the problem. Portuguese MPs beaten up on their way to Seville demonstration By Rui Faustino Friday, 26 July 2002 This is a letter we have received from Portugal regarding the Spanish authorities turning back
buses of Portuguese demonstrators bound for the anti-EU summit demonstration Seville, in violation of international treaties,
and the Spanish Civil Guard beating up two members of the Portuguese parliament! Seville EU Summit: 200,000 march against the Europe of Capital and War By Julio Cruz, from the Spanish Marxist paper El Militante Wednesday, 26 June 2002 This is a report of the massive demonstration in Seville to protest
against the
European Union summit. The very militant mood of the demonstrations
reflected the anger of the youth against the policies of the right wing
in Spain and internationally. Despite the propaganda campaign of the
government, which was aimed at scaring people off and turning them
against
the anti-capitalist mobilisations, the balconies were full of people
shouting words of encouragement and saluting
with their raised fists. By Julio Cruz, from the Spanish Marxist paper El Militante. Campaign for labour rights during the 2002 World Cup By Bruce Boon Wednesday, 19 June 2002 Bruce Boon looks at the darker side of the World Cup: the working conditions of the workers, including child and forced labourers, who make footballs and other merchandise for FIFA and the multinational sponsors of the tournament. He also looks at the sham codes of conduct that these companies draw up with the help of NGOs to show that their workers are actually treated well. USA: The Rising Dissent By John Peterson Thursday, 25 April 2002 The anti-war mobilizations in Washington DC, San Francisco, and elsewhere were the first mass protests against government policy since September 11. Many groups were represented, but all of them had one thing in common - opposition to the so-called War on Terrorism. The anti-globalization, anti-war, and labor movements need to unite under a working-class leadership to fight for a socialist solution to the problems facing working people in the US and internationally.
USA: Mobilize Against the War on April 20! By Scott Plant Wednesday, 17 April 2002 The "Battle in Seattle" announced to the world that even in the "belly of the beast",
there is outright opposition to the policies of imperialism. Around the world, subsequent
meetings of the IMF, World Bank, G8, and NATO have been met with a rising tide of
militant protest and increasingly ruthless repression by the ruling class. But the attacks
of September 11 cast a shadow over the movement in the US - anyone voicing opposition to
the policies of imperialism was considered unpatriotic and even a terrorist - "you're
either with us or against us!" Now, on April 20, the first major protest event against
the "war on terror" is being held in Washington, DC. The WIL and YFIS will
be there. Download and print our A20 flyer and meet us in DC! Mass Anti-Capitalist Mobilisation in Barcelona By Aniol Santo Monday, 18 March 2002 Over the weekend of March 15-16 we have witnessed the biggest mass demonstrations seen
in Spain for years. Several demonstrations have been held in Barcelona against the EU
summit that was being held there. On Thursday about 200,000 trade unionists marched and on
Saturday half a million people took to the streets. These were protests against bourgeois policies in the
whole of Europe, and against capitalist globalisation. This is an eye-witness account of the
dramatic events that took place in Barcelona. Second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre: Is another world possible? By In Defence of Marxism Tuesday, 12 February 2002 The recent gathering of the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre showed clearly how the anti-globalisation movement
is becoming more and more dominated by career politicians, and groups and organisations that do not really represent
the millions of youth who look to this movement for an alternative to the capitalist system. The capitalist class
internationally is using a dual tactic. On the one hand, where they feel it to be necessary (as in Genoa) they use
the most repressive and brutal methods to try to crush the movement. On the other hand they try to corrupt the movement
and direct it away from radical anti-capitalist ideas. Voor een Socialistisch Europa! Pour une Europe Socialiste ! For a Socialist Europe! Fr ein sozialistisches Europa! By Vonk Tuesday, 18 December 2001 This is the text of a four-language leaflet produced by Vonk/Unité
for the Brussels demonstrations. Euro-summit in Brussels on 14 and 15 December By Erik Demeester Thursday, 13 December 2001 Within a few day tens of thousands of workers and young people will come from
whole over Europe to Brussels to protest against the EU, capitalist
globalisation in Europe and the rest of the world and the new war in
Afghanistan. These demonstrations are the next stage in the cycle of
mobilisations started in Seattle and which culminated in the 300.000 strong
demonstration in Genoa. The European trade unions have announced 70.000
participants on the 13th of December. The next day on Friday 14th of December
the European wide network of NGO's, Attac etc. have announced some 30.000 people
for "Global Justice and Global Peace". Erik Demeester from the Editorial Board of Vonk/Unité
the Belgian Marxist paper for labour and youth looks briefly at what's at stake in these
protests. What GATS is and why we need to fight it - Public services under threat By Mick Brooks Tuesday, 06 November 2001 The World Trade Organisation has recently held its summit. Their aim was to skulk in Qatar
in the Gulf of Arabia, as far as they could get from the 'teamsters to turtles' coalition
against all that is wrong about capitalism. An important part of their agenda has been the
General Agreement on Trade in Services - GATS, due to come into by the end of 2002. But
what is GATS and why do we need to fight it? The great recession By Michael Roberts Friday, 19 October 2001 The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the body representing
the world's richest 30 countries, has predicted that this year economic growth would be as
low as 1% and would be only 1.2% next year. At the same time, capitalist economists
forecast that global economic growth this year and next would be the worst for 30 years.
The great economic recession of the early 21st century is under way. A week in Genoa - What lessons for the anti-globalisation movement? By Dario Salvetti Monday, 15 October 2001 In this article, Dario Salvetti, a supporter of the Italian Marxist journal,
FalceMartello, who actively took part in the Genoa
demonstrations analyses the limits of the movement and draws a balance sheet of what should
have been done. We believe that the lessons drawn should be taken on board internationally
and applied in the future. What is globalisation? By Mick Brooks Monday, 15 October 2001 What exactly is globalisation? The problem with trying to pin it down is it's
not so much a theory, more a buzzword. The general idea is that the whole world
is being opened up to world capitalism. All the old barriers are coming down.
Capital flows will bring a transfer of technology to the poor countries - which
soon will be rich! Mick Brooks looks at the different meanings of globalisation and explains
them from the standpoint of Lenin's theory of imperialism. The state is more powerful than ever; the view that big business alone shapes the new world order is wrong By John Pilger Monday, 20 August 2001 There is a view fashionable in the media that
the world is being taken over by huge multinational corporations, accountable
to no one. This allows the argument against globalisation to be depoliticised,
reducing it to single issues of "ethical trading" and "codes of conduct", and
inviting its co-option. Above all, it misses the point that state power in the west
is accelerating. (We are republishing this
article with the permission of John Pilger, August 20, 2001) After the shootings in Genoa: For a general strike now to bring down the Berlusconi government! By Fernando D'Alessandro Friday, 20 July 2001 This article is based on reports received from comrades in
Genoa, who witnessed the events we describe. We will be publishing
more detailed reports over the next few days Global Warming and the Kyoto Agreement By Colin Penfold Monday, 16 July 2001 Global warming is arguably the greatest
single threat facing humanity. Yet US president George W. Bush appears largely
oblivious to the problem, denying the evidence that is growing at an alarming
rate. Regular reports from the 3000 scientists involved with the UN's
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have been issued over the
past number of years. Over this period their refined climate model has
consistently increased the projected effects of global warming. So why is
President Bush in a state of denial? Colin Penfold looks into the interests of the
multinational corporations that underly the present impasse. From Seattle to Nice: A balance-sheet of the movement By Roberto Sarti Wednesday, 11 July 2001 The movement against
globalisation and
the world institutions of capital, which was sparked off by
the
December 1999
demonstrations against the WTO summit in Seattle, has put
its
mark the world
political arena. But are the ideas circulating within this
movement up to the
tasks the movement faces. How do we fight capitalism
and
globalisation.
Roberto Sarti, from the Italian Marxist journal, FalceMartello,
provides an in-
depth analysis. Anti-WEF protests in Salzburg: Once again police repression... By our correspondents in Salzburg Monday, 02 July 2001 On Sunday, 1st of July, the World Economic Forum (WEF) started its
European Summit in Salzburg, Austria. The list of the 1000 members of
the WEF is something like the "who's who" of the biggest and most
powerful corporations like McDonald's, Monsanto, Nike, Shell, Coca
Cola or Microsoft. Mass demonstration in Barcelona against the capitalist system By Aniol Santo from the Spanish Marxist magazine El Militante Monday, 25 June 2001 We are publishing two articles on
recent anti-capitalist demonstrations in
Europe, one in Barcelona (about which
we have already published an
earlier article) and the other in Salzburg, Austria,
where once again the
police used brutal methods to repress the demonstration.
This is now
becoming a regular feature of these demonstrations. The authorities
are
attempting to criminalise the movements and have even gone as far as using
agents provocateurs (policemen dressed up as demonstrators) who instigate
violent conflicts in order to give the police the excuse they
need. Proof of police provocation in the Barcelona demo against the World Bank: Anti-capitalism, violence and the press By Jordi Martorell Monday, 25 June 2001 On Sunday June 24 about 50,000 people (according to
the
organisers, or 20,000 according to the media) participated in a
demonstration
through
the centre of Barcelona (Spain) against the World
Bank. The World Bank
summit
against
world poverty was originally scheduled
to take place in Barcelona on June
25th
to 27th,
but WB officials decided to
cancel it for fear that the protesters would prevent
them from
using it as a
propaganda event. Instead they decided to call a
"cyberconference". The experience and lessons from the EU summit in Gothenburg - The violence must not be allowed to conceal the mass protests By Martin Oscarsson in Gothenburg Wednesday, 20 June 2001 Three huge
demonstrations (particularly for a city with only half a million
inhabitants)
took
place during the EU summit in Gothenburg. 10,000 marched against
president
Bush on
Thursday 14 June, 20,000-25,000 against EU/EMU on the
Friday and
10,000-
15,000
against the policies of the EU on the Saturday.
These was the largest
demonstrations in
Gothenburg since the big strike and
lockout of 1980. It also reflects a
growing
discontent
amongst young people
and workers. All to Genoa against the G8 - For a Communist Alternative to Capitalist Barbarism! By the Editorial Board of the Italian Marxist journal, FalceMartello Tuesday, 19 June 2001 On July 21, some 200,000 people are expected to turn
out in Genoa (Italy) for
the anti-G8 demonstration. Massive police operations
have been set in place
and a general state of tension has been created around
this issue. We are
publishing the latest article we have on this question, sent to
us by the
Editorial Board of the Italian Marxist journal, FalceMartello. An appeal in preparation of the G8 summit in Genoa By In Defence of Marxism Thursday, 14 June 2001 In July of this year the G8 summit is
going to
be held in Genoa, Italy. Similarly to Seattle, Prague and
Nice, Genoa will be an
important gathering for all those who want
to protest against the "status quo".
We are publishing an appeal
from comrades in Italy raising the question of the
role of the
working class in the struggle against imperialism and globalisation. Globalisation: Six questions and answers By the Spanish Students Union Thursday, 07 June 2001 This is an educational leaflet produced by the
Spanish Students Union
(SE) about the movement against capitalist globalisation. World Bank cancels Barcelona meeting... but the protests still go ahead By the Spanish Students Union Wednesday, 06 June 2001 The World Bank
was
supposed
to be holding a "summit against poverty" in Barcelona, Spain,
between June
25th
and
27th. Worried about the prospect of mass
demonstrations against its policies,
the WB
finally decided to cancel the
meeting. However the protesters are still going
ahead with
their demonstration
against the imperialist policies of the WB and the other
international
financial
institutions. We publish here a leaflet produced by the Spanish Students Union
(SE) in
preparation
of these protests (the leaflet was printed before the WB
decided to cancel the
summit). Imperialism, Globalisation and the way forward By Rob Sewell Tuesday, 15 May 2001 Opposition to
globalisation
has spread rapidly across the world, as more and
more recognise the awesome
power of the giant corporations that
straddle the globe and the carnage they
leave in their wake. From
Seattle to Prague, from Nice to Quebec, hundreds of
thousands of
workers and youth have forcefully demonstrated against the
World
Trade Organisation and the various international summits that
defend
the power of global capitalism. But how can we effectively
challenge the forces
of imperialism and globalisation? Democracy the EU way - brutal police repression of an anti-EU meeting in Sweden By Simon Lundin Saturday, 12 May 2001 The ECOFIN - all the
Finance Ministers of the EU member
states - held a meeting in
Sweden's third largest
city, Malmo, in the early part
of May, which was met with a
countre-demonstration, similar
to the many
demonstrations around the world againts the IMF, the
WTO, World Bank, etc.
The police used brutal methods to break up the demonstration. May Day in Jakarta By Bruce Boon Friday, 11 May 2001 As
everywhere else in the world, workers and labour
activists in
Jakarta demonstrated on
the occasion of international workers'
day, the 1st of May. Several
unions (of which most
prominent were the FNPBI,
SBSI, SBJ and Gaspermindo) and student
activists (some
5.000 people)
gathered at the National Monument, Monas, in
Central Jakarta. Also
present
were a few representatives of the ILO and the American
union AFL-CIO (in
Indonesia called ACIL's). Of course, the state also sent some 2.000
representatives,
armed with guns. The Truth about May Day, London, 1 May 2001 By Hal Doane Friday, 04 May 2001 We received an eye-witness
account
from one of
the London May Day protesters. It shows how the police behaved in
keeping several
thousand demonstrators, against their will, in a square with no
facilities and with no
explanation as to why this was happening. It is an
example of the
use of police measures
which go against basic democratic
rights of people who wish to
demonstrate on the
streets of Britain's cities.
Using the excuse that there were some
demonstrators,
undoubtedly a small
minority, intent on using violent methods, the
police used this
opportunity to
establish a dangerous precedent. [ Back ] Home  Globalisation Marxism FAQThem and UsWomen & MarxismSolidarity AppealsComments & OpinionScience & Tech.Climate ChangeAudio & VideoArt & LiteratureGlobalisationMarxist TheoryEconomyAfricaAsiaAustralasiaEuropeMiddle EastLatin AmericaNorth AmericaBooksOther languages Search Newsletter
Join our
"What's New?" list!
Build Marxist.com!
RSS feed
What is RSS?
setWidthFont();If you want more information about
any of the material in this site, a
printed copy of it or just
want to let us know what you
think about the site and its
contents, please
contact us. If you agree with the ideas please consider making a donation.
     var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");document.write("\ |
|
