ah, the easiest way to defend yourself: delegitimize the intelligence of those
that disagree with you. it works every time. this is the favorite tactic that
has been used to discredit the anti-corporate globalization movement. so why is
this label, "protesters are stupid dirty hippies" so commonly used? why isn't
there real discussion and debate about the concerns that protesters are raising?
perhaps the defenders of the corporate global economy don't want to face the real
issues that are being addressed by protesters.
this past weekend i traveled with sage (st. lawrence activists for global
equity) coalition to ottawa to protest the imf (international monetary fund) and
world bank. and despite what popular media may tell you, they were quite the
informed group of activists. so what are we really trying to address? well for
one, global democracy. the hypocrisy in claiming to promote democracy on a
global scale while perpetuating the continuation of world bank and imf workings
is astounding. the way that these two global institutions work is simple. those
countries that give money have a say in what is going on. for example, the
united states gives almost 18% of the money to these institutions and has almost
18% of the vote, in effect giving them veto power on any measures that are
brought to the table in world bank and imf debate. we are privileged because we
live in this country, and we need to use that privilege to promote the well being
of other countries, not take advantage of and exploit them!
the world
bank and imf are global lending institutions, created to help reconstruction
after the war in 1944, and shifting to lending to third world nations in the
50's. they help fund "development" projects such as roads, dams, mines and so
on. the problem is that when the largest economic power has all the say in what
is happening, the countries that are receiving the loans are given no options as
to how to utilize the money.
when given a loan, the country is required
to agree to a series of structural adjustment programs, or "saps." they include
things such as cutting government spending and privatizing local resources.
housing, health care and education are all put off the agenda, so that the
government has money freed up to pay back their loans. people (especially women)
are forced into positions of greater poverty. when resources (such as water) are
privatized, they are put into the hands of transnational corporations that charge
the locals to use things that they previously had rights to. this obviously
harms the economically disenfranchised while benefiting the few elites.
so what if every country had equal voting rights within the global financial institutions? this is exactly what the economic elites of countries such as ours are afraid of. when we attend protests, we are speaking in solidarity with millions of people around the globe whose voices cannot be heard because their currency isn't as valuable as ours is in the global economy. whether it's free trade (wto, nafta, ftaa, gatt) or global lending, the underlying racial and gendered inequities stand in corporate global capitalism. and those who benefit from it will defend it to no end. which is why they have to call us stupid. but our concerns are just as legitimate as theirs, regardless of our economic standing.
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This page was designed by Andrew Van Alstyne. Please direct all questions/comments to him.