Incessantly, globalization has meant the radical alteration of cultural, social, and economic exchanges throughout the world – unfortunately, these exchanges have not been positive for the majority of people involved. Proclaimed benefits of free-trade and economic globalization have only been experienced by a minority of wealthy individuals, most of whom are situated in Western (primarily the G8) nations.
Increasingly, neo-liberalist
dreams of global “free-trade” and a holy allegiance to the capitalist
market have resulted in asymmetrical gains in wealth at the expense of social
justice and equality world-wide. Despite the (failed) promises that globalization
was supposed to spell (namely, a new era of universal prosperity), grass-roots
groups and movements throughout the world – most notably in the Global
South - have stood up and opposed the exploitative military and economic regimes
being imposed upon the world.
Roughly defined, the “Global South” represents portions of the globe
located in (though not limited to) the Southern Hemisphere which have yet to,
or are currently experiencing, periods of economic and industrial “advancement”,
and are often portrayed as poorer nations. Corporations have been keen to exploit
this level of development, in terms of cheap sources of labour and resources,
as well as a relatively untapped market. Through privatization, trade liberalization,
and deregulation, as well as through the powerful persuasion of the World Trade
Organization (WTO), the IMF (International Monetary Fund), and the World Bank,
not to mention national and corporate pressures, postcolonial segments of the
world are being brought into the fold of global capital. United Fruit in Guatemala,
ITT in Chile, Bechtel in Bolivia, Occidental Petroleum in Chile, Talisman Oil
in Sudan, (and recently Halliburton in Iraq) as well as the all-encompassing
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its expanded cousin FTAA (Free
Trade Agreement of the Americas), are all examples of vicious globalization
in the South.
These economic forces, however, have not been met unopposed. Within the Global
South the most militant and active anti-globalization movements have been born,
facing exploitation and oppression at every turn. The World Social Forum for
instance, a response to the World Economic Forum, has brought together a wide
range of activists and thinkers to confront the negative trends of corporatization
and globalization Zapatistas in Mexico, Indigenous peoples in New Zealand, Canada,
Australia, Bolivia, the United States, and India, just to name a few, have been
actively involved in the movements also. Groups and coalitions like the Landless
Workers Movement, Focus on the Global South, Culture Works Media, the Urban
Poor Consortium, the Indonesian Peasants Union, etc., in various parts of Africa,
South and Central America, and Asia, have taken part in information campaigns
and anti-globalization action which address environmental, labour, race, and
gender issues that have been spawned from a particular form of globalization.
Since the most disastrous consequences of modern capitalism are being experience
in the South, it should be of no surprise that the most vocal opponents emerge
from this area as well.
FTAA
GATS
NAFTA
WTO
Chandra Mohanty
Vandana Shiva
World Social Forum 2004 (http://www.wsfindia.org/)
Urban Poor Consortium (http://www.urbanpoor.or.id/)
Institute for Global Justice (http://www.globaljust.org/index.php)
Indonesian Forum for the Environment (http://lama.walhi.or.id/)
International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations (http://www.ifwea.org/)
Focus on the Global South (http://www.focusweb.org/main/html/)
Socialist Worker (http://www.socialistworker.org/2004-2/508/508_10_BSF.shtml)