Seattle police use gas to push back World Trade Organization
protesters
in downtown Seattle in this Nov. 30, 1999
Seattle police use gas to push back World Trade Organization protesters
in downtown Seattle in this Nov. 30, 1999
Global economic changes over the past 20 years have been nothing more than a disgraceful "race to the bottom," as powerful multinational corporations have cynically moved to take advantage of the poorest countries worldwide and their lax environmental and labor laws to maximize their profit. Globalization is about corporate power freed from any oversight or accountability at all; it tramples on human values, in the name of greed. It is the rise of powerful individuals (Bill Gates, Osama Ben Laden) relative to the power of nations and indigenous cultures; as individuals gain strength, whole communities are pushed aside and impoverished. In the name of profits our world is being degraded and damaged environmentally and culturally, and American hegemony is a new form of imperialism and exploitation which will wreak havoc everywhere. Proselytizers of free trade tell us the Global Economy will make us all rich; the reality is that the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
Advocates of the New Economy will explain the status quo as inevitable and unavoidable. They say, "Get with it or get left behind!" They claim we just need to adapt as well as we can. This is a false set of choices. The world does not have to be as it is; it can be better.
Concerned citizens of the world unite! Fight international big business, rapacious greed, and unsustainable development!
Questions to keep in mind: