Archive for the 'Globalization' Category

A Very Capitalist Disaster: Naomi Klein’s Take on the Neoliberal Saga

Monday, November 26th, 2007

A critical review of Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2007)
Walden Bello* (http://www.focusweb.org


     Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism is very impressive indeed. This is, however, not immediately evident, a sense that is confirmed by Joseph Stiglitz’ review of the book. Even before I read it, I was certain that the Nobel laureate would highlight Klein’s attempt to make a connection between the electric shock experiments performed by the notorious McGill University psychologist Ewen Cameron who was on contract with the CIA and the economic shock approach developed by Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago.


     And indeed, he does, in the course of writing a typical New York Times Book Review piece that dares not evince too much enthusiasm for a book that comes from left field lest it provoke the ever-alert watchdogs of the right to question one’s credentials. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/books/review/Stiglitz-t.html). Stiglitz, in fact, suggests that Klein’s analysis might be infected with conspiracy theory with his very first sentence: “[T]here are no accidents in the world as seen by Naomi Klein.” The Nobel laureate does have some positive things to say about the book, but he neutralizes this by dropping the line that Klein “is not an academic and must not be judged as one.” As for Klein’s central concept of “disaster capitalism,” it is mentioned once but otherwise ignored. It all adds up to damning with faint praise.
(more…)

Thursday, December 7th, 2006

[Backgrounder - Winter 2003]

Worse Than the World Bank? Export Credit Agencies–The Secret Engine of Globalization

by Aaron Goldzimer* Also available in PDF format (286kb).
 


 
      

Bankers are always very secretive about the precise structuring of their deals, but essentially the strategy is simple. The key is to get as high a return as possible, while palming the risk off on somebody else. That is why you should never listen when people tell you that export credit agencies are…dinosaurs. What could be nicer in times of turmoil than having the risk picked up by the taxpayer? –Euromoney1

The Three Gorges dam project in China is probably the biggest and most controversial construction project on the planet. Its reservoir is nearly half the length of California, in a watershed that is home to more than 370 million people. Many experts predict the outcome will be a nightmare: enormous amounts of residential and industrial waste and 530 million tons of silt a year–currently flushed out to sea–will instead collect in the reservoir; by some estimates, the odds of the dam’s breaking are 1 in 1,000 (not counting a military or terrorist attempt to destroy it), endangering tens of millions of lives downstream; and already nearly 2 million people are being forcibly evicted to make way for the reservoir.2 Under intense pressure from nongovermental organizations (NGOs), the World Bank has refrained from financinthe project due to the environmental, social, and economic controversies surrounding the dam. But few people know that other institutions run by the leading industrial nations have provided almost $1.5 billion in taxpayer-backed loans, guarantees, and insurance to construct the dam.3 These institutions are export credit and investment support agencies (ECAs).
(more…)

Economic Empire Building: The Centrality of Corruption

Saturday, November 25th, 2006

By James Petras

11/24/06 “Information Clearing House” — – Economic Empire building (EEB) is the driving force of the US economy and became more central over the past five years. More than ever before in US economic history, the principal US banks, oil companies, manufacturers, investment houses, pension and mutual funds all depend on exploiting overseas nations and peoples to secure high rates of profit. Increasingly the majority of banking and corporate profits accrue from overseas plunder.

As EEB becomes central to the viability of the entire US economy, competition with Europe and Asia for lucrative investment rates and economic resources intensifies. Because of heightened competition, and the crucial importance of overseas profits, corporate corruption has become a decisive factor in determining which imperial center’s MNCs and banks will capture lucrative profit-generating enterprises, resources and financial positions. (more…)

World Bank/IMF Fact Sheet (by Global Exchange)

Wednesday, November 15th, 2006

What are the IMF and World Bank?

The IMF and World Bank have been empowered by the governments which control it (led by the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Germany, France, Canada, and Italy — the “Group of 7,” which holds over 40% of the votes on their boards) with imposing economic austerity policies in the countries of the so-called “Third World” or “global South.” Once Southern countries build up large external debts, as most have, they cannot get credit or cash anywhere else and are forced to go to these international institutions and accept whatever conditions are demanded of them. None of the countries has emerged from their debt problems; indeed most countries now have much higher levels of debt than when they first accepted IMF/World Bank “assistance.” (more…)

Participatory Economics: Beyond Capitalism

Sunday, August 1st, 2004

From Michael Albert and Znet

For those of you who feel that having a viable, worthy anticapitalist economic vision would help us answer questions about what we want as well as help us orient our activism — I need your help.

The vision that is seeking visibility is participatory economics, called parecon for short.

Parecon is getting growing international coverage, as it now begins to appear in different languages.

For example, international invitations to speak on parecon are well beyond my means to accommodate. In Sept. and Oct. I am going to Italy, Turkey, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Italy again, and probably England, and possibly also Norway and Finland…and the venues for these talks are diverse and the audiences large. Later there may be trips to South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Korea, and so on. Interviews with left and also even mainstream media occur, articles appear, reviews are published, etc.

In contrast, parecon’s visibility in the U.S. is rather minimal despite its having had a much longer tenure here. There are virtually no visible U.S. reviews, public discussions, talks, etc.

In other words, in many parts of the world those who administer movements, determine the content of periodicals, set up speaking events — and incredibly even those who hand out major awards — are propelling parecon into visibility. But in the U.S. those who administer movements, determine the content of periodicals, and set up speaking events are either doing nothing positive for parecon or are actively rejecting efforts for parecon to gain visibility.

So what’s the solution? (more…)

Letter from the Executive Director of Food First, Kathy McAfee

Tuesday, July 27th, 2004

July 26, 2004

Dear friends and supporters of Food First,

The message put forward by Food First’s founders — that hunger is caused neither by scarcity nor by “overpopulation” — was prescient for its time and life-changing for many readers. Some of you became long-term Food First members and donors. Many of you have carried our message forward to challenge the policies and ideas that create and reinforce hunger and its root cause, inequality. Together, our influence has been tremendous. (more…)

Top 12 Reasons to Oppose the WTO

Tuesday, September 9th, 2003

From Global Exchange Fact Sheet (http://www.globalexchange.org/)

1. The WTO Is Fundamentally Undemocratic
The policies of the WTO impact all aspects of society and the planet, but it is not a democratic, transparent institution. The WTO rules are written by and for corporations with inside access to the negotiations. For example, the US Trade Representative gets heavy input for negotiations from 17 “Industry Sector Advisory Committees.” Citizen input by consumer, environmental, human rights and labor organizations is consistently ignored. Even simple requests for information are denied, and the proceedings are held in secret. Who elected this secret global government?

2. The WTO Will Not Make Us Safer
The WTO would like you to believe that creating a world of “free trade” will promote global understanding and peace. On the contrary, the domination of international trade by rich countries for the benefit of their individual interests fuels anger and resentment that make us less safe. To build real global security, we need international agreements that respect people’s rights to democracy and trade systems that promote global justice.

3. The WTO Tramples Labor and Human Rights
WTO rules put the “rights” of corporations to profit over human and labor rights. The WTO encourages a ‘race to the bottom’ in wages by pitting workers against each other rather than promoting internationally recognized labor standards. The WTO has ruled that it is illegal for a government to ban a product based on the way it is produced, such as with child labor. It has also ruled that governments cannot take into account “non commercial values” such as human rights, or the behavior of companies that do business with vicious dictatorships such as Burma when making purchasing decisions. (more…)