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When an enemy is powerful and centrally organised, paradoxically it can be
very vulnerable – as in martial arts, the power can be used against itself.
Consequently, ordinary people are now using the power of the multinationals
to break them down.
Thanks to the Internet and cheaper international phone calls, the antiglobalisation
movement has ensured that every international meeting of a
global institution now meets opposition. People from all walks of life –
independent businesses, churches, universities, unions and civic organisations
concerned with democracy, economic justice, peace and the environment – and
from all over the world follow the calls to action that are now posted on the
Internet.
When the group of the eight most powerful nations of the world, the G8,
met in Birmingham, in 1998, there were 70,000 protesters on the streets. Then, in
December 1999, some 50,000 citizens protested peacefully on the streets of
Seattle for four days to ensure that there would be no new round of trade
negotiations by the WTO. They did not want globalisation to accelerate or
expand, and were successful in their aims.
At the time, Indian ecologist Vandana Shiva said:
‘The next challenge is to turn the rules of globalisation and free trade around,
and make trade subservient to higher values of the protection of the earth and
people’s livelihoods.’ 21
In April 2000, when the IMF and World Bank met, more than 40,000
people attended a giant rally on the Ellipse behind the White House in
Washington DC. A sign taped each protestor’s back said: ‘Stop the loan sharks
at the IMF/World Bank.’ Then,
on 11 September 2000, despite bitter weather conditions, over 5000 people