Summary
The definitive document of
the anti-corporate globalization movement-the consensus report of an alliance of leading
activists, scholars, economists, researchers, and writers
Offers a constructive,
coherent, positive alternative to globalization-the very thing that the anti-corporate
globalization movement is always accused of not putting forward
The International Forum on
Globalization consists of the leaders of over 60 organizations in 25 countries -including
such prominent organizations as Friends of the Earth, the Third World Network, the Sierra
Club, the Institute for Policy Studies, Public Citizen, Rainforest Action Network, and
Food First
Description
Alternatives to Economic
Globalization is the culmination of a three-year project by the International Forum on
Globalization to define alternatives to the current corporate model of globalization.
Written by a premier group of eighteen thinkers from around the world, Alternatives to
Economic Globalization, the official consensus report of the International Forum on
Globalization, lays out alternatives to the corporate globalization more fully,
specifically, and thoughtfully than has ever been done before.
Synopsis
The culmination of a
three-year project by the International Forum on Globalization, Alternatives to Economic
Globalization presents an alternative to corporate domination of the world economy more
fully, specifically, and thoughtfully than has ever been done before.
The book begins with a
thorough critique of economic globalization, examining its ideological underpinnings and
detailing its many negative economic and environmental effects. The authors then lay out
ten governing principles for a new social paradigm, one that will lead to truly democratic
and sustainable societies that benefit the many rather than the few.
The authors detail how
particularly vital goods and services (for example, water or genetic material) can be
administered for the common good rather than privatized for profit or monopolized for
control. They recommend specific policies that can remove the power to make economic
decisions from distant corporations and return it to the people directly affected by them.
They explore how to rein in corporate domination by eliminating corporate welfare, special
corporate rights, and the mechanisms by which corporations exert influence over public
policy. They spell out alternatives to the World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO that advance
democracy, basic rights, and ecological sustainability. And they offer policies for
rebuilding economies in a way that is responsive to human needs, describing alternative
operating systems for energy, agriculture and food systems, transportation, and
manufacturing.
Endorsements
"At this critical moment
in history, Alternatives to Economic Globalization could not be more timely. The joint
authors comprise some of the most articulate and powerful voices of dissent, thought
leaders who insist that democracy, participation, and common rights form the basis of a
world that will provide real wealth for all."
Paul G. Hawken, author of
The Ecology of Commerce
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: A Critique of
Corporate Globalization
Key Ingredients of the
Globalization Model
Bureaucratic Expressions of
Globalization
Part II: Ten Principles for
Sustainable Societies
Part III: The Commons: What
Should Be Off-Limits to Globalization?
Understanding the Commons
Current Threats to the
Commons
The Tradition of the Commons
Threats to the Modern
Commons
Proposals
Part IV: The Case for
Subsidiarity: Bias Away from the Global Toward the Local
Understanding Subsidiarity
The Road to the Local
Investment and Finance
Issues
Response to Critics of
Subsidiarity
Conclusion
Part V: Corporate Structure
and Power
Corporate Structure Today
Citizen Actions Against
Corporate Power
Ending Corporate-State
Collusion
Toward Alternative Business
Structures
Part VI: Alternative
Operating Systems
Energy Systems
Transportation Systems
Agriculture and Food Systems
Manufacturing Systems
Measurements of Economic
Progress
Part VII: From Bretton Woods
Toward Alternatives
A Review of the Current
Situation
Essential Rules of a Just
and Sustainable International Trade and Finance System
Restructuring the
Instituional Framework
Strengthening the
Countervailing Powers of the U.N. System
Creating New Global
Institutions
Part VIII: Conclusions
268 PAGES