Globalization has become a bête noire for all sorts of people - activists and academics, reformists and revolutionaries. At a time when nationalism is resurgent, we see an internationalization of struggle. And yet confusion reins confusion over our objectives, our ideals, our methods and goals. A confusion that could be fatal if we miss our chance when it is presented to us we might not get another one. We are living in critical times. Therefore in the following pages we examine the background to globalization, the struggle against it and some of the confusions and misunderstandings that surround it. The current trend for opposing globalization appears to have fallen for an inverted version of the same illusion that those in favor of it suffer from - that what is occurring is something new and radically different to what has gone before. The things that are identified as constituting globalization - free trade, the free movement of capital, the growth of international regulatory bodies and institutions, the expansion of multinationals and the creation of one global 'culture' - are new in the sense that they are new forms of organization and structure but in essence they are a continuation of what has gone before.
Capital has always been global. The capitalist system is the most adaptable and voracious in history. From its beginning it has been driven by the need to constantly expand or die; the changes that have occurred in recent years are an expression of this need. Globalization is 'worse' in the sense that it represents an attempt at extending and intensifying capital's grip on humanity, but it is not worse, as some seem to imply, in opposition to a mythical idealized past when capitalism was nice and local and the state intervened to protect us against the markets. The logic is the same now as it always been - to exploit people and nature to the maximum extent possible. The fact that in some previous eras this exploitation may have taken place in a way that was softer or more 'democratic' doesn't change its essential nature.
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Norwegian translator
Capital has always been global. The capitalist system is the most adaptable and voracious in history. From its beginning it has been driven by the need to constantly expand or die; the changes that have occurred in recent years are an expression of this need. Globalization is 'worse' in the sense that it represents an attempt at extending and intensifying capital's grip on humanity, but it is not worse, as some seem to imply, in opposition to a mythical idealized past when capitalism was nice and local and the state intervened to protect us against the markets. The logic is the same now as it always been - to exploit people and nature to the maximum extent possible. The fact that in some previous eras this exploitation may have taken place in a way that was softer or more 'democratic' doesn't change its essential nature.
Related Links:
Norwegian translator
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