Pete North quoted the example of the WTO choosing to meet in Qatar. I had
already seen the reaction of the so-called World Social Forum to this plan. It
seems to exemplify all that is wrong with the academic left and the
pseudo-activists they support. (The World Social Forum was organised,
financed, and controlled by the German Greens and the Brasilian PT).
Pete North wrote:
> Protesters at Seattle did close down the WTO. The next stage of the
> WTO saga will be in Quatar, where police presence and geographical
> isolation from Europe/North America will have a significant effect on
> the ability of protesters to make a difference.
But what is the 'difference' that the World Social Forum seeks. They declared:
"Participants at the World Social Forum call on their governments to
choose a site where the right to assembly and speech is
guaranteed -- de jure as well as defacto.
If the WTO chooses Qatar, where basic rights of assembly and
speech are not being recognized, it will be sending a clear signal of
its conception of transparency and dialogue with civil society.
The WTO will then demonstrate that it does not want to listen to the the
criticisms expressed by civil society, both in Prague as well as Porto Alegre,
that demanded the subordination of commerce to international rights,
particularly fundamental human rights."
from
http://brasil.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=183
So they want..
1. right of assembly
2. right of free speech
3. transparency
4. dialogue
5. "international" rights (presumably this means universal rights, rather than
rights of nations)
6. fundamental human rights.
This is a 100% liberal list of demands. It could be supported without
hesitation by the NATO. In fact the NATO could use this list as a
justification of war, and used simlar values to justify war in Kosovo.
Now what is missing from the demands? Among others...
- justice
- equality
- the abolition of the WTO
- the abolition of the free market
- the abolition of nation states, the constituent unit of the WTO
- any alternative politcal or social order.
All that the criticism amounts to is, that the WTO should meet in a western
democracy. But it did, in Seattle. There were demonstrations: the WTO was not
"closed down" but continues to function. Many demonstrators went to jail - not
because the US is a tyranny, but because a democratic electoral majority
insists on harsh punishments for public disorder.
The core issue is this. Many criticical and left academics make political
demands, that are equivalent to the rights and liberties of a liberal
democracy. Well, I have good news for you: you have won already. Certainly in
the west, there is already a free press, free assembly, free elections and so
on. And the WTO is happy to meet delegates from global civil society,
especially in front of the TV cameras. If this is what you wanted, then why complain?
--
Paul Treanor
http://web.inter.nl.net/users/Paul.Treanor/neoliberalism.html
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