Alternatives to Economic Globalization

The culmination of a five-year project by the International Forum on Globalization (IFG), this book presents an inspiring plan for moving toward more sustainable, humanistic models of economic prosperity with an emphasis on citizen democracies, local self-sufficiency, and ecological health. Areas of discussion include the ten core requirements for democratic societies as well as alternative systems of energy, agriculture, and manufacturing. Written by a premier group of 18 thinkers from around the world and edited by best-selling authors John Cavanagh and Jerry Mander, this revised and expanded edition represents the official consensus of the living democracy movement. Delving into the most compelling alternatives to globalization thus far, it features a chart on the effects of globalization and three entirely new chapters on the global balance of power, the media, and what ordinary people can do about globalization.

John Cavanagh is director of the Institute for Policy Studies, vice president of the International Forum on Globalization (IFG) Board of Directors, and coauthor of eleven books, including Global Dreams.

The International Forum on Globalization (IFG) is an alliance of leading activists, scholars, economists, researchers, and writers—representing 60 organizations in 25 countries—that was formed in 1994 to stimulate new thinking, joint activity, and public education in response to economic globalization. Writing in The Nation, Naomi Klein called IFG “the brain trust of the [anti-globalization] movement,” and the Utne Reader dubbed IFG “the Davids of corporate globalization.”
Jerry Mander is President of the International Forum on Globalization (IFG) Board of Directors, senior fellow at the Public Media Center, and author or coeditor of the books In the Absence of the Sacred, The Case Against the Global Economy, and Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television.

The International Forum on Globalization (IFG) is an alliance of leading activists, scholars, economists, researchers, and writers—representing 60 organizations in 25 countries—that was formed in 1994 to stimulate new thinking, joint activity, and public education in response to economic globalization. Writing in The Nation, Naomi Klein called IFG “the brain trust of the [anti-globalization] movement,” and the Utne Reader dubbed IFG “the Davids of corporate globalization.”

List of Boxes	p. ix
Preface to the Second Edition	p. xi
A Living Document	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xvi
A Note on Sources	p. xvii
Introduction: Turning Point	p. 1
Cancun: The Outbreak of Democracy	p. 3
Miami: Regime Change in Latin America	p. 6
Iraq: The Failure of Empire	p. 8
New Awakenings	p. 14
A System in Crisis	p. 17
Conflicting Worldviews	p. 19
Different Worlds	p. 21
Economic Democracy	p. 25
Momentum for Change	p. 28
Design for Corporate Rule	p. 32
Key Ingredients of the Globalization Model	p. 34
Hypergrowth	p. 34
Privatization and Commodification	p. 36
Economic and Cultural Homogenization	p. 38
Export-Oriented Trade and Investment	p. 38
Beneficiaries of Economic Globalization	p. 44
The Role of the Media	p. 52
The Unholy Trinity: The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organizatio	p. 55
The World Bank	p. 56
The International Monetary Fund	p. 60
The World Trade Organization	p. 65
Proposals	p. 73
Alternatives in Action	p. 75
Ten Principles for Sustainable Societies	p. 77
Core Principles	p. 78
New Democracy	p. 79
Subsidiarity	p. 82
Ecological Sustainability	p. 85
Common Heritage	p. 87
Diversity	p. 88
Human Rights	p. 96
Jobs, Livelihood, Employment	p. 97
Food Security and Safety	p. 98
Equity	p. 98
The Precautionary Principle	p. 100
Applying the Principles to Globalization	p. 103
Reclaiming the Commons: What Should Be Off-Limits to Globalization?	p. 105
Understanding the Commons	p. 107
Current Threats to the Commons	p. 109
The Tradition of the Commons	p. 124
Threats to the Modern Commons	p. 131
Three Proposals to Reempower the Commons	p. 136
Subsidiarity: Recalling Power from the Global	p. 147
Understanding Subsidiarity	p. 149
The Road to the Local	p. 151
Investment and Finance Issues	p. 155
Response to Critics of Subsidiarity	p. 160
Alternative Operating Systems	p. 164
Energy Systems	p. 165
Transportation Systems	p. 179
Manufacturing Systems	p. 188
Standards of Measurement	p. 198
Alternative Operating Systems (2)	p. 209
Agriculture and Food Systems	p. 209
Global Media	p. 230
People's Alternative Initiatives	p. 253
Global Governance	p. 269
Corporate Structure and Power	p. 271
Corporate Structure Today	p. 274
Citizen Actions Against Corporate Power	p. 280
Ending Corporate--State Collusion	p. 290
Toward Alternative Business Structures	p. 294
New International Structures	p. 301
A Review of the Current Situation	p. 302
Essential Rules of a Just and Sustainable International Trade and Finance System	p. 309
Restructuring the Institutional Framework	p. 314
Strengthening the Countervailing Powers of the U.N. System	p. 321
Creating New Global Institutions	p. 324
Global to Local: What You Can Do	p. 333
Steps You Can Take as a Consumer	p. 334
Steps You Can Take as a Worker	p. 337
Steps You Can Take as a Depositor and Investor	p. 339
Steps You Can Take as a Citizen	p. 340
Resources: Groups Working Toward Alternatives to Economic Globalization	p. 347
Resources: Useful Tools and Indicators	p. 367
Sources	p. 369
Index	p. 383
About the Authors	p. 403
About the International Forum on Globalization (IFG)	p. 407
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.

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Alternatives to Economic Globalization

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