Arguments Against G8

Description

What is the G8? Every year world leaders convene for their annual summit, accompanied by thousands of protestors and anti-globalization activists. In Genoa in 2001, street battles between police and demonstrators made world headlines, as one protestor was shot.



This book is a one-stop guide for anyone who wants to know more about the G8, what it is, and why it's a problem. Leading writers and activists including Noam Chomsky, George Monbiot, Susan George, Mark Curtis and Caroline Lucas explain in brief, succinct chapters, what is wrong with the G8 neo-liberal agenda and propose alternatives.



Chapters cover G8 attitudes to the key issues: war, corporate power, climate change, immigration, trade, debt, food. Ideal for anyone who is troubled by the current direction set by our world leaders, this book is also a great tool for activists.
Introduction: Barbarism Inc.

Gill Hubbard and David Miller

Section One: Concentrated Power

1. Globalisation and War by Noam Chomsky

2. Britain and the G8: a champion of the world’s poor by Mark Curtis

3. Democracy by Colin Leys

4. War by Lindsey German

5. Corporate power by Olivier Hoedeman

6. The Gang of 8: the good governance roadshow by Emma Miller

Section Two: Issues 103

7. Climate change by George Monbiot

8. Trade by Susan George

9. Food security by Caroline Lucas and Michael Woodin

10. ‘War on terror’ on racism, asylum and immigration by Salma Yaqoob

11. Privatisation and workers’ rights: but neo-liberals are such nice people … by Bob Crow

12. Poverty by Tommy Sheridan

13. Debt: the debt crisis and the campaign to end it by Vicki Clayton

14. Health and HIV/AIDS: fine words and fatal indifference by Ronald Labonte, Ted Schrecker and David McCoy

15. Genoa 2001: which side to be on? by Haidi Giuliani

16. Where do we go from here? by Sam Ashman

Conclusion: Naming the problem by David Miller and Gill Hubbard

Sujets

• Political Ideologies
• Political Science
• Anarchism

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 mars 2005
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781849644563
• Langue: English

Extrait

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ARGUMENTS AGAINST G8 01prelims.qxd 27/01/2005 14:49 Page ii01prelims.qxd 27/01/2005 14:49 Page iii
Arguments against G8
Edited by Gill Hubbard and David Miller
Pluto Press
London • Ann Arbor, MI01prelims.qxd 27/01/2005 14:49 Page iv
First published 2005 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Gill Hubbard and David Miller 2005
The right of the individual contributors to be identified as the authors of this work has
been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 7453 2421 5 hardback
ISBN 0 7453 2420 7 paperback
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Curran Publishing Services, Norwich
Printed and bound in the European Union by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and
Eastbourne, England01prelims.qxd 27/01/2005 14:49 Page v
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviations ix
About this book xi
Introduction: Barbarism Inc. 1
Gill Hubbard and David Miller
Section One Concentrated Power 17
Chapter 1 Globalization and war 19
Noam Chomsky
Chapter 2 Britain and the G8: a champion of the
world’s poor? 44
Mark Curtis
Chapter 3 Democracy 57
Colin Leys
Chapter 4 War 68
Lindsey German
Chapter 5 Corporate power 78
Olivier Hoedeman
Chapter 6 The Gang of 8: the good governance
roadshow 90
Emma Miller
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CONTENTS
Section Two Issues 103
Chapter 7 Climate change 105
George Monbiot
Chapter 8 Trade 112
Susan George
Chapter 9 Food security 124
Caroline Lucas and Michael Woodin
Chapter 10 ‘War on terror’ on racism, asylum and
immigration 138
Salma Yaqoob
Chapter 11 Privatization and workers’ rights: but
neo-liberals are such nice people … 151
Bob Crow
Chapter 12 Poverty 163
Tommy Sheridan
Chapter 13 Debt: the debt crisis and the campaign
to end it 167
Vicki Clayton
Chapter 14 Health and HIV/AIDS: fine words and
fatal indifference 182
Ronald Labonte, Ted Schrecker and
David McCoy
Chapter 15 Genoa 2001: which side to be on? 198
Haidi Giuliani
Chapter 16 Where do we go from here? 208
Sam Ashman
Conclusion Naming the problem 220
David Miller and Gill Hubbard
Contributors 233
Index 237
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Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to thank the Italians for organizing a
massive mobilization against the summit of the G8 in Genoa in
July 2001. All of you inspired me. If I had not been in Genoa I
doubt that I would have got stuck in to mobilizing against the
G8 in Gleneagles in 2005 as much as I have. Secondly, thanks
to everyone around the world who stood together on 15
February 2003 to protest against Bush and Blair’s war on Iraq. This
war keeps me angry but your actions give me hope. Finally,
thanks to Ian Mitchell – ex-miner – who never lets the bastards
grind him down! I dedicate this book to you.
Gill Hubbard
I would like to acknowledge the millions of people all over the
world who have seen through the lies of the great powers and
have shown great imagination, perseverance, and above all
courage in challenging the neo-liberal order. The great
movements against neo-liberalism and against war reawaken the sense
of a genuine international movement for justice and democracy.
For so long, for all my adult life, democrats have been on the
defensive in Scotland and Britain. The movement against war
and against neo-liberalism has changed all that. There is a long
road ahead, but at least it might lead forward instead of back.
Thanks are also due to Gill for taking on the bulk of the
editorial work for this book. Thanks also to my colleagues on
Spinwatch.org for their dedication in the face of what might
over-optimistically be called a shoestring budget.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is for my children, Caitlin and Lewis, who have
been neglected far too much by me in the process of its
production (and the rest).
David Miller
February 2005
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Abbreviations
AOA (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture
CAP Common Agricultural Policy
CMH WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health
CSR corporate social responsibility
DFID Department for International Development
DTI Department of Trade and Industry
ECLAC Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean
EPI Economic Policy Institute
ERT European Round Table of Industrialists
ESF European Services Forum
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FTAA Free Trade Area of the Americas
GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services
GATTTariffs and Trade
GDP gross domestic product
HIPC heavily indebted poor country
HRW Human Rights Watch
ICC International Chamber of Commerce
IFF International Finance Facility
ILO International Labour Organization
IMF International Monetary Fund
IP intellectual property
MAI Multilateral Agreement on Investment
MSF Médecins sans Frontières
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development
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ABBREVIATIONS
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
OTA Office of Technology Assessment
SSA sub-Saharan Africa
TABD Transatlantic Business Dialogue
TNC transnational corporation
TRIPS Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development
WDM World Development Movement
WEF World Economic Forum
WHO World Health Organization
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About this book
This book is focused on the G8, an organization that is rather
obscure, yet immensely powerful – the Group of Eight most
industrialized nations. The G8 meet every year. Until recently
they were able to meet in the open in the centre of large cities.
The last time they came to Britain was in 1998, in the United
Kingdom’s second largest city of Birmingham. But since Genoa
in 2001, when they were greeted with a huge protest and the
Italian police murdered young Carlo Giuliani, they have been
forced to meet in obscure and remote locations, easy to seal off
and harder for protestors to get to.
In 2005 the G8 will meet in Gleneagles in Scotland. We have
produced this book to spread the word that they are coming, and
to provide a clear statement about who they are and why they
should be opposed. This book is produced for the global justice
movement and the global anti-war movement and for the millions
more who might join them. It is also produced, in part, to show
that these movements have coherent and sensible answers to the
question of what is wrong with the G8. According to Tony Blair,
globalization is inevitable. This book shows that his version of
globalization – global inequality and environmental catastrophe –
is not inevitable. Instead we show that a world of peace and
environmental and social justice is both possible and necessary.
This book is a call to arms; a call to turn back the
neoliberal tide call, to reorder our world, to make another world
possible. It is a sign of the strength and health of our movement
that this is not the only book published recently in this vein. All
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
over the world the rising tide of protest means there is a hunger
for books, films and news that expose the poverty of the global
political and economic system.
The introductory chapter by Gill Hubbard and David Miller
introduces the severe problems afflicting the globe, the
environmental catastrophe which faces us, global poverty, and the mania
for privatizations, which cause and exacerbate these problems.
The book deals with these questions by looking first at
concentrated power. This opening chapter, by Noam Chomsky, sketches
out the links between globalization and war. Chomsky argues that
the ‘masters of the universe’, as the business press likes to
describe our rulers, pursue war relentlessly. The only thing that
can stop them, he concludes, is popular struggle.
Mark Curtis focuses on Britain and the G8. Blair is the
‘host’ of the G8 summit in Gleneagles in July 2005, and Curtis
outlines the heavy responsibility of the British government for
the inequality and poverty we see all around us. Most
importantly he shows that behind the nice words about development
and aid are the corporate interests that the Blair government
attempts to camouflage under a patina of sincerity.
Colin Leys asks of the G8: where is your democratic
legitimacy? He shows the staggering lack of democracy in the
institutions of global and transnational government, and then outlines the
neo-liberal assault on liberal democracy within Western nations.
Lindsey German exposes the link between capital and war.
She notes that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a ‘new
imperialism’ dominated by the United States has arisen, and
points to its Achilles heel: repression breeds resistance. Olivier
Hoedeman discusses mounting corporate control across Europe,
arguing that the European Union is now becoming a US-style
‘lobbycracy’ where corporations rule nakedly and directly. The
G8 is a club for the most powerful nations to gain consensus
about how best to pursue corporate interests, and as such, says
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
Hoedeman, a very significant obstacle to democracy and justice.
Next, Emma Miller surveys the policies of the G8 nations on
Africa and development. Africa is high on the agenda for the G8
summit in 2005, and Miller exposes the neo-liberal agendas
embedded in the policies of all the members of the G8.
Section Two deals with some of the key issues highlighted
by the global justice and anti-war movements. George Monbiot
focuses on climate change, and how corporate interests
under