The Neoliberalist Approach to Globalization
Neoliberalism refers to a political ideology that considers economic liberalism as a means of promoting economic development and securing political liberty. Proponents of
neoliberal globalization advocate the total deregulation of the global economy in order to increase competition and thereby encourage firms to offer better prices, more choice and better working conditions. They suggest that by allowing market forces to dictate globalization, economic concerns will take precedence over social and political issues, producing a situation not unlike global free trade. This type of approach is supported mainly by multinational corporations seeking to gain maximum profit and is therefore referred to by some observers as
corporate-driven globalization.
Market-led globalization has social, political, cultural, and economic dimensions and is often associated with trade liberalization.
Opposition and Alternatives
Many are opposed to
market-driven globalization for social reasons; they suggest that the fundamental rights of populations will suffer as a result of the competition between multinational corporations. They also maintain that
market-driven globalization is leading to a new era of upheaval in which the economy is becoming more and more dismembered from society. This in turn increases inequality in redistribution of wealth and promotes insecurity, poverty and the commodification of natural resources.
The increasing frustration and disillusionment of populations with a market-led approach to globalization is evidenced by the protests at the G8, WTO, EU and other summits. There is a growing movement among citizens, networks and institutions searching for a more durable response to
market-driven globalization and its companion, the pressure for unrestricted flows of capital and "free" trade worldwide. However, the solution remains unclear. An alternative economic paradigm would have to address the relationship between
market-driven globalization and the issues of democracy and global environmental sustainability. In addition, it would require the participation of all the salient actors, that is to say not only governments but also multinational enterprises and international governing bodies.
(adapted from Lewis, M.,
Reclaiming Development in the Places We Live, CRDC, 2004, and Keet, D.,
"Further Industrial Tariff Liberalisation Through the WTO, Transnational Institute, 2005, visited 2010-12-21)
The Bamako Appeal
Social forums have played an important role in the expression of alternate goals for development, creating a balance of societies, abolishing exploitation by class, gender, race and caste, and marking the route to a new relation of forces between North and South. On January 18, 2006, the Polycentric World Social Forum at Bamako defined certain principles and propositions for achieving theses goals under the name "Bamako Appeal."
The Bamako Appeal expresses a commitment to create a notion of solidarity between the peoples of the North and South who have been marginalized by the effects of the neoliberalist system. Through democracy and social equality, the Appeal aims to find a viable social and economic alternative.
Practical social, economic and military propositions for the realization of goals set forth in the Appeal were also identified. Economic examples include:
- Reinforcing protest campaigns against the current rules of operation of the World Trade Organization and defining alternative rules.
- Establishing an inventory of proposals for alternative measures in the most fundamental economic areas: organizing the monetary system, controlling the flow of capital (in particular speculative capital), suppressing tax havens, constructing regional systems of management of the stock exchanges and connecting them to a renovated world system (calling into question the role of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, returning to the principle of the rule of national laws to define the local economic system, etc.).
(adapted from MRZine,
The Bamako Appeal, 2006, visited 2011-02-29)
