Alternatives to Economic Globalization

Written by a premier group of 21 thinkers from around the world, the second edition of Alternatives to Economic Globalization lays out democratic, ecologically sound, socially just alternatives to corporate globalization more fully, specifically, and thoughtfully than has ever been done before. Focusing on constructive, achievable goals, the authors present ten governing principles for establishing truly sustainable societies and describe alternatives to the World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO that would better serve the needs of the planet. They offer detailed proposals for protecting vital goods and services from corporate exploitation, limiting corporate privileges and power, rebuilding economies to make them more responsive to human needs, and more.
This revised and expanded edition features a new opening chapter on the global balance of power, a new section on the media and globalization, and a new final chapter on what ordinary citizens can do to fight the injustices of globalization. It also includes many new charts, sidebars, and other updated information.List of Boxes
Preface to the Second Edition
A Living Document
Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources

Introduction: Turning Point
Cancun: The Outbreak of Democracy
Miami: Regime Change in Latin America
Iraq: The Failure of Empire
New Awakenings

Part One A SYSTEM IN CRISIS
1. Conflicting Worldviews
Different Worlds
Economic Democracy
Momentum for Change
2. Design for Corporate Rule
Key Ingredients of the Globalization Model
Hypergrowth
Privatization and Commodification
Economic and Cultural Homogenization
Export-Oriented Trade and Investment
Beneficiaries of Economic Globalization
The Role of the Media
3. The Unholy Trinity: The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization
The World Bank
The International Monetary Fund
The World Trade Organization
Proposals

Part Two ALTERNATIVES IN ACTION
4. Ten Principles for Sustainable Societies
Core Principles
1. New Democracy
2. Subsidiarity
3. Ecological Sustainability
4. Common Heritage
5. Diversity
6. Human Rights
7. Jobs, Livelihood, Employment
8. Food Security and Safety
9. Equity
10. The Precautionary Principle
Applying the Principles to Globalization
5. Reclaiming the Commons: What Should Be Off-Limits to Globalization?
Understanding the Commons
Current Threats to the Commons
The Tradition of the Commons
Threats to the Modern Commons
Three Proposals to Reempower the Commons
6. Subsidiarity: Recalling Power from the Global
Understanding Subsidiarity
The Road to the Local
Investment and Finance Issues
Response to Critics of Subsidiarity
7. Alternative Operating Systems (1)
Energy Systems
Transportation Systems
Manufacturing Systems
Standards of Measurement
8. Alternative Operating Systems (2)
Agriculture and Food Systems
Global Media
People’s Alternative Initiatives

Part Three GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
9. Corporate Structure and Power
Corporate Structure Today
Citizen Actions Against Corporate Power
Ending Corporate–State Collusion
Toward Alternative Business Structures
10. New International Structures
A Review of the Current Situation
Essential Rules of a Just and Sustainable International Trade and Finance System
Restructuring the Institutional Framework
Strengthening the Countervailing Powers of the U.N. System
Creating New Global Institutions
11. Global to Local: What You Can Do
Steps You Can Take as a Consumer
Steps You Can Take as a Worker
Steps You Can Take as a Depositor and Investor
Steps You Can Take as a Citizen
Resources: Groups Working Toward Alternatives to Economic Globalization
Resources: Useful Tools and Indicators
Sources
Index
About the Authors
About the International Forum on Globalization (IFG)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.”