Dear friends, My thanks to the many of you who have been sending in feedback on my book in progress. Based on this feedback, and comments from publishers, I am now rewriting from the beginning. People asked for more direct language, more examples, and a less abstract presentation. My abilities in this direction are, shall we say, not greatly developed. Nonetheless, I agree the suggestions make good sense. Further feedback as to "reader accessibility" will be welcome. This introduction, being an overview, remains more abstract than (hopefully) will be Chapter 1. rkm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Achieving a Livable World a democratic response to globalization Introduction - draft 2.1 Copyright 1998 by Richard K. Moore Latest update: 28 October 1998 - 2845 words comments to: •••@••.••• ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the first of the global free-trade agreements. At a United Nations conference in Geneva celebrating this anniversary, US President Bill Clinton opened his speech with the statement "Globalization is not a policy choice; it is a fact". This statement suggests a number of questions: What is globalization? Where did it come from? Where is it heading? Why does it appear to be inevitable? Why does the most powerful leader in the world express powerlessness in the face of globalization? Is what he says true, or are there alternatives to globalization? If so, what are they and how can they be pursued? This book is an investigation into these questions. The investigation will take us back to the birth of democratic republics in the late Eighteenth Century -- what is referred to as the Era of Enlightenment. We will look at the role played by political elites in the establishment of these republics, and we will review the history of the past two centuries, giving special attention to the power of elites and to the development of capitalism and imperialism. Our investigation will reveal that many common assumptions about this history are in fact myth. We will find that Western democracies have represented not the ascendency of popular sovereignty, but rather a political compromise that has served the interests of wealthy elites while granting to Western populations a number of privileges and benefits. We will find that globalization brings the abandonment of this political compromise -- what has often been referred to as the social contract -- along with the abandonment of constitutional democracy and of Western privileges. In our review of capitalism, we will learn that incredible energy and creativity has been unleashed by capitalism's growth imperative (its inherent need for never-ending economic growth). Besides all the industrial and technological innovations that this creativity has enabled, we will find that the design of societal systems has been one of capitalism's most inventive fields of endeavor. In order to create room for ever more growth, elites have become highly organized and very effective at political intrigue and at implementing systematic changes in societies worldwide. We will discover that globalization is in fact a grand elite project -- a coordinated, coherent suite of initiatives -- and that it is unfolding on a canvas much broader than is generally appreciated. Tight government budgets, privatization, downsized companies -- these aspects of globalization are known to nearly everyone. Those who inform themselves -- and there are many useful books available -- learn that globalization also brings accelerating environmental damage, increased poverty, destabilized societies, and a house-of-cards global financial system. But even that does not adequately capture the scope of the globalization project. I hope it will become clear, as this investigation unfolds, that globalization amounts to an overall restructuring of the world order, a political rebuilding project that goes very deep. In globalization's new world order, democratic governance and national sovereignty are being bulldozed clean from the global building site. The system of strong national republics, which was the West's heritage from the Enlightenment era, is being systematically dismantled. Political arrangements are being scraped way back, and old political strata, so to speak, are re-emerging. In some ways, globalization scrapes us back to the robber-baron era of the late nineteenth century, when laissez-faire capitalism reigned supreme, boom and bust cycles were frequent, and politicians were "in the pockets" of magnates such as John D. Rockefeller and J. Pierpont Morgan. Today it is called deregulation instead of laissez-faire, and it is giant transnational corporations (TNC's) that exert the political influence instead of colorful robber barons, but the game is the same, as are the results. In other dimensions, the globalization project is scraping even deeper, taking us back to the feudal era, with wealth and power concentrated in the hands of a super-rich elite, and with most everyone else reduced to a kind of disenfranchised serfdom. In still other aspects, globalization takes us all the way back to the Roman Empire, only this time on a global scale. Instead of an Emperor and Roman Legions, we have a World Trade Organization and a US/NATO strike force. And again the once-proud citizens of republics are being reduced to consuming bread and circuses -- and to unquestioned obedience to arbitrary imperial edicts. In every crisis, according at least to the Chinese symbol for crisis, there is both danger and opportunity. The opportunity brought by globalization is for people everywhere, from all walks of life, to wake up to the dire threat that faces them, and to do something about it. This investigation will show that the capitalist elite is too thoroughly entrenched for meaningful reform to be accomplished through standard political channels. And we will see that the corporate system is too dependent on endless growth for reform to be possible within the terms of that system. Only a radical restructuring of economic arrangements can provide for livable, stable societies. And only a radical shift of political power -- the dethroning of the elite establishment -- can create a political environment in which such a transformation can be accomplished and workable democracy established. In many parts of the third world, we will discover, people are generally aware of the threat posed by globalization. Centuries of struggle against imperialism have led to heightened political awareness, and organized resistance to globalization is growing rapidly. However, the methods by which the West dominates the third world are very effective, having been perfected during centuries of imperialism. For this reason, we will find that a successful response to globalization must be led by the West itself. Unfortunately, Westerners have been slower to understand the nature of the threat, due to sophisticated media propaganda and centuries of relative privilege. We will take a critical look at the history of Western political movements, seeking to understand why some succeeded and others failed. We will find that every political movement has a predictable set of obstacles to overcome, ranging from internal divisiveness, to systematic repression, to co-option at the very gates of would-be triumph. Based on these experiences, we will endeavor to formulate a strategy for a successful political movement aimed at ending elite domination and establishing a stable, sustainable, and democratic world system. This will be a common-sense investigation, not an academic treatise. My own background is in software systems, not in economics, history, or political science. This investigation works directly from the reported facts, and there will be no attempt to relate the work to the various theoretical frameworks that the social sciences have developed over the years. How this investigation is structured ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ At a recent workshop on political activism, I learned about a "change formula" which helps clarify how social change occurs. The formula states that the force for change is related to discomfort level, quality of vision, and available means. If people are comfortable with existing arrangements, they are unlikely to seek or favor change. Even if they are very uncomfortable, they won't usually be eager for change unless they have a clear vision of something better. And even then, with both discomfort and vision, little progress can be made until a practical means has been identified by which the vision can be realized. If a group of people are to work together for change, as in a political movement, then they need to have a shared sense of discomfort, a common vision of something better, and an agreed means of achieving it. If such a movement is to be global in scope, then a great deal of agreement will be required among a very large number of people. With all due humility, I offer this book as an attempt to contribute toward building that level of agreement and helping to spark a global movement for a livable world. Part I addresses the issue of discomfort. I hope to show that globalization represents perhaps the gravest danger ever to face humanity. This turns out to be a relatively straightforward case to make. The evidence is abundant all around us, and only a steady diet of corporate propaganda and official doubletalk keeps so many people from recognizing the evidence for what it is. Besides the evidence presented here, a bibliography is provided listing several outstanding books which have looked in more detail at the various aspects of globalization and corporate power. Part II seeks to articulate an appropriate vision for a livable world. This turns out to be an investigation of a quite different kind. While understanding the threat of globalization is a matter of interpreting observable facts, identifying an appropriate vision calls for a consideration of system dynamics. Politics, economics, the environment, and world order are all systems. In a livable world, I will argue, these systems need to work together in harmony and they need to be stable and robust. The notion of livability, I will argue, leads naturally to the identification of certain fundamental principles. These principles can be interpreted as requirements for a livable world system. By considering these requirements, and following where they take us, we will be led to the architecture for a livable world. This process is a matter of discovering objective necessities, not of describing subjective ideals. It is more like a map than a recipe. This kind of systems analysis has been used effectively by many previous investigators and thinkers. The US Constitution, with its checks and balances, represents a deep understanding of the system dynamics of factional politics. Adam Smith, one of the Enlightenment thinkers, explored the system dynamics of free markets, by looking at supply and demand as system forces. Karl Marx, in the nineteenth century, worked out the dynamics of a more complete model of the capitalist system, taking also into account monopolization and political power. The terminology of systems had not been invented at the time of these earlier efforts, but they exemplify systems analysis nonetheless. System dynamics are much better understood today. Adam Smith had only the simple models of Newton to work from, and Marx had only the slightly more complex models developed during early industrialization. Since that time the development of complex computer software, and the study of biological systems, have given us an incredibly enriched understanding of how complex systems function, and of what characteristics are necessary to ensure stability and reliability. As I said before, this will be a common-sense investigation. The lessons we will draw from systems theory are very simple ones -- there will be no mathematics nor even diagrams. The point really is to look at things as systems, to identify the underlying forces at work, and to work out how those forces can be kept in balance. This is what Smith did with regard to the forces of supply and demand. With modern system concepts we have the tools necessary to look at the whole system instead of only an idealized subsystem such as free-market economics. In discovering our vision, or architecture, for a livable world, we will develop a common-sense understanding of what democracy means in practice, of how sustainability can be managed, and how a stable world order can be most reliably ensured. We will draw on examples from many real-world systems, including, with some irony, those used in modern corporations. One of the core principles of a livable world, we will find, is that of localism. Localism -- an emphasis on the political and economic self-determination of localities -- turns out to be necessary and central to both democracy and sustainability. Part III seeks to outline the means by which global transformation can be accomplished. We will learn from the experience of previous social movements and we will draw on the results of Part II. From previous movements we will work out movement strategy -- how to prevail in the face of determined opposition. Part II shows us how the movement can be unified and coordinated, while also being democratic and locally based. Many previous movements have failed at the very point of victory. The victory of the French Revolution, for example, led to bloody chaos while the Russian Revolution led to dictatorship. These movements managed to defeat the old regimes, but when victory was won a power vacuum was created, and into it leapt those hungry for power. A democratic, locally-based movement can be not only the means of achieving victory, but it can also become the basis for democracy in the new world. If the movement models itself on its own vision for a livable world, then as it develops it becomes the society it seeks. Thus no power vacuum is created, and the transition can be smooth to livable, democratic societies. Our investigation will show that the principle of non-violence must be central to a successful movement. In the context of Western liberal values, as Gandhi and Martin Luther King demonstrated, a non-violent strategy gives maximum advantage to people, in the face of powerful, armed establishments. And non-violence also builds the kind of movement that can become the civil society appropriate for a livable world. The prospects for success There remains a fundamental question: Is there any reason to believe that a global grass-roots movement is possible or likely in current circumstances? Are historical conditions right for such a movement to arise? Globalization itself, I suggest, has created, and is creating, conditions which are favorable to the development of such a movement. To begin with, globalization is creating the conditions for massive unrest and discomfort, as will be discussed in Part I. In addition, the development of a functioning global society is creating a cultural vacuum. Our cultures, our political traditions, and our identities are oriented around nations as the largest unit of society. As economics and politics operate more and more globally, we are set adrift as to who we are, what society we are part of, and what the values and rules of our societies are. Into this vacuum are rushing fundamentalist religions, nationalistic movements, messianic cults, and various other radical ideologies and agendas. In this respect we can compare current conditions to those of the Roman Empire. The administration and trading systems that Rome established connected diverse cultures into a larger society. None of the existing religions matched the scale of the new society, and evangelistic religions such as Mithraism and Christianity rushed in to fill the vacuum. The gods offered by the Romans themselves, apparently, didn't have sufficient appeal. The only "god" offered by today's global regime is market forces, supported by its trinity of growth, deregulation, and free-trade. This "religion" is hardly satisfying as the foundation of global culture, and there is little wonder people everywhere are searching for new cultural anchors, or reaching back nostalgically for old ones. US Congressman Newt Gingrich comes to mind, with his sentimental praise of an idealized Main Street America. There is reason to be fearful during such a time of cultural instability, given the comfort to be found in easy answers and repressive fundamentalist ideologies. But in a time of searching, enlightened ideas may also find an audience. Cultural instability provides a favorable opportunity for mass movements, of whatever variety. Of particular significance is globalization's abandonment of traditional Western privileges. As social services are dismantled and wages decline, Western governments are increasingly devoting themselves to promoting corporate interests rather than promoting social well being and healthy national economies. The relative privilege of Western populations has traditionally provided a mass constituency in support of the established capitalist system. As more and more Westerners come to realize that globalization is betraying this unwritten social contract, many of them are looking for new solutions. This creates an opportunity for mass political movements in the very heart of the beast -- the Western fortress of global capitalism. In addition, there seem to be cracks showing up in the capitalist edifice itself. One of the most successful capitalists, billionaire financier George Soros, told us in the Atlantic Monthly (February 1997) that unrestrained capitalism has become the greatest threat to "open societies" and democratic values. The collapse of Asian economies shook global confidence, and Western leaders have called officially for reform of the international financial system. A major free-trade proposal, the Multilateral Agreement on Investments, was recently stalled due to disputes among Western leaders. These kind of developments do not mean that capitalism will collapse, but any such weaknesses or divisions enhance, at least psychologically, the prospects for our movement. As the millennium approaches, I believe it is fair to say that anxiety regarding global instability and social deterioration is at a very high level worldwide. Old systems really are falling apart, and the new global system has not managed to instill confidence or cultural identity. The objective conditions, I suggest, are almost ideally favorable for mass movements. The challenge is for responsible people of good will everywhere to rise up and make use of this opportunity. The window of opportunity is closing fast, as nations are being disempowered and popular will is being made rapidly irrelevant. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CITIZENS FOR A DEMOCRATIC RENAISSANCE mailto:•••@••.••• http://cyberjournal.org --- To join the discussion on bringing about a movement for a democratic renaissance, send any message to: •••@••.••• --- To subscribe to the the cj list, which is a larger list and a more general political discussion, send any message to: •••@••.••• --- To review renaissance-network archives, send any message to: •••@••.••• ----------------------------------- A community will evolve only when the people control their means of communication. -- Frantz Fanon