A note on anti-capitalism

What is often referred to as the "anti-capitalist" movement is born from the accumulation of global discontents with various aspects of the neo-liberal project. The anti-capitalist movement is a radically plural movement made up of many denominations. It is multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-coloured, with multiple issues. The movement like the neo-liberal project is global in scope with the ability to turn out people anywhere in the world. The anti-capitalist movement has its roots in the global south in the mid 80’s where grassroots movements began to protest against IMF policies in what became known as the 'IMF riots' after the introduction of structural adjustment programmes and development practices in 1980. In 1985 landless workers movements in Brazil began to protest against the transferring of land from the farmers and indigenous people to multinational corporations. In 1988 Europeans entered the struggle when 80,000 people came from across Europe to protest at the IMF meetings in Berlin. In 1990 the first continental encounter of indigenous people was organised in Ecuador. Perhaps the most significant moment of the movement was on January 1st 1994 when the EZLN arose out of Chiapas, Mexico in opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that would make Mexico into a free trade zone and an open market.

EZLN also referred to as the Zapatistas arose from among the indigenous peoples of Chiapas, Mexico who began to protest the destruction of their culture in the face of neo-liberalism. The Zapatistas appeared spouting poetry, Mayan culture and ideas of a new revolution. Hailed as post-modern revolutionaries the Zapatistas captured the imagination of the radical left and are seen by writers such as Naomi Klein as the leaders of the anti-capitalist movement. The Zapatistas are led by the charismatic Subcommandante Marcos, whose image is that of a masked, pipe smoking man, whose identity is hidden but is rumoured to be a Mestizo Marxist lecturer who left the city to organise the rural people of Mexico. The myth goes that when he arrived in Chiapas he attempted to convert the farmers to a standard Marxist theory regarding the workers but was met with blank stares, as the farmers began to express their philosophy of land and nature drawing upon their indigenous culture. Marcos became a student as well as a teacher and began working with the farmers to devise a new philosophy that incorporated Mayan teachings and radical left theory to create Zapatismo. The Zapatistas called upon all to become a Zapatista claiming that, 

‘Marcos is gay in San Francisco, black in South Africa, an Asian in Europe, a Chicano in San Ysidro, an anarchist in Spain, a Palestinian in Israel, a Mayan Indian in the streets of San Cristobal, a Jew in Germany, a Gypsy in Poland, a Mohawk in Quebec, a pacifist in Bosnia, a single woman on the Metro at 10 p.m., a peasant without land, a gang member in the slums, an unemployed worker, an unhappy student and, of course, a Zapatista in the mountains’. In other words, he is simply us: we are the leader we’ve been looking for." 

In 1998 fierce protests took place at the WTO meeting in Geneva at the UN building. In May of the same year 70,000 people joined together to encircle the G8 meetings in Birmingham, England. Protests also took place in 30 countries on 5 continents. In 1999 activists gathered in 43 countries at the time of the G8 summit in Koln and an insurrection took place in the financial sector of London. In November of the same year the most high profile event of the anti-capitalist movement took place on the streets of Seattle in protest to the WTO as thousands took part in battles against the police 20. 

In April 2000 US mobilisation was organised at the spring joint meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington DC. In September 2000 protestors mobilised at World Economic Forum meetings in Melbourne and at the Prague joint IMF and World Bank meetings. In August 2001 protestors from across the world hit the streets of Genoa to protest against the G8.   

The World Social Forum (WSF), the single most important institution of the movement, was launched in 2001 as a counter-part to the World Economic Forum meetings. WSF aims to bring together anti-capitalists in dialogue to discuss the possibilities of another world. The meetings have taken place all over the globe but have so far not been anything more than a space for deliberation. The WSF has not formulated any concrete political plans and has more emphasis on process than making progress.

The anti-capitalist movement has captured the world’s imagination through its spectacular acts of direct action. The movement has spawned hundreds of manifestos and beautifully poetic writings. It has lots of energy and they must be credited for identifying the enemy in neo-liberalism and recognizing the emergence of a new global order, however the movement has made no concrete political gains, there are no victories that the movement has under its belt. The anti-capitalist movement has proven itself to be nothing more than a series of global action days that some have referred to as ‘protest tourism’. The movement’s lack of a political institution that represents its interests in the democratic processes that exists or enables it to sit at the table to negotiate for their cause is a problem. Many of the loudest voices in the movement are the most avant-garde, the radical anarchists that totally reject any form of government, discipline or even democracy. As one grassroots movement has stated they “are not working for a place at the global table of negotiation".   

The movement’s lack of a coherent voice means that what the movement actually stands for is not clear to the public. There is not a constructive practice for people to be engaged in beyond attending planning meetings for global action days around massive issues that are disconnected from people’s everyday life. Participants cannot see the light at the end of the protest tunnel and become more disillusioned and cynical, as their demands are not met. Though the carnivalesque spectacle of the action days is amazing to witness it may not be the best tactic for recruiting new members, gaining public sympathy or ensuring that our demands are met.

The most well known slogan of the anti-capitalist movement is ‘another world is possible’, unfortunately the movement has not been able to define a viable alternative political vision beyond neo-liberalism. Neither has it been able to create a political practice beyond direct action. For the movement to become a counter-hegemonic project it must develop a new postmodern political praxis that goes beyond direct action and work to articulate a clearly defined global political vision.