gamut of reactionary third world regimes, can only offer the most mealy-mouthed of solutions:
"Ideally such measures must simultancously maintain the living standards the wealthy upgrade the living standards of the disadvantaged, and increase sustainability.
Who is to lead this mission impossible?
"Individuals are vitally important - they experience the deteriorating cavironment at tirst nand and incy often know the best solutions."
How are individuals to dent the power of the multinationals? a huge impact - a small adaptation add up to a significant change."
The old chestnut of civic action is also wheeled out:
"Public particination is a key clement in improved environmental management."
There is a problem, 'however. which that, UNEP *Many citizens still lack a feeling of ownership with regard legislation Perhaps this is because the "citizens" are all too painfully that they don't own or conwrecking their environment, and that they are ruled by tin-pot despotie regimes which are craven toadies to the banks and multinationals? UNEP admits that even where they are relatively progressive "national governments are losing influence". But hope is at hand: enter as the most unikels saviours... the multinationals!
"Although their first priority is profit, many leading international corporations and banks are adding cconomic value as corporate prioritives towards more sustainable develonment"
Phew! So that's alright then.
"Multinational comorations. for long powerful forces in the global conomy, nave ica tac action to establish and implement voluntary These codes of conduct would environmental agreements" with which accordine to GEO 2000 it has been difficult to secure complithe racine Latin America and the Caribbean -in other words in any of the develThe real bad guys, apparently are "small and medium-sized firms" which have yet to measure up to the *improved environmental performance" of the monopolies.
UNEP suggests "Large industries can De encouragca to neup smial and medium sized industries with voluntary action and implementing the "triple bottom line" economic and environmental accountability, or "peopic, profit The display of naivete could not oc more comprencasive or patactic Even while cataloguing the ways in the world have been systematically als, the UN turns back to these сулс pronicers to acip clean up the mess!
Marxism starts from the opposite premise. The capitalist drive for profit created both the incoualits and the environmental crisis. Capitalism cannot exist without perpetuating extremes of inequality and without the exploitation of the vast majority by a small minority.
Lenin pointed out that in creating such huge monopoly enterprises, had also foreshadowed the possibility of a better, more rational system: socialism.
in its stage leads right up to the most comprehensive socialisation of production: it. so to speak, drags the capitalists, against their will and into some sort of CURSIOUSHC new social order, a transitional one from free competition to complete Кося SON "Production becomes social, but appropriation remains private. The social means of production remain the private property of a few. The general framework of formally recognised competition remains, but the yoke of a few monopolists on the rest of the population becomes a hundred times heavier, more burdensome and intolerable."
The answer is not individual nov cotts and lifestyle choices, but coloppressed, the working class and the the monopoles There solution in anguisaca pica of mocrais for an only in action and socialist revolution.
By breaking the fetters of capitalist control and liberating the means of production from the demands of the profit system, space can be opened up tor the ratsonal planning of sustainable production to meet the needs of the many, not to line the pockets of a wealthy few.
Veronica Fagan • n June a truly international was held Paris under the banner of ATTAC- a recently formed organisation that calls for a tax on speculative financial trans. actions - the so called Tobin tax -money so raised to fund socially uscful services such as health and education.
The aim of the campaign is to reduce dramatically the volume of speculative transactions which outnumber those required by foreign trade by a factor of many thousands.
The currency crises caused by these bouts of speculation are used by such organisations as the IMF to force governments to adopt massive deflationary policies, throwing millions out of work practically overnight, as we saw in the SE Asian crisis in the recent past.
Advocates of this tax do not claim that it is a panacea to resolve all economic problems, would not seck ways of either evading such a tax or of passing the costs on to those who it is supposed to benefit, the poor and oppressed of the Rather it is posed as an interim first step to rein in the unbridled forces of financial Even if it were levied at a modest rate, revenues of $40bn would be generated which could be used to climinate world poverty.
The tax is obviously primarily targeted at the main world currencies such as the dollar, the euro and the yen. It would not require the co-operation of all countries to initiate such a tax, so for example the curozone could implement the tax without the co-operation attraction of the eurozone in the global economy.
An attack on the scandal of tax havens is clearly a concomitant of the strategy to prevent tax era. sion.
The campaign and its demand are rapidly becoming the central global alternative to the neo-lib. cral agenda of the Multilateral Agreement on investment. the Transatlantic Partnership between the BU and NAFTA, and the World Trade Organisation Millennium round of tariff reducton nexoradons which is being kicked off in Seattle this autumn.
Socialists should support the in tavour of any attempr to shackle the operations of capitalism at any level. constant threat posed by such speculative activity is a real pres. sure in itsel on the ability on workers and the masses to defend themselves.
Our support for the tax is within the framework of posing it as one measure amonest a whole series of anti-capitalist measures which are necessary to achieve the abolition of poverty and insecu rity on a global level. This is a perspective of course which is probably shared by most supporters of ATTAC ATTAC was founded by various ments including manay of the forces who have been involved in the Euromarches in france In grown to be a significant force with a membership of around The Tobin tax only makes sense as part of a package of anti-capitalist measures 11,000 organised in 120 branches. It also has a group of supporters in the French parliament.
The conterence itself was attenaca by some 10u people from 70 countries. Less than half the participants were French, and sacre were few from western Europe and America.
The best-represented counties were Brazil, South Africa, Senegal, Morocco, Philipinines and South Korea. Unfortunately there was virtually no from Britain, despite the fact that the themes of the conference are close to the aims of other networks that have had success in this country, such as Jubilee 2000 and Reclaim the Streets.
The aimed develop a common international campaign of resistance to neo-lib. eral attacks and the dominance of the finance markets.
The key international campaign demands agreed to were the abolition of Third World debt, sup. PICSSIOn tax havens, restructuring international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), taxation of financial speculation and opposition to multilateral tree trade agreements (such as the Multilateral Agreement on Investment).
Before the conference there were regional caucuses for delegates from Latin America. Africa and better links Asia to acyclop betweep countries in each region.
The Asian meeting included activists from Afghanistan, tralia, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand.
The Asian caucus discussed forming an ongoing network. Several ideas were tabled, such as for the cancellation of Third World debt and against the IME solidarity with the people of Indonesia, Bast Timor and Burma, including a "Put Suharto on trial" campaign. No independent ATTAC network was formed for the region, but the TransATTAC e-mail list will be used as a forum for collaboration and exchange.
African delegates issued A La statement in which they condemned the stereotyping of Africa as victim and instead based themselves on the deep tra. dition of resistance in their contiThey went on to say that "... we share a common experience of debt-induced austerity, massive tion of our environment and are being threatened with or are already being ravaged by whole. sale privatisation, by the destruction of public social services such as water, health, education, housing, transport, pensions, commuciccinci public infrastructure, food security, and are being dispossessed of land and in addition of having our subsistence eroded by the dumping of tac worms acavily suosidisca commodities.
"We also emphasise the fact that neo-iberalist rule has serious negative consequences on emancipation and development, and in addition, is leaving vast numbers of people helpless as epdemics like AIDS reaches dramatic proportions in Africa". They resolved to build regional and sub-regional networks to: • develop a common understanding of the impact of neo-liberal policies and globalisation, • build resistance to these and develop common strategies and, find alternatives together to neoliberalism in Africa;
• and co-operate with existing networks in their continent and ....
WOMEN IN BLACK AGAINST WAR Eighth International Meeting "Network of Women's Solidarity Against War" 7-10 October 1999 IF YOU WANT PEACE - PREPARE PEACE This year Women in Black are gathering for the first time in Montenegro. thouchts, teelinas and common actions right here tor different reasons: first, because this is a place on which it is possible that activists from all divided regions of the country that is still called FR Yugoslavia can meet: Vojvodina, Serbia, Sandzak, Montengro. Second, this is one of the regions in which foreign people wit passports can come in, without visas. Ulcini is on the Adriatic coast - we believe that we need beauty of Mediterranean nature and joy of different cultures and languages we can find there. We invite participants to prepare 5 minutes in which they will • inform us how they resist - individually or collectivelly - war, sexism, militarism, nationalism in the last year. Translation is simultaneous. • Called by Women in Black Belgrade, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Women in Black London: c.cock with other activists internationOn the final day of the conference, participants joined other ANAC members at a mily in Paris. The rally marched through the centre of the city behind the ATTAC which announced: "The dictatorship of financial markets? Another world is possible."
The slogans and chants centred on fighting back neo-liberal budget cuts, placing the taxation buracn on the rich and unancial institutions, and international solidarity.
he first coordinated international campaign is aimed at the new round of WTO negotiations at the end of July. An international week of protest is planned for October 12-17. Each country will decide the nature of the action to be under- taken during A day of activities will be organ. ised on 20 November, to mark the oppening of the Seattle WTO meeting to discuss a new MultiA South-South meeting will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in November. A counter-summit will be organised at the G7 summit in Okinawa, Japan, in July 2000.
Other activities include Europe-wide "world petition" for taxation of financial speculation and the abolition of tax havens. This will be followed up with mobilisations including a Europe -wide demonstration in Brussels in the spring of 2000.
Discussions are taking place as co tac most cuccure way to start d on this issue here in Britain. How can we link up with all those existing networks wha are campaigning against neo-libcralism in their own ways? How can we make trade union activists more aware that the attacks they face here in Britain are part of the same offensive faced by worker's world wide? • If you are interested in being part of these discussions contact ATTAC Britain c/o PO BOX 1109 or e-mail [email protected] • ATTAC c/o 9 bis rue de Valence, F 75005 Paris 331-43 -363054 e mail [email protected] http://attac.org Ulcinj, Montenegro We have chosen to meet, exchange our Kosovo, Third, the city of on.co.uk