Resisting the New World Order

by Henry Holmes
Sustainable Alternatives to the Global Economy

The break between the rhetoric of sustainable development - which is more than just eco-efficient technologies and "green" capitalism - and the reality of a global economic system - which values only continued growth, trade and investment expansion - is what keeps us on the fast-track to social, economic and environmental collapse. Any economic system that fails to account for poverty, pollution, destroyed ecosystems and human exploitation is destined to fail.

The world's current failure to address the social, economic and environmental justice aspects of economic globalization, trade and investment liberalization is a failure to realize that the eradication of poverty, racism, gender discrimination and homophobia are prerequisites for ensuring the survival of life on Earth.

The US is undergoing a political and economic restructuring that exacerbates economic disparity and displacement, weakens effective environmental protection and enforcement, and relinquishes democratic sovereignty and self-governance to unaccountable supranational institutions designed to serve the interests of transnational corporations (TNCs). Think of California's Propositions 187 (anti-immigration) and 209 (anti-affirmative action) and recent national welfare and immigration "deform" measures. Government at all levels is geared toward providing a globally competitive business climate at the expense of essential public services and the social safety net; resulting "liberalization" policies all favor TNCs.

The 29 rich countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, lead by the US, are negotiating an insidious Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) ["Investors Plot to Sue Cities," Spring '97 EIJ], a treaty that will grant transnational investors the unrestricted "right" to buy, sell and move their operations whenever and wherever they want, unfettered by government intervention or regulation.

A broad range of public policies, laws and regulations designed to protect the public and ensure greater responsibility and accountability to communities, workers, consumers and the environment could be eliminated under MAI's proposed provisions. In a [date?] letter to US officials [Congress? the White House?], the US Council for International Business [brief ID. For example, "a coalition of the 125 top US industries"] - states, "The MAI is an agreement between governments to protect their international investors and their investments. We will oppose any and all measures aimed to create or even imply obligations for governments or business related to environment or labor [emphasis added]."

Whether your concern is for community health and safety, requirements for banks to invest in underserved communities, incentives for local hiring and job creation, livable wage standards, domestic partners benefits, contracting opportunities for people of color and women-owned small business, environmental protection, human rights, immigrant and refugee rights, or countless other public interest issues, all progressive public policy efforts to achieve social justice could be nullified if the proposed MAI takes effect. It does not matter whether the policy, law or regulation is federal, state, regional or local. The MAI would function as the ultimate trump card to any other consideration. It is an international "Corporate Bill of Rights."

A broad-based national constituency is necessary to counter the locally disruptive impacts of corporate economic globalization. Such a constituency must be committed to creating sustainable alternatives for present and future generations; it must include communities of color, community economic development programs and environmental justice advocates.

Grassroots community capacity must be strengthened in urban communities of color in order to build community-based, bioregionally localized, highly diversified sustainable economies as alternatives to a global economy controlled by TNCs. These companies have no long-term commitment to any particular people, place or natural ecosystems. At the same time, organized political pressure to change the domestic and international policies and institutions that consolidate transnational corporate power, disempower communities and subvert participatory democratic self-governance must be strengthened and mobilized.

Those of us in the US have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with the people of the South and developing countries who wish to protect their natural resources, indigenous sovereignty and ways of life. We must support all efforts to empower women and all struggles for social, economic and environmental justice, wherever they occur.

Sustainable Alternatives to the Global Economy (SAGE), a new project of Earth Island Institute - and the second to be led by people of color - is dedicated to exposing the destructive consequences of economic globalization on US urban communities of color. SAGE will focus on education and constituency-building to develop alternative economic development strategies that empower grassroots communities and provide for their long-term social, economic and ecological well-being.

Working collaboratively with other organizations and networks, SAGE also advocates for policy and institutional transformation to address the interconnectedness of trade, investment, ecological sustainability, sustainable development and community well-being. SAGE is working to promote greater participation of grassroots people of color and civil society organizations in international trade and investment discussions.

What You Can Do: For more information on SAGE, contact Earth Island Institute, 300 Broadway, No. 25, San Francisco, CA 94133. For more information on the MAI, [e.g., other groups fighting it] contact Henry Holmes at (415) 788-3666.