Self-organization and alternative forms of globalization

1. Self-organization and alternative forms of globalization Occupy Wall Street Washington Square Park 2011

2. VS Classical economic liberalism: allowing the rise of the merchant class

3. Contemporary neo-liberalism: is unfettered, globalized capitalism sustainable?

4. Externalize costs=poor labor and environment consequences

5. Distributive Social Justice can fail USSR: “The People’s Engineering” no better than the czar’s Dnieper Dam Power Plant: Water flow too slow 10,000 farmers forced out & farmland lost Scarce food = large scale disease; erosion and algae = environmental disasters

6. Globalization can make matters even worse • Free trade agreements: poor countries sell at same price as wealthy nations: Wealthycountries cansubsidize their farmers, which lowers the market price for poor nations. • The shift to outsourcing: corporations move manufacturing and service jobs to the lowest cost locations, forcing workers to compete against each other. • Weakened labor unions: Competition from low-paid workers in other nations weakens labor unions in high-cost areas. • Decreased environmental and health protection:Countries with poor democratic process have laws largely determined by foreign corporations.

7. Globalization can make matters even worse Gini coefficient: 0 = all income the same 1= one person has all income

8. Can “generative” social justice offer a better solution?Increasing the capacity to generate sustainable social and material resources, create alliances, explore and innovate, celebrate life Generative public space: Community gardens, murals Generative tech: DIY, access to cultural capital, turning consumers into producers Social entrepreneurship: using market forces to aid non-market goals (local self-determination for health and social impacts)

9. Can “generative” social justice offer a better solution? Zapatistas:movement in S. Mexico). • Primarily non-violent • Questioning both communism and capitalism, they support restoring indigenous control over local resources, traditional sustainable practices • Arturo Escobar: “tacking” between physical and virtual spaces (unique for the 1990s)