Originally posted by Tingkai
I find it funny that some people are complaining about the protesters being ignorant when these people don't know what the protesters are complaining about.
It is not about being against globalization
The majority of the protesters recognize that globalization is a fact of life. What they are concerned about is who gets to set international rules for trade. There are some people who want to stop international trade, but these people are in the minority.
It's about democracy at the international level
Why should the unelected IMF and World Bank have the power to tell a country what it should or shouldn't do. If we are opposed to the policies of the IMF and the World Bank, should we not have some way of voicing our concerns. At the moment, there are no checks or balances on the power of the IMF and World Bank.
The IMF and the World Bank make mistakes
The IMF's approach to Asian economic crisis in 1997 was extremely flawed. This is an opinion held by many respected economists. And yet there is no way to stop the IMF from inflicting its dangerous policies.
The WTO and IMF ignore environmental concerns
IIRC, the United States government created laws designed to protect sea turtles. These laws were considered reasonable and the laws were created by the elected representatives of the people. Yet, the unelected WTO was able to force the US to dismantle these laws.
The Seattle riots worked
As a result of the riots, local politicians woke up to the fact that people were dissatisfied with the current international system for setting trade rules. Poverty, environmental issues, labour issues are now being more fully discussed at the international level thanks to the protesters.
Bureaucrats want the public to remain stupid
Bureaucrats working at the international level would prefer that the public ignore what they do. It makes their life easier. So naturally they portray the protesters as being just a bunch of rowdy ignorant kids.
I find it funny that some people are complaining about the protesters being ignorant when these people don't know what the protesters are complaining about.
It is not about being against globalization
The majority of the protesters recognize that globalization is a fact of life. What they are concerned about is who gets to set international rules for trade. There are some people who want to stop international trade, but these people are in the minority.
It's about democracy at the international level
Why should the unelected IMF and World Bank have the power to tell a country what it should or shouldn't do. If we are opposed to the policies of the IMF and the World Bank, should we not have some way of voicing our concerns. At the moment, there are no checks or balances on the power of the IMF and World Bank.
The IMF and the World Bank make mistakes
The IMF's approach to Asian economic crisis in 1997 was extremely flawed. This is an opinion held by many respected economists. And yet there is no way to stop the IMF from inflicting its dangerous policies.
The WTO and IMF ignore environmental concerns
IIRC, the United States government created laws designed to protect sea turtles. These laws were considered reasonable and the laws were created by the elected representatives of the people. Yet, the unelected WTO was able to force the US to dismantle these laws.
The Seattle riots worked
As a result of the riots, local politicians woke up to the fact that people were dissatisfied with the current international system for setting trade rules. Poverty, environmental issues, labour issues are now being more fully discussed at the international level thanks to the protesters.
Bureaucrats want the public to remain stupid
Bureaucrats working at the international level would prefer that the public ignore what they do. It makes their life easier. So naturally they portray the protesters as being just a bunch of rowdy ignorant kids.
Asher et al read THIS article or
THIS article from the Toronto Star, or
THIS article
I also found THIS suprisingly candid report from the Canadian Security- Intelligence Service interesting.
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