[20] in peace2
Re: WTO movement and peace
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Karen Sachs)
Fri Jan 14 12:05:15 2000
Message-Id: <200001141705.MAA27606@m56-129-21.mit.edu>
To: jennifer lewey <jlewey@brandeis.edu>
cc: peace2@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 14 Jan 2000 00:42:28 EST."
<387EB744.4F9351AF@brandeis.edu>
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Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000 12:05:06 -0500
From: Karen Sachs <karens@MIT.EDU>
hi jennifer-
i have no knowledge of economics, but it is clear to me that the problem with
the wto is NOT that it attmepts globalization. it does not. it attempts to
structure world trade in such a way that would best serve huge corporations,
and "best serve" for them translates into no concern for worker's or
childern's rights, no concern for the environment.
this is why their agreements had to be made behind closed doors.
i see it as american rich boys saying hey, why shouldn't we hook up not only
with each other, but with all the other rich boys in the world- then we'll
make even more millions.
thw wto agreements have a "profit first" philosophy (obviously, since it's
structured by people serving these huge corporations), and so they crush human
and environmental rights.
a different wto that adresses world trade while also addressing humanitary
issues could be a trully wonderful and unifying thing, a true attempt at
globalization.
out of seattle comes a slightly different (though related) issue- one of
centrallization of power and the regard for citizen's rights in america. at
the meeting last night, the man sitting stage left (whose name i missed),
refering to the "disappearance" of one of the speakers, said something to the
effect of: in another country, this man's disappearance would have been for
good.
how strongly we hold to the notion of our country being inherently different
from the others! after witnessing unprovoked officers of the law brutillizing
unprotected people, officers who will never be brought to justice, people who
may suffer permanent damage... can we still believe that in our country human
rights are somehow protected?
if people are arrested and beaten in the jails, and all that interests the
government is the pr, how far away are we from "disappearances"?
wake up and smell the stench of the government. as long as the masses don't
know, they do what they choose.
and where's the media in all of this? busy watching a few people break
windows.
i recently read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle", describing the horrors of
industrial giants' complete disregard for anything but profit, and the
horrible resulting squalor of the workers' lives. one hundred years later, we
feel that real progress has been made. meanwhile the industrial giants are
there, working hard for a great leap backwards.
on this optimistic note, i highly recommend to you howard zin's "a people's
history of the US" and "you can't stay neutral on a moving train", also by zin.
as long as people care and are willing to sacrifice, i believe things can
change in the right direction.
hats off to the three who came and spoke to us last night, and to all the
thousands who were with them.
karen
