Global Revolt: A Guide to the Movements Against Globalization

Global Revolt is the best primer yet on the `alterglobalization' movements. Anyone who wants to become familiar with a brighter future will be greatly informed by this survey of forces that are writing the progressive pages of our history. The guide starts with a narrative of the rise of the movement of movements not with the Zapatistas or Seattle as told in the popular versions but quite compellingly in the 1980s. Starr is careful to note that even these early struggles in turn, drew on histories rooted in the previous 500 years of struggle against colonialism and imperialism. Starr moves onto the `one no, and many yeses' of the movements. No! to neoliberal and hegemonic proscriptions (structural adjustment programmes, privatizations, and `free trade') as imposed by international financial institutions and capitalist states of the Global North. Yes! to food sovereignty, sustainability, immigration and indigenous rights, `deglobalization', local autonomy, and participatory democracy (to name a few affirmatives). The many alternatives are not uncontested even within the movements themselves. The author explores these contestations presenting the positions carefully and drawing helpful inclusive conclusions. The final quarter of the work is a description and defense of various strategies (autonomous communities, DoItYourself, independent media et cetera), temporary groups (Tute Bianche, Pink Silver and Black Blocs), and actions (marches, lockdowns, occupations, reconnections, etc) for cultivating alterglobalization further. Whether you want to make another world possible or not, this is fine starting point for understanding all of us who do.