Describe and explain how neoliberalism has led to resistance movements and the implementation of alternatives to dominant models of globalisation?
Globalisation is complex and encompasses multiple changes in the economy, politics and culture. Neoliberalism, which has been seen to have driven globalisation in the Western world for the last 35 years, can be described as a policy model that transfers control of economic factors from the public sector to the private sector (Stiglitz, 2010). It is arguably through neoliberalism that a resistance to dominant models of globalisation have arisen in society. Alternatives to globalisation are frequently being called upon as more people believe that different aspects of globalisation attend to private power systems as opposed to the rights of people (Evans, 2005).
Globalisation, which has come hand in hand with the development of neoliberalism, has encompassed ongoing disruptions with issues around divisions of labour, social relations, welfare provisions, technological changes and new ways of thought (Harvey, 2007). The adoption of policies that suggest laissez-faire economic development provide key elements to economic globalisation, these include; privatisation, free trade, deregulation, non-interference of the state as well as freedom of the individual. The ideology that encompasses neoliberalism proposes that human well-being can best be advanced by individual maximisation of capitalist freedoms (Harvey, 2007), but often at the expense of public or social good. Through the rapid growth of globalisation throughout the world, many argue that there has been a distinct lack of recognition of indirect consequences as social costs and that the unsustainable exploitation of resources have been left behind. It is visible that the range of the elements that economic globalisation and neoliberalism contain have both positive and negative consequences when viewed from different perspectives. Unsurprisingly, these accelerations and decelerations in different zones of the global economy create resistance, often seen as political and social responses to economic globalisation through social movements (Chin and Mittleman, 1997).
It is important to examine the reasons for the resistance to globalisation on both the national and local scale. Chin and Mittleman (1997) examine explanations of resistance and highlight the complexities of conceptualising it. Resistance to globalisation arises as there are both beneficiaries as well as losers in a globalised world. As a result of these perceived negative consequences of globalisation for some, people can feel marginalised at different levels and often feel as though their voices are not heard. Therefore, social movements and resistance towards neoliberal globalisation attempts to bring about alternatives and provide a voice to a population that can feel suppressed. The essay looks to show how neoliberalism along with globalisation have led to a variety of different social movements in resistance to globalisation, giving reasons for the resistance as well as providing insights into the ideas of alternatives to globalisation and focussing on a variety of examples throughout the world. These examples include the global justice movement, Occupy Wall Street looking specifically at social movements that work against corporate globalisation, global environmental movements against the environmental degradation that has arguably been worsened by globalisation and finally a focus on transnational global terrorism in the context of resistance to globalisation.
The worldwide global justice movement serves as an example of resistance to dominant models of globalisation, however, literature notes how there is a common misconception over what it represents.
It must be noted that the alter-globalisation movement supporters do not necessarily oppose the free market, but instead they oppose many exploitative free-market practices that certain businesses encompass and ultimately those that have potential to lead to violations of human rights. Supporters of the global justice movement reinforce the ideas of positive global cooperation through globalisation, however, are in strong opposition to what they see as the negative effects of economic globalisation.
The alter-globalisation movement supports the argument that the crux of economic globalisation leaves behind human values such as environmental and climate protection, economic justice, labour protection as well as protection of civil liberties. Participants of the movement oppose multinational corporations and international institutions, such as the World Trade Organisation or World Bank, for a lack of regulation in terms of their political power which has seen to be indirectly utilised through trade agreements as well as through unregulated financial markets. It is argued that both these international institutions as well as large multinational corporations prioritise the advancement of developed world economies while ignoring the potentially detrimental effects of their activities on the people and environments in less economically developed countries (Evans, 2005).
Corporate Globalisation is seen as a system of Globalisation from Above, where the ideology draws on neoliberal theory where supporters of resistance movements believe that the powerful ruling elites in society in the past looked to create policy to expand the world markets for their own interests (Nordstrom, 2007). This Globalization from above, where key players include a combination of institutions, states, and multinational corporations has been viewed from those below as a system that enables the rich to remain rich through the policies and practices they put in place. Corporations are accused of seeking to maximise profit at the expense of employment safety standards, environmental conservation principles as well as the integrity of national independence and sovereignty (Stiglitz, 2010). Numerous social movements have emerged to challenge the influence of these powerful players, and resist the idea of corporate globalisation. Occupy Wall Street serves as an example of a local movement that symbolised a call for collective action in the United States, fighting to empower individuals through new political structures and relationships (Caren and Gaby, 2011). The movement also stated an explicit rejection of the dominant ideology and institutions that were existent in society (Angelastro, 2013). This local movement has the advantage of not being associated with a large corporation or sponsorship, (Caren and Gaby, 2011) although Facebook plays a key role in transitioning potential and casual supporters into movement activities, online and offline. Although the Occupy movement succeeded to some extent in cultivating a political class-consciousness in its members, it also showed some of the challenges to creating effective counter-hegemonies (Caren and Gaby, 2011). The movement was subject to criticisms as it lacked a strong structure and leadership and therefore faded without substantial action. The Occupy movement, is significant in showing that a common moral and ideological bond is possible amongst the population and that a commitment to egalitarianism and direct democracy are possible without relying on hierarchical bodies of power (Angelastro, 2013).
The global environmental movement serves as an example of a counter-hegemonic movement leveraging the ideas and organisational structures observed by hegemonic globalization. Global and local environmentalism is key when discussing global social movements in resistance to globalisation. In many countries globalisation can be seen to lead to the detrimental exploitation of local environmental resources on which many livelihoods depend on, particularly the poor living in rural areas. Many people feel that globalisation allows Multinational Corporations, specifically those in more economically developed countries to access resources in poorer countries at a low cost. The administered underpricing of some of these resources is a major factor in resource depletion. It is suggested that many Multinational Companies locate in LEDCs due to more relaxed environmental laws and are aware of the consequences in pollution and land degradation. Resistance and social movements have gathered because many domestic vested interests are often responsible for continuation of these damaging policies. Organisations in the form of transnational NGOs have been set up that focus on environmental issues, exploitation of resources and environmental damage. The global environmental movement provides an example of counter-hegemonic globalization, where the purpose of the movement is to change the global discursive and regulatory environment around globalisation, representing a resistance.
In addition to environmental reasons, humanitarian issues are often at the crux of negative associations with globalisation. Resistance to globalisation and social movements have many incentives. One common incentive for their resistance is the damage that large multinational companies have abroad through offshoring as well as cheap labour and failing to take into account humanitarian issues. Firstly, damage to domestic industry is often substantial. Multinational companies with their mechanised production processes and economies of scale mean that local businesses often cannot compete and go out of business. Secondly, profits in multinational companies locate in many poorer countries but then send the bulk of their profits back to their home country. Thirdly, labour is an important issue to consider as multinational companies are often accused of making use of sweatshops to reduce their costs of production. The new global division of labour that comes with economic globalisation consists of new technologies, particularly in communications and transportation; with pressures for more flexibility in the workforce as well as heightened patterns of specialization (Gills, 2000), therefore companies from MEDCs are able to exploit working conditions in less economically developed countries with less regulation. NGOs in opposition to the exploitation of humanitarian and labour related issues revolving around globalisation have also been set up a move for resistance. This shift towards an integrated and coordinated division of labour in production and trade (Chin and Mittleman, 1997) has from many perspectives created negative outcomes of capital-driven globalisation for workers. This is shown through distinctive regional divisions of labour cross-border flows that take on new proportions and transcend territorial states, for example the flows of undocumented workers, finance, knowledge as well as information. Jobs are lost and in the home countries and workers are angry, and in addition, the reduction of effective regulatory control over the activity abroad surfaces a problem of exploitation of workers and has been highly criticised.
An additional example that portrays how the neoliberalist model and resulting globalisation has created a resistance movement, is through transnational global terrorism groups. Terrorism, for example the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th 2001, has brought the idea of Islamic terrorist movements to the attention of the world media, particularly in the context of globalisation. It is common for people to see Islamic movements as established as religious-based antipathy to the Western world (Goldman, 2010; Sutton and Vertigans, 2006). However, literature suggests how Islamic movements can be viewed from multiple perspectives, presenting the ideas of radical Islamic fundamentalism as a transnational movement against globalisation (Delibas, 2009). It has been argued that Islamic movements have arisen as a response to diverse socioeconomic and political conditions that have been aggravated by rapid urbanization and globalisation, particularly the influence the Western world (Sutton and Vertigans, 2006). The world’s great powers, the U.S. and its allies, and their policies and ideologies which have spread throughout the world are seen as enemies, built on proposition that they influence, affect and destroy the true Muslim ways (Goldman, 2010; Stibli, 2010). In addition, to demonstrate this they use force to exploit the vulnerability of the West, with the incentive to make the enemy state oblige to stop exporting Western values and patterns of behavior. Using the Al-Qaeda network as an example, Sutton and Vertigans (2006) suggest how this movement organises in ways that can be compared similarly to many existing social movements as it is flexible enough to adapt to changing situations and national locations. The Al-Qaeda network and connections to the wider radical Islamic movement do not differ dramatically to the networks that make up numerous other social movements, for example anti-globalization mobilizations previously discussed. It is suggested that Al-Qaeda is not a terrorist organization but instead a decentralized global network of Islamic extremists. In addition, movements can be seen as part of a resistance towards globalization. Sutton and Vertigans (2006) use the example of the Islamic movement in Turkey to depict how grassroots activism rather than religious fundamentalism helped lead political Islam to power in the 1990s in Turkey. It is suggested that the party came into power through using election campaigns to win votes, particularly targeting the urban poor, instead of simply the idea of following Islamic fundamentalism or by exploiting religious values (Sutton and Vertigans, 2006), building on this idea that Al-Qaeda can be considered a social movement that is part of this wider anti-globalisation movement, rather than a collection of individual terrorism acts.
Overall, one can see that Neoliberalism has led to a resistance to dominant models of globalisation in through many ways, as neoliberalist policies have arguably shaped globalisation which has received a substantial negative reception from different players and encouraged movements to resist the perceived wrongdoings. Neoliberalism has affected political-economic practices, where it has become integrated into the way we interpret and understand the world. Geopolitics comes into play as the politically associated left and many workers movements, which originated on the basis of international solidarity are considered some of the main forebearers of resistance, particularly in the USA. The resistance is calling for the implementation of an alternative to globalisation, that of an alternative globalization in a form that attends to the rights of people, not private power systems. Alter-globalization is somewhat viewed as a positive cause as its goals aim to sustain those being afflicted by the self-interested acts of global corporations and their negative effect on human value, the environment, and social justices. The essay highlights how, throughout the world of growing inequality and concentrated wealth, the power elite have been targeted from ‘below’ through social movements. The social movements look to offer solutions or disruption, often through mobilizing people to enact political change emphasize issues that citizens are deeply concerned. The global justice movement serves to reassure communities that individuals are collectively capable of changing our society, laws, policies and culture.