Globalisation

Unexpectedly high turnout marks a historical turning point worldwide as millions take to the street against war in Iraq. Marxist.com reports from demos in Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Israel and Venezuela

The recent third World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre (Brazil) was held in a period in which great changes are taking place in the world situation. This was reflected in the huge number of visitors to the WSF. For the first time there were more than 100,000, which is a clear sign of the changing mood across the whole of Latin America.

On December13-15 the European Union summit was held in Copenhagen. On the agenda was the enlargement of the EU to the East and Turkey’s application for membership. Marie Frederiksen in Copenhagen looks at the contradictions that will emerge from the enlargement of the EU. On the basis of the developing crisis of world capitalism the future for a more integrated Europe looks bleak.

The 50,000 people taking part in the European Social Forum last week in Florence were far more than the organisers had expected. The last day, Saturday, saw one million people marching in Florence against the war in Iraq and the Berlusconi government. There was a thirst for revolutionary ideas among the youth who were present, not seen since the 1970s. By Roberto Sarti, of the Italian Marxist paper FalceMartello.

This is the transcript of a speech given by Jordi Martorell at the Rand Afrikaans University in South Africa on October 10, 2002. It sums up our understanding of the struggle against capitalism today and also provides many useful links to our articles on globalisation and the workers' movement internationally.

This is a report of the demonstration in Salzburg against the World Economic Forum from Der Funke. The international "anti-globalisation movement" has reached an entirely new stage after the mass protests against the G8 in Genoa and after the second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. This attempt to structure the movement into so-called Social Forums has been accompanied by the increasing political influence of openly reformist forces.

Mick Brooks reports on the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, where representatives of governments, big business and NGOs met to discuss the laudable aims of eradicating poverty and environmental destruction. The fundamental flaw behind the Summit is that it relies on market forces to deal with the problems of poverty and the environment. But market forces are not the solution - they are the problem.

This is a letter we have received from Portugal regarding the Spanish authorities turning back buses of Portuguese demonstrators bound for the anti-EU summit demonstration Seville, in violation of international treaties, and the Spanish Civil Guard beating up two members of the Portuguese parliament!

This is a report of the massive demonstration in Seville to protest against the European Union summit. The very militant mood of the demonstrations reflected the anger of the youth against the policies of the right wing in Spain and internationally. Despite the propaganda campaign of the government, which was aimed at scaring people off and turning them against the anti-capitalist mobilisations, the balconies were full of people shouting words of encouragement and saluting with their raised fists. By Julio Cruz, from the Spanish Marxist paper El Militante.

Bruce Boon looks at the darker side of the World Cup: the working conditions of the workers, including child and forced labourers, who make footballs and other merchandise for FIFA and the multinational sponsors of the tournament. He also looks at the sham codes of conduct that these companies draw up with the help of NGOs to show that their workers are actually treated well.