global soil

For three days in early June the leaders from the U.S.A., the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Italy, Russia, Japan and Germany gathered for the 33^rd G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, a small German resort town on the Baltic Sea. The G8 was created in 1974 to protect the interests of the world’s most wealthy and powerful countries in the face of the oil crises and recession of that time. In the last decade, the annual G8 Summit has become the site of an increasing number of demonstrations. These protests are a rejection of both the highly undemocratic methods by means of which the leaders of the eight wealthiest countries, (containing only 13% of the world’s population) make decisions for all, but also of the capitalist policies these leaders espouse, which continue to spread inequality and injustice worldwide. In response to the growing protest at each new Summit, the G8 has attempted to put on a friendlier face, claiming that its primary goal today is “how to shape globalization so that everyone stands a chance” and adding issues like aid to Africa and global warming to the G8 meeting agenda. However, one does not have to look far to see through this well rehearsed rhetoric as the agreements the G8 leaders reach do little more than treat the symptoms of the world’s problems while working hard to maintain western dominance. The growing resistance to the G8 and the current world order is serving to bring important attention to these realities.

The Alternative

The G8 demonstrations have provided the global justice movement with the opportunity to bring attention to the desperate need for relief from the exploitation of neoliberal globalization and an opportunity to network and encourage others in the movement to try to live the alternative. The theme of this year’s demonstrations, which brought an estimated 80,000 people together, was “Make Capitalism History.” Continue reading →