The goal of the series are:
- to generate an ongoing discussion among those working for economic justice (locally, nationally, or internationally) about the most significant dynamics that characterize the global economy
- to regularly examine the strategic implications of these global dynamics for our work
- to develop a community of thinkers who help each other get a better handle on the world we are trying to change
- to give economists, intellectuals, and those in popular education a chance to put their ideas before people involved in social change work in one form or another
Coordinator: Paul Shannon, 617.497.5273, [email protected].
AFSC Video Library: Titles on the Global Economy
MIT's Technology and Culture Forum
Present Forums
2004
Tuesday, March 9
Mumbai (Bombay): Report back on the World Social Forum and its Implications for the Boston Social Forum
The latest meeting of the World Social Forum took place at the end of January in Mumbai (Bombay), India. It drew tens of thousands of people from around the globe who oppose domination by huge corporations of every dimension of human life and who believe that "another world is possible". Suren Moodliar and Joseph Gerson participated in this historic event. They will give us their "take" on the social forum and provide us with their ideas on how the Boston Social Forum at UMASS-Boston this July (just before the Democratic National Convention) can be a successful and inspiring event for all New England.
Suren Moodliar is a coordinator of the North American Alliance for Fair Employment (NAFFE), a U.S.-Canadian network concerned about the rise of contingent work and its impact on the welfare of all workers. In the 1980s and 1990s he was active on anti-apartheid issues in both South Africa and the U.S. as a member of the African National Congress. In addition with his work on contingent employment he has also organized efforts to monitor the political activities of transnational tobacco corporations.
Joseph Gerson is Director of Regional Program for the American Friends Service Committee in New England. He is also staff person for AFSC's Peace and Economic Security Program and speaks regularly at conferences and forums around the world. He made presentations on Nuclear Weapons, U.S. foreign bases and the U.S. peace movement at several conferences at the World Social Forum.
Sponsored by The Boston Social Forum and the American Friends Service Committee.
Past Forums
2003
Tuesday, December 9
The Catastrophe of the War on Drugs at Home and Abroad: Police Officers Call for Drug Legalization
Retired detective lieutenant Jack Cole is a 26-year veteran of the New Jersey State Police who worked 14 years as an undercover narcotics officer. His investigations spanned the spectrum of possible drug cases, from street users to international "billion dollar" trafficking organizations. Mr. Cole's presentations give his audience an alternative perspective on the U.S. war on drugs from the view of a veteran drug-warrior turned against the war. He has spoken hundreds of times to a variety of audiences in the U.S., Central America and Canada, and has taught courses to police officers on ethics, moral decision-making and the detrimental effects of racial profiling. His belief is that the drug war is steeped in racism, that it is needlessly destroying the lives of young people, and that it is being used as an excuse to destabilize countries around the world.
Mr. Cole speaks on behalf of L.E.A.P. (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), an international nonprofit organization created to give voice to current and former members of law enforcement who seek alternative policies to the war on drugs in order to lower the incidence of death, disease, crime and addiction. They call for legalizing drugs so they can be controlled and regulated and kept out of the hands of children.
Tuesday, November 25
Free Trade at a Crossroads: Report from Cancun and Miami
Arnie Alpert was a credentialed representative of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) at the recent Fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Cancun, Mexico. The AFSC was one of about one thousand NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) with an official presence at the meetings. Arnie participated in the official daily briefings inside the convention center (presented by WTO officials) and took part in the unofficial demonstrations and workshops organized outside the official meetings. He will report on both this Cancun conference of the WTO and on the November meetings of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) being held in Miami.
Arnie Alpert is the coordinator of the AFSC New Hampshire Program, and was part of the large anti-corporate globalization protests in Seattle 4 years ago. Tuesday, September 30 Extending Rights/Building Security: A community education program developed by Grassroots International and facilitated by members of The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
This participant-centered, highly interactive workshop explores the connections between personal safety, human rights, and our national priorities. Since 9/11, "security" has become one of the most ubiquitous buzzwords justifying government actions and spending. But are the policies being shaped in the name of security addressing our personal concerns and furthering our values? This workshop offers participants a supportive social context in which to express their thoughts and feelings while gaining a deeper understanding of how their individual concerns fit into the larger picture of community and national and international interests.
The workshop presenters are Laura Roskos, Visiting Scholar at Suffolk University's Center for Women's Health and Human Rights, and Elisabeth Leonard, a steering committee member of United for Justice with Peace, the coalition of anti-war groups in eastern Massachusetts. Tuesday, June 17 "Everything You Wanted to Know About the Global Economy" Have there been significant changes in the Global Economy over the past year? How does the war with Iraq affect things? Whatever happened to Enron and WorldCom? How is all of this affecting the U.S. economy? Is the stock market important?
Ellen Frank, Professor of Economics at Emmanuel College and staff member of the Center for Popular Economics, will conduct her annual question and answer session on what's happening in the Global Economy. So come with your questions on anything to do with the Global Economy, and enjoy an interesting, educational session. Tuesday, May 20 What Now? New Directions for the Global Justice Movement and the Peace Movement in our Brave New World Tim Costello will present his analysis of how the peace movement that opposed war with Iraq and the Global Justice Movement can come together at this critical time in U.S. history. Tim Costello is Director of the Campaign on Contingent Work, a labor organizer and co-author with Jeremy Brecher of the book Global Village or Global Pillage. Tuesday, April 29 War and the Economy: A workshop that examines the relationship between recession, state budget cuts, the military budget and the war in Iraq.
Will war stimulate the economy? Does military spending take money
away from social programs? Is there a relationship between large military budgets and social equality? You can get answers to these and other key questions facing all of us in this new workshop produced by United for a Fair Economy (UFE). UFE's staff are presenting this workshop to unions,
students and single moms. Now you experience this unique event that combines short presentations, economic charts and participatory exercises Workshop presenter Mike Prokosch is a staff member at United for a Fair Economy. Tuesday, March 18 The North Korea - U.S. Crisis: What we need to know to prevent nuclear war Our speakers will provide virtually unknown historical background and up to date analysis of the economic, political and military roots of the confrontation between the U.S. and North Korea so that participants can competently join the millions of people in South Korea, Japan and other Asian countries calling for a peaceful resolution. Dr. Joseph Gerson is an Asia-Pacific Scholar and Director of Programs of the New England Region for the American Friends Service Committee. Tuesday, February 25 Latin America is Not for Sale: the struggle for an alternative to free trade in the Americas An eyewitness report back from the Second Hemispheric Meeting against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) in Havana, Cuba with panelists Gabriel Camacho, Zela Menard, Margaret Witham, Walid Ibn Yazid and David Amdur.
In November of 2002, over 1,000 activists from nearly every country in the western hemisphere gathered in Havana to develop alternatives to corporate globalization of the Americas. Our panelists will talk about the grassroots resistance and organizing now occurring all over Latin America against the free trade model; alternative social and economic proposals being developed in the Americas; and the role of people in the U.S. who seek economic justice. Tuesday, January 28 Argentina: One Year into the Crisis Why should Americans be concerned about the economic meltdown that has occurred in Argentina? Prof. Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir will provide a background to what has been happening in Argentina, examine the most visible factors involved in the crisis, show how the crisis is related to the global economy, and comment on some of the projections for the immediate future. Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir is from Argentina and has been living in Boston for many years. She teaches Latin American Literature and Culture at Tufts
University. She has remained in active contact with Argentine and Latin American politics.
Paul Atwood is a Founding Member of the William Joiner Center at UMASS-Boston and also a Professor at the university, teaching courses on war and its consequences. He is a member of Veterans for Peace.
Past Forums
2002
Tuesday April 16
Crisis in Colombia: Slide Show and Discussion by Photojournalist Jim Harney
For over 20 years, Jim has travelled in Central America, Chiapas, Northern Ireland and now Colombia photographing people facing war and poverty. He only recently returned from Colombia after a harrowing stay in contested areas.
Tuesday February 12
The Global Economy's Impact on State and Local Government: The Need for the Massachusetts Globalization Bill
WTO. NAFTA. GATT. FTAA. IMF: This alphabet soup of global economic institutions and agreements seems far removed from our everyday life. But the fact of the matter is that these entities, far beyond the control of average citizens, will be having a major impact on the economic security, sovereignty and quality of life of all residents of Massachusetts. State Representative Byron Rushing has introduced legislation that would require the state government to study the impact of global trade agreements on the people of Massachusetts. The goal is to encourage a public discussion on the content of such agreements.
Tuesday January 22
Creating a new social and economic agenda in a time of crisis
Panelists:
Jason Pramas from the Campaign on Contingent Work and analysts from Grassroots International and Jobs with Justice
The coming together of corporate globalization, world recession and the impact of September 11 has put working people in the U.S. and around the world in great jeopardy. Problems of job insecurity and unemployment, disappearing retirement plans, shredded safety nets, massive tax cuts, the housing crisis, inadequate wages, skyrocketing costs of health care, privatization of public services and attacks on the environment are threatening the very existence of populations and the ecology in many nations. This forum will look at the shape the economic crisis is taking in the U.S. It will address the question of why economic insecurity is growing and what forms it is taking. But it will also briefly look at the forms the crisis is taking in the "global south" and some responses grass roots organizations are making. Given the inability of the political institutions nationally and statewide to address peoples' needs, it will propose ideas for a new agenda based on forging a new social contract.
Past Forums
2001
Tuesday December 11
Globalization and the Global Justice Movement after September 11
Dr. Charlie Derber is one of the driving forces behind the global justice movement in the greater Boston area and the opposition to the corporate globalization model imposed by the U.S. government and western capital. On December 11 he will present his perspective on globalization and the movements in the context of the new domestic and international environment after September 11.
Tuesday November 13
Global Labor Solidarity after September 11
Elaine Bernard, Director of the Harvard University Trade Union Program and expert on international labor issues, feels that now is not the time for labor to hunker down. Rather, organized labor and working people must counter the right's attempt to use the present national tragedy to push back all the gains made by labor over the past decade. She feels that in this present crisis it is critical that labor not lose its international perspective or curtail its impressive efforts to reach out to immigrants in the labor force. In fact she feels that the new terrain of post-September 11 America provides new openings to talk about social justice and labor rights.
- Listen to Elaine's Talk through RealPlayer.
Tuesday October 16
New Directions for the Global Justice Movement after the Horror of September 11 and its Aftermath
An Analysis by Tim Costello, Director of the Boston-based Campaign on Contingent Work, labor organizer and co-author of the book, Global Village or Global Pillage.
Tuesday September 25
Reflecting on the Horror of September 11 -- and The Drumbeats of War
An evening for the global justice movement to think things through -- panel discussion and open discussion about the future.
What are the root causes and implications of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon? As America gears up for a fight to the finish with international terrorism, we will attempt to understand the current situation from an economic and social justice perspective, and how the conditions giving rise to terrorism can be stopped at the source, not with war and further violence, but peace and justice.
- This forum was covered by the IMC.
Tuesday July 31
Investigating the Goals of U.S. Military Power in the World of the Global Economy
Presentation and Q/A session with Paul Shannon, Peace and Economic Security Program of American Friends Service Committee and a lecturer on the Vietnam War at Northeastern University, Middlesex Community College and Merrimack Education Center.
Tuesday July 17
Everything You Wanted to Know about the Global Economy IV
A question and answer session with Ellen Frank, Professor of Economics at Emmanuel College and staff member of the Center for Popular Economics.
Tuesday May 22
MCAS, Privatization and the FTAA: the Real Agenda behind High Stakes Testing in our Schools
(at the Cambridge YWCA, 7 Temple Street, Cambridge, off Mass. Ave., Central Square)
A presentation and question and answer session with MIT Professor Jonathan King, a parent of public school students and a leader in the statewide movement against the MCAS.
Tuesday April 24
Countering Bush's Assault on the Environment
The Bush administration is rolling back hard-won environmental protections. This forum focuses on ways we can fight this attack and launch a campaign to protect the planet. With Doreen Stabinsky of Greenpeace who will discuss biotechnology and the precautionary principle, Ken Geiser of the Toxic Use Reduction Institute who will discuss both the rollback of the arsenic standards and the effects on water supplies and the dismantling of ergonomic standards, and speakers from Healthcare without Harm, FarmAid, and Clean Water Action.
Tuesday March 20
Reportback from the World Social Forum in Brazil
A presentation and question and answer session with Kevin Murray, Executive Director of Grassroots International. The Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil brought grassroots activists and organizations from 60 countries to create an alternative model of globalization -- globalization from below -- that would put the wealth of the global economy at the service of ordinary people around the world.
Tuesday February 13
The New Sweatshops in Global Context
Presentation with slides by Professor Bob Ross, sweatshop expert at Clark University.
Tuesday January 16
What is this Thing called "Neoliberalism?"
Come hear Arthur MacEwan, professor of economics and author of "Neoliberalism or Democracy? Economic Strategy, Markets and Alternatives for the 21st Century."
2000
Tuesday December 12
Globalization from Below: Popular Responses to Corporate Globalization
A presentation by Tim Costello, Director of the Campaign on Contingent Work and author of the recently released book, Globalization from Below.
Tuesday November 14
Everything You Wanted to Know About the Global Economy III
A question and answer session with economist Ellen Frank. Why are all these companies buying each other out? What's this big meeting in Quebec City next April? What's the latest on the WTO? Ellen Frank will give a brief update of the latest developments in the Global Economy and then open up the floor to the audience. This program provides the opportunity to ask the questions you have about globalization and its impact on our lives.
Tuesday October 17
The New Apartheid: Neoliberalism, the Global Economy and Immigration
With John Willshire Carrera, senior attorney of the Immigration Unit of Greater Boston Legal Services and co-founder of the Refugee Law Center.
Tuesday September 12
Can Global Capitalism Cause AIDS: The Case of Africa
Is the AIDS epidemic in Africa a purely medical and social phenomenon? Or does the impact of the world economy on African states actually have a direct bearing promoting this catastrophe?
Kiaran Honderich has taught economics and women's studies at Williams College and with the Center for Popular Economics. She spent July 1999 through March 2000 in South Africa working with the labor movement, researching small businesses and the availability of credit for women and the poor. She is now working in socially responsible investment.
Tuesday August 1
The Dehumanization of Work in the Global Economy
Tuesday June 13
Everything You Wanted to Know About the Global Economy II
A question and answer session with Ellen Frank, Professor of Economics at Emmanuel College and staff member of the Center for Popular Economics.
Tuesday May 9
A16 and WTO-IMF-BANK Status Report
Reportback from the A16 demonstration in Washington, followed by a "step-back" and analytic look: How were the IMF, World Bank, and World Trade Organization affected by five months of mass demonstrations? What new pressures are they under? What next steps can we take? Short video, followed by a panel of BGAN/A16 protesters and then economist Ellen Frank.
Tuesday April 11
The Heat is On: The Global Economy meets the Global Climate
With Ross Gelbspan, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter/journalist and author of The Heat is On: The High Stakes Battle Over Earth's Threatened Climate.
Is Global Warming for real? How is the climate crisis connected to the dynamics of the Global Economy? In 1998 Ross Gelbspan addressed government ministers on the global climate crisis at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. The United Nations Development Programme asked him to help put together a climate strategy conference in Bonn for June 1999 during the latest round of climate negotiations. In addition to his book, he has published on global warming in the Atlantic Monthly, the Washington Post, Harper's, the Boston Globe, and The Nation. He has appeared on numerous radio and television interviews including "Nightline", All Things Considered", and "Talk of the Nation".
Tuesday March 14
Farmageddon: Genetic Engineering and the Corporate Take-over of World Agriculture
With Detlev Koepke and John Campbell, co-founders of the People's Earth Network. What is genetic engineering of foods anyways? Is genetic engineering a technology that leads to progress or disaster? Why is genetically engineered food such a big issue in Europe and parts of the Third World? And what impacts are corporations like Monsanto that own this new technology having on world agriculture?
Tuesday February 8
The WTO for Beginners
With Mike Prokosch, United for a Fair Economy. There was a lot of excitement and media coverage generated by the massive protests of the WTO in Seattle at the end of November. But what is the WTO? How does it function? How did it get so much power? Who's writing the rules, and how can we change them? WTO for Beginners is an interactive workshop created by United for a Fair Economy that answers those questions. Mike Prokosch, an organizer in every major social movement over the last 35 years, participated in the events in Seattle and is a key area activist in the formation of the Boston area Global Action Network, just created to keep the momentum of Seattle going.
Tuesday January 18
Wall Street vs. Main Street: The Battle for Growth with Equity in the 21st Century
With Barry Bluestone, Stearns Trustee Professor of Political Economy and Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University. January 18 is also the release date for Professor Bluestone's latest book, Growing Prosperity: The Battle for Growth with Equity in the 21st Century, the third book he has co-authored with Ben Harrison.
1999
Tuesday December 7
Everything You Wanted to Know about the Global Economy: A Primer on the Basics
A question and answer session with Ellen Frank, Professor of Economics at Emmanuel College and staff member of the Center for Popular Economics.
Tuesday November 23
Global Strategies for Labor
With Tim Costello, Director of Campaign for Contingent Work and Elaine Bernard, Director of the Harvard Trade Union Program. Also, the Greater Boston Premiere of the new film, Global Village or Global Pillage.
Tuesday October 12
Starting Out: An Overview of the Global Economy
With Ellen Frank, Center for Popular Economics and Professor of Economics at Emmanuel College and Arthur MacEwan, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts - Boston.