This project has been funded with support from the European Commission (226388-cp-1-2005-1-de-comenius-c21). This publication reflects the views only of the authors

3.2. Opponents of Globalization: Anti-Globalist Movement

In his speech at the University of Houston the Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Manchu said “Globalization –the intensification of capital and particularly communication systems- affect the life of not only the indigenous but also the poor people. When one talks about free trade, he/she does not talk about small and medium sized commercial sectors but rather huge monopolies.
Anti-globalists focus not on the figures like GDP that are announced by the WB and its derivatives but on the indices like Happy Planet Index calculated by New Economics Foundation. This index focuses on interrelated vital consequences like social resolution, death of democracy, fast and extensive deterioration of environment, spread of new diseases, increasing poverty and alienation.
The organization that is at the position of the representative of anti-globalist movement is the World Social Forum (WSF).
WSF is a meeting arranged by the members of anti-globalization or alter-globalization movement annually in order to coordinate world campaigns, share and refine organizing strategies, and to inform each other about movements around the world and their issues. Its motto is “Another world is possible”. It tends to meet in January when its “great capitalist rival”, the WEF is meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
WSF has encouraged the organizing of many regional social forums, i.e. European, Asian and Mediterranean Social Forums, and many local and national social forums such as Turkish, Liverpool and Boston Social Forums.
WSF defines itself and its mission in its charter of principles. According to the charter the Forum is and open platform to everyone who contributes to the exchange of ideas, proposals, experiences and inter-linkages for effective action in a democratic environment. It is universal. It refuses the process of globalization that serves the interests of MNCs. It aims to unite world non-governmental organizations but it is not a representative of such organizations. No one is authorized with the representation of the Forum. The organizations that attend Forum meetings can freely declare their ideas. The Forum has a plural structure and open to differences provided that they respect the principles of the Forum; it is an organization that does not have religious, statist, military or biased dimensions. The Forum contradicts all repressive economies, views of development and history and the usage of these as a repression factor by governments. It also contradicts the racist, sexist and environment pollutant effects of capitalist globalization. It encourages national and international linkages among organizations and social movements in order to ease the achievement of its goals. It allows local to global movements by its participants.
Besides WSF, there are other anti-globalist organizations. Their globalization oppositions vary in terms of scale and content. The major of these movements are: