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Class War issue 81: The World In 2001
(magazine £4.75 or shoplift it, published by the Economist Autumn 2000)
Rather than do the usual sad reviews that reflect a lack of ambition on the part of our movement (e.g. reviewing things produced by anarchist/communist groups for the anarchist/communist movement), Class War always likes to set new trends and spread our horizons in the hope of influencing others...part of this is a review encouraging others to branch out. We must know what our enemies are thinking and doing if we are to fight them effectively.
This 162 page thick glossy magazine has far more useful information in it than the average anarcho rag. This is a really comprehensive account of the global and globalised economy, with economic industrial and financial sector breakdowns, and country by country guides to prospects and past performances. There are also articles looking at the major issues that are likely to affect us all (the Euro, American economic downturn, technology and science) and some that are interesting as well - the article on the scale of the American prison system is awesome for those who don't know that shortly America will have imprisoned its 2 millionth person. Also of interest was the diary section on page 25; not only does it list a variety of key news events, it also prints a listing of key financial and political meetings for 2001. Whether it's the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland that saw clashes between police and protesters or the upcoming G8 summit in July at Genoa, Italy, the December EU summit in Brussels, or the IMF/World Bank meeting in Washington DC this October. Thanks for the activist's calendar guys.
What is more surprising - and we're still a bit stunned - is the assessment running in several key articles throughout the magazine that the "anti-capitalists have scored notable successes and their influence, with governments and with international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, is growing". (Clive Crook - an apt name for a capitalist, p. 15).
Other articles include good analysis of NGOs by Adam Roberts, non governmental organisations and their relationship to activism and political influence. Plus the great idea (for capitalists) that it is better to co-opt them than to ignore them or take them on. We feel slightly differently!
They also believe, according to Adrian Wooldridge, that the political environment for capitalism "will continue to get more hostile, as anti-globalisation protests roll on and international organisations bend over backwards to appease the protesters...many business people dismiss these protests as nothing more than a distraction. They argue that globalisation is being driven by technology and there is nothing that anybody, including Molotov Cocktail throwing demonstrators, can do to put the genie back in the bottle. This is profoundly wrong. Globalisation depends on political will as well as technological innovation. And political will is rapidly weakening" (p. 115-116). Let's do all we can to make this observation come true!
Back to issue 81 contents
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