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Controversy – World Protests

There are millions of people all over the world who argue that globalisation is an evil force, and that the world would be a better place if the process of globalisation was stopped. Whenever there is a large meeting of international leaders, anti-globalisation protestors will gather to make their voices heard. Often their anger will be targeted at multinational corporations which line the streets of every major city in the world. Companies like McDonalds and Nike have seen their logos defaced, and their stores damaged and looted during these events.

You have already seen some of the consequences which have occurred as a result of globalisation. Many people would argue that developed countries seem to be gaining all of the advantages, while developing countries actually end up being worse off. To really understand whether or not this situation is true, we will need to look at the way in which two different countries have responded to the challenges of globalisation. For now, we will simply look at the way in which the protests have unfolded.

To give you some idea of the preparation that went into avoiding the protests which surrounded the G20 summit, consider this: the meetings were held on November 18th and 19th in 2006, but from November 14th parking was banned throughout the eastern section of the central business district. This was done in order to avoid the possibility of car bombs being left in the vicinity of the Grand Hyatt, where most of the dignitaries were staying. As it turned out there were no bombs. There were, however, many hundreds of very vocal protestors. These people were well organised and keen to ensure that their message was heard. Later developments showed that many of these people had flown into Melbourne to be a part of the protest – some of the people who were arrested were university students from Sydney who were in Melbourne for just one day.

This was not the only time that Melbourne hosted a conference for international leaders, and as such it is not surprising that protests such as this has been seen before. On September 11th 2000, a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Crown Casino attracted similar attention. At the time, the police were criticised for being too aggressive in their approach. However, the strength of the response was influenced by the terrible events of 1999, in which at least 40,000 people staged a violent protest against the World Trade Organisation meeting in Seattle. At this meeting, protestors were ultimately dispersed with rubber bullets and tear gas – 600 people were arrested, and a fifty block “no protest zone” was established to try and allow the meeting to go ahead.

Protests against globalisation will undoubtedly continue. There are many organisations and music groups who are very enthusiastic about pushing the anti-globalisation message. In addition, film makers like Michael Moore are keen to help sell the anti-globalisation message (for example, in his first film “Roger And Me”, which was about the process employed by General Motors Holden to move jobs from The USA to Mexico).

It is hard to think of a consumer group or individual that is equally proactive about selling the positives of globalisation.

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