Globalization and its discontents

The events of 11 September 2001 and their aftermath have prompted several obituaries of the so-called 'Anti-globalization movement'. Even before that date, the movement was struggling to cope with the problem of violence at its set piece summit protests in Genoa and elsewhere. This article explores the origins of the movement and its likely response to these events. Three broad trends can be identified in a movement made up of different currents and thinking, but concerned with the present direction of economic globalization: statists who wish to rebuild the developmental role of the states; alternatives seeking grassroots 'small is beautiful' models of development; and reformists who wish to improve the…