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Leftist Forum Ends in Amazon; Capitalism Seen Dying
BELEM, Brazil - The world's biggest gathering of leftist activists ended on Sunday, after six days of discussions and protests that participants said showed there was an alternative to a crumbling global capitalist system.
Participants at the World Social Forum in Belem do Para, northern Brazil. Leftwing leaders and groups attending the World Social Forum in Brazil have dealt an ultimatum to political and corporate chiefs meeting at the same time in the Swiss resort of Davos: fix this crisis -- or else. (AFP/Paulo Amorin) The World Social Forum brought about 100,000 activists to the Brazilian Amazon city of Belem ranging from communists railing against U.S. "imperialism" to environmentalists and more moderate socialists.
Timed to coincide with the Davos meeting of business leaders in Switzerland, this year's Forum attracted a record number of government leaders keen to burnish their leftist credentials in the wake of the global financial crisis.
"People see capitalism as not being able to maintain itself and there's a hope that it can't too," said Shannon Bell, a politics professor at Toronto's York University who attended meetings on "eco-socialism" at the Forum.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government spent about $50 million on the Forum and brought a dozen cabinet ministers. Four other leftist Latin American presidents also visited and received a heroes' welcome.
Rather than making binding decisions, the Forum's main role is as a huge networking and discussion opportunity for activists. The global crisis was a common theme, with many saying it showed that free-market capitalism was on its last legs.
"The financial side of the world was never the part that really moved the world. The world is moved by people," said Luis Fabiano Celestrino, a 35-year-old self-described "idealist" with the Revolution of the Spoon vegetarian group.
"The World Social Forum shows what people are thinking about the most basic problems -- just hearing proposals for solving them makes this worthwhile."
The Forum is nothing if not diverse. A short distance from where Roman Catholic bishops discussed human rights on Saturday, a young man dressed as a shaman was staggering around, apparently under the influence of alcohol or drugs. People lined the paths at one of the university campuses where the Forum was held holding "I need a hug" signs.
DIVERSE CAST
Natanael Karaja, a 26-year-old from Brazil's Karaja Indian tribe wearing a striking headdress and body paint, was drinking Coca-Cola and being interviewed by MTV.
"This forum was very important because it is a place where every citizen is respected," he said. "In Brazil, politicians, businessmen and farmers have not respected the rights of Indians guaranteed in the constitution of 1988."
But Mzonke Poni, a 30-year-old activist from South Africa, worried that governments and non-government groups were hijacking a forum that was supposed to be based on grass-roots dialogue.
"I'm not sure how effective this will be for grass-roots activists in terms of direct influence," Poni said of an event on Thursday at which four presidents including Venezuela's Hugo Chavez gave lengthy speeches.
Others worried about creeping capitalist influence. Bottled water was being sold at double the normal price and private catering company were charging steep prices for food.
"It's an embarrassment," said Vera Lucia Lopes, a teacher from Sao Paulo. "The same natives who are speaking and fighting for rights are leaving the table and selling inferior products at an abusive price."
(Editing by Sandra Maler)
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15 Comments so far
Show AllOh, please..... Capitalism is FAR from dead. I think even most leftists would not want to see Capitalism go. Responsible Capitalism is something we desperately need. The idea that Capitalism is dead is Marxist wishful thinking.
It's funny how countries like Venezuela rant against capitalism and yet Venezuela's entire budget is bankrolled by America!!
If it weren't for the 'evil' capitalist there would be no social programs in Venezuela.
It was not Hugo Chavez that ran the world's economy into the ground. It was your bankster friends who partied in Davos.
Capitalism as a means of establishing value for production is one thing. Capitalism as a means of control is another, and that element of it will end once the people realize it exists in their homes.
Collective ownership of corporate production would benefit everyone. That is a good enough incentive for me. I don't mind small individual levels of production for the sake of one's own creativity, well-being, and independence, but having a multi-billion dollar profit incentive at the expense of others is unjustifiable. A laborer who produces affects profits and should have rights to the company that profits off of his/her back.
capitalist: an individual who has wealth beyond personal needs that is used to invest and own the means of production from which the capitalist receives personal gain from unearned income from the labors of others.
leech: is a person who clings to another for personal gain; a parasite.
parasite: from the Greek parasitos: one who eats at another's table.
capitalist: a leech, a parasite.
Yes, the capitalists made mistakes, and even got greedy. They definitely need to clean up their act. But, if you have government bureaucrats rinning the companies, things will gat a whole lot worse.
To hell with the companies.
We need smaller businesses. Capitalist theory is designed around a myriad of small firms operating in a market not the giant monopolies we have now. Capitalist theory is complete bunkum and has no correlation with reality.
Forget governments and bureaucrats running the show. Forget the filthy rich parasites running the show and make it more accessible for anyone to own their own business and be free from wage slavery.
We need to get away from the growth that is inherent, indeed vital to capitalism. It is just insanity and blind foolishness to think that humanity can continue this mythical course of neverending growth on what is undeniably a finite planet. Talk of future technology saving us is all good and well but I would prefer to actually wait and see if this comes about before we trash our nest irretrievably.
Capitalism was the best system to bring us progress and improvements in our lives in a time of growth. Now we have grown too big and will need to cut back and get to a level of using resources etc at rates that they can be replaced by natural processes. A steady state economy is the ONLY viable future system there is.
This will mean much less work as we replace the disposable and wasteful products we make today. Businesses will start up with a good idea and a plan for making a profit from x number of products. They will then set up a factory or use an existing facility to make x number of their product and then close down and take their (guaranteed) profit. Later when they have another idea or an improvement on an old one they can start a new business to make it. This will reduce the size of business and its influence which should be subordinate to people not the other way round.
Capitalism is the old way. Old fashioned and obsolete. Time for a new way that shuts out the users and abusers of humanity. The capitalists. Time for real democracy and inclusion, less inequality and a few less fat cats with their snouts in the trough.
Just a point of critique on Reuters choosing to post the portrayal of "a young man dressed as a shaman was staggering around, apparently under the influence of alcohol or drugs..."
Are you sure he wasn't having a sudden relapse of malaria, suffered by so many indigenous people in Amazonia, or perhaps dengue or any of the multitude of illness being battled that that the crippled Brazilian indigenous medical system (repair of which is the subject of court cases and legislation).
Remember the writer's name - Stuart Gruddings - judges first and apparently does not think later. Perhaps he will seek an education on topics he submits next time. the difference between scurulus propaganda and "journalism".
Did the writer put the drink in Karaja's hand too?
This is a truly incredible choice for an article on this topic.
The writer is an uninformed advocate of the free market and a propagandist for it as well.
Common dreams should pull this article and replace it with this one:
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Indigenous_peoples_make_their_protest_in_Belem.html?siteSect=201&sid=10262176&cKey=1233244504000&ty=st
or the even handed report in the Guardian.
Cooperative, associative forms of market which stress common property and social wealth over private property and profit is virtuous.
The present system is evil.
Davos perpetuates this evil.
The World Social Forum and the 250,000 cooperative, grassroots organization on Earth, are the answer to these lies.
What a totally pathetic news article on what is taking place there. It's no wonder that anyone with a brain has to just laugh at what passes for journalism from the likes of Reuters.
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Remember the butchery in Gaza by the IDF.
Capitalism, Communism, Theocracy or any other centralized form of government will ultimately fail. The answer is decentralized government by direct democracy:
www.ni4d.us/
ARTICLE:
self-described "idealist" with the Revolution of the Spoon vegetarian group.
communists railing against U.S. "imperialism"
keen to burnish their leftist credentials
Lula da Silva's government spent about $50 million on the Forum
a young man dressed as a shaman was staggering around
"I need a hug" signs.
wearing a striking headdress and body paint, was drinking Coca-Cola
Hugo Chavez gave lengthy speeches
Bottled water was being sold at double the normal price
COMMENT:
How do the above address the title of the article which is about "Capitalism Seen Dying"?
Nothing.
How do the above besmirch those who have concerns about capitalism?
In the same way the establishment used to comment about "flower children" and "hippies" and not the genocidal Vietnam War they were protesting.
WHY IN THE HELL DID COMMON DREAMS PUT THIS HATCHET PIECE ON PEOPLE SEARCHING FOR WAYS TO REPLACE DREAMS OF PERSONAL WEALTH WITH COMMON DREAMS?
That choice was a big boo-boo.
http://ipsterraviva.net/tv/wsfbrazil2009/currentNew.aspx?new=1297
Terraviva closing coverage
1. Those who would take over the earth
And shape it to their will
Never, I notice, succeed.
The earth is like a vessel so sacred
That at the mere approach of the profane
It is marred
And when they reach out their fingers it is gone.
For a time in the world some force themselves ahead
And some are left behind,
For a time in the world some make a great noise
And some are held silent,
For a time in the world some are puffed fat
And some are kept hungry,
For a time in the world some push aboard
And some are tipped out:
At no time in the world will a man who is sane
Over-reach himself,
Over-spend himself,
Over-rate himself.
LaoTzu #29 600 BC
I love that guy.