Because the WTO agenda and the American government’s policy agenda are so closely intertwined, we in Canada often assume that there is no serious opposition to the WTO in the US. But the American activism on display during the Battle in Seattle made it clear that America is not as much of a political monoculture as we sometimes fear it is. Here’s what former Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower wrote about the WTO agenda:

“This is nothing but Ronald Reagan’s ‘trickle-down’ nonsense gone global. It’s George Bush’s gibberish about a New World Order. Then came Bill Clinton, who is to a real Democrat what near beer is to beer. He has led the Democratic Party - once the proud political home of working folks - into an unholy alliance with Republicans and Wall Street lobbyists to embrace NAFTA, GATT, WTO, AFTA, CBI, MAI and other initials that spell ‘gotcha’ in all the Romance languages. They sell these deals by using the high-minded rhetoric of Free Trade! Jobs! Exports! Growth! Prosperity! and other come-ons. But every one of these trade agreements and structures rips more economic and political power out of our hands and conveys it on a silver platter to the elite club of international speculators, powerhouse bankers, corporate jefes, and other hustlers - men with smiling lips and squinting hearts.”

More and more such voices are being heard south of the border. In Seattle, I was building links with members of the Progressive Caucus of the Democratic Party in the U.S. House. With progressive Democrats, I participated in a joint news conference to outline shared concerns about the WTO, and sat on a People’s Tribunal that heard testimony from people from around the world who have been affected by globalization. We were joined by progressive parliamentarians from Japan and Europe at a Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE) event where I spoke about how the WTO is undermining efforts to preserve our natural environment. As in the successful campaign against the MAI, such international cooperation among progressives continues to be crucial in the ongoing struggle for a global economy that works for people.

Bill Blaikie, MP