Another World is Possible if...

By Susan George
Reviewed by Jack Humphrys

I was happy to find that Susan George’s first big-hit book, ‘How the Other Half Dies’ [Penguin, 1976] had survived numerous purges of my small personal library. I recall it being one of those books that had a big impact on my thinking at the time. Susan George presents the case against neo-liberal globalisation as the latest manifestation of global capitalism in its 500-year history. However, she describes a world in crisis as members of the Washington Consensus (the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund in league with the U.S. government) and transnational corporations hold sway at the moment.

As George reminds us by 2000, 29 mega-corporations makeup the top 100 world economic entities. Despite this, she remains heartened by the emergence of the international global justice movement and its achievement in Seattle (1999) and elsewhere in closing down WTO conferences and attempting to influence debate. George’s vision for the future outline an updated international transaction tax to overcome poverty, cancelling international debt, etc, to meet basic needs and reduce inequalities between rich and poor countries to create the foundations of a post-capitalist future. The author sees a revitalised and radical Europe as a counterweight to U.S. power and in some ways the hope of the world. Generally, George is firmly in the camp of radical reform and some of the elements of her program spread throughout the book are not unlike that found in Frank Stilwell’s ‘Changing Track: A New Political Economic Direction for Australia’. Similarly, she has her own version of Stilwell’s concepts of ‘critique, vision, strategy and organisation’ to deal with the reality the international global justice movement is faced with. Some of George’s writing is stunning, as she describes the state of the environment, particularly in Europe, where she now resides.

I found her chapters on ‘strategy’ and ‘organisation’ most insightful and interesting, with comments on disunity, with revealing terms like the Freudian ‘narcissism of small differences’ or ‘the circular firing squad’ causing deep reflection. Similarly, her writing on ‘forging alliances’ is a case for further thought and realising the vital importance of this task. Basically, in this area she sees an international global justice movement seizing political opportunities to create democratic space so it can put forward its program in a non-dogmatic way, trying to change the balance of forces between the powerful and the powerless along the journey. This would be highlighted by high levels of member and citizen education. Further, the adversaries of the movement would be encountered in a non-violent manner. ‘Disciplined Militancy’ must remain a hallmark of the movement .For as the title of the book indicates, success is not inevitable, for it partly depends on the choices undertaken by the movement.

Susan George writes in an accessible and witty manner, with an almost fireside chat style at times. Her vast experience and learning make this an invaluable book for all interested in the anti-corporate globalisation struggle. The book finishes on an inspiring note with her speech to the World Social Forum in 2003, in which she puts the struggle for a post-capitalist world future in historical perspective and outlines some priorities for the contemporary international social justice movement. book Susan George presents the case against neo-liberal globalisation as the latest manifestation of global capitalism in its 500-year history...