July 9, 2002
There is an Alternative:
Subsistence and Worldwide Resistance to Corporate Globalization.
Veronika Bennhioldt-Thomson, Nicholas Faraclas and Claudia Von Werlhof, eds. Zed Books Ltd. London, 2001.
Book Review by Stacy Chappel
Every once in awhile, involvement in the struggle becomes overwhelming, and an activist needs to recharge, and to remember what drew them into the movement at the start. One way to do this is to read a book that combines cutting analysis with alternatives and hope. There is an Alternative: Subsistence and Worldwide resistance to Corporate Globalization is such a book
There is an Alternative is an anthology of essays by academics and activists paying tribute to the important work of German scholar and activist, Maria Mies. Mies is widely respected for her work, including Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale: Women in the International Division of Labour (1986) and Eco-Feminism (1993), which was co-authored with Vandana Shiva. Her theories centre around alternatives to global capitalism, based in the lived experience and expertise of women around the world and efforts by indigenous cultures to resist colonialisation. She argues for a subsistence economy, rather than an economic model based on unlimited "growth", and shows how most economic models, including Marxism, fail to account for the unpaid work of women, the productivity of the earth, and the knowledge of indigenous cultures.
The beauty of a well written essay is that it is based in strong analysis and therefore remains relevant over time. The reader who begins this volume with the opening interview by Ariel Salleh with Maria Mies might be shocked to learn, as I was, that it was originally published in 1988. The ideas seem fresh and important as if they were written last week. The interview also provides a base understanding of Mies' theories; theories' whose influence can be felt in the essays throughout this volume.
Silvia Federici's article, "War, Globalization, and Reproduction" is another example of an article whose relevance stands the test of time. Giving several examples of colonization and war in Africa, she argues, "In many cases, what arms could not accomplish was achieved through 'food aid' provided by the USA, the UN and various NGOs …"(137). She uses Mozambique as a model to demonstrate a paradigm where structural adjustment leads to economic unrest and finally to justification for foreign military invasion. As I read her description of the relationship between food aid, structural adjustment and war, unnerving visions of cluster bombs and food 'aid' dropping on Afghanistan create a chillingly current echo to her theories.
A powerful aspect of the anthology is its diversity of subjects. Readers are taken to the streets of the Battle of Seattle in "Seattle: A Convergence of Globalization and Militarization" by Theresa J. Wolfwood, and then to Melanesia where indigenous people are fighting western-style land ownership in "Melanesia, the Banks, and the BINGOs: Real Alternatives are Everywhere (Except in the Consultants' Briefcases)" by Nicholas G. Faraclas. Further reading finds us in Kenya learning about the "fight for fertility" in which women struggle for control over their own reproduction, but also for control of fertility in farming, and access to land in "Women Never Surrendered" by Terisa E. Turner and Leigh S. Brownhill, or following Vandana Shiva to the Punjab in "Globalization and Poverty". Wherever the authors take us the message is the same: corporate globalization is a form of colonization that is devastating the earth, the lives of indigenous people, and the bodies of women.
Importantly, while each essay is fuelled by urgency and rage at injustice, each is also filled with a firm belief that change is possible, that There is an Alternative as the title of the volume insists. How will change happen? Nicholas G. Faraclas argues in his article, "The battle over alternatives to corporate globalization is indeed a crucial one, but it will not be fought with money or guns or political machines. Instead, it will be fought with ideas, beliefs and community work. We ignore this fact at our own peril. The multinational companies certainly do not ignore it. Before land and labour can be enclosed in the interests of profit, people's minds and beliefs need to be enclosed"(68). Other authors give examples of land occupations, mass demonstrations, organic gardening initiatives, and revolutionary movements like the Zapatistas.
Evidence of respect for peoples' movements peppers the books, and provides suggestions for future movements, and hope that for attainable, just solutions in a world that insists there are no options to capitalism. In "Resisting 'Technology' and Defending Subsistence in Bangladesh", Farida Akhter describes an initiative by "over 60,000 farming households in Bangladesh who are practising ecological agriculture."(167). This movement "is not to produce more food for consumers, but to create life, diversity and 'ananda' (to live a happy life). It is not satisfied with despiritualized material achievements; but instead demands an authentic life of joyful existence within the community"(168). Further, the movement is being "built to confront the logic of profit and the neo-colonial processes of globalization" (168). The same could be said for all of the movements described in this anthology.
There is an Alternative is a read with something suited for any activist mood swing&emdash;whether you are looking for information to fuel your arguments, thirsting for activism that moves beyond "hey hey ho ho" marches, or seeking solace in a world that makes social justice work seem futile, this is an excellent and inspiring read.
Stacy Chappel is the Executive Director of the Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group (VIPIRG).This article was first published in Briarpatch, and is reprinted here with permission of the author.