When Wearing White Is Not Chic
Re post, Foriegn Policy in Focus | 21.06.2005 18:23 | G8 2005
Critique of the most sell out NGOs in Make Poverty History and of Bob Geldorf. Excellent article from a moderate organization.
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What’s New at FPIF
“Working to make the United Statesa more responsible global leader and partner”
http://www.fpif.org/
June 17, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introducing the latest policy analysis
from Foreign Policy In Focus
When Wearing White Is Not Chic, and Collaboration Not Cool
By Patrick Bond, Dennis Brutus, and Virginia Setshedi
The authors, all based in South Africa, argue that many of the NGO-dominated
anti-poverty coalitions such as Make Poverty History, Live 8, and the Global
Call to Action to End Poverty remain unmoored from grassroots social movement
struggles, increasing the possibility that such campaigns will serve to legitimate
Northern-dominated aid, trade, and development policy agendas. Without the
coherence provided by organic struggles fought by mass democratic movements
across the Global South (including in Northern ghettoes), the construction
of a top-down campaign against poverty is both unrealistic and subject to early
cooption.
Orienting so much activity towards the already watered-down UN Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) could draw away activist energy and resources in many Third World
countries, from organic struggles and organizational imperatives. If GCAP is
successful, we foresee a tsunami of distraction, flooding out the diverse local
struggles that could instead – if nurtured carefully – support a genuinely
bottom-up, internationally-linked, networked fight against injustice.
What’s New at FPIF
“Working to make the United Statesa more responsible global leader and partner”
http://www.fpif.org/ June 17, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introducing the latest policy analysis
from Foreign Policy In Focus
When Wearing White Is Not Chic, and Collaboration Not Cool
By Patrick Bond, Dennis Brutus, and Virginia Setshedi
The authors, all based in South Africa, argue that many of the NGO-dominated
anti-poverty coalitions such as Make Poverty History, Live 8, and the Global
Call to Action to End Poverty remain unmoored from grassroots social movement
struggles, increasing the possibility that such campaigns will serve to legitimate
Northern-dominated aid, trade, and development policy agendas. Without the
coherence provided by organic struggles fought by mass democratic movements
across the Global South (including in Northern ghettoes), the construction
of a top-down campaign against poverty is both unrealistic and subject to early
cooption.
Orienting so much activity towards the already watered-down UN Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) could draw away activist energy and resources in many Third World
countries, from organic struggles and organizational imperatives. If GCAP is
successful, we foresee a tsunami of distraction, flooding out the diverse local
struggles that could instead – if nurtured carefully – support a genuinely
bottom-up, internationally-linked, networked fight against injustice.
Re post, Foriegn Policy in Focus
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