What are the facts about the British government's involvement in globalisation?
Sandra Mulligan
Britain is a major player in globalisation. British based multinational companies have probably never been more powerful. Just one example - Rio Tinto Zinc's empire is almost everywhere. Unilever, ICI and many others hold dominant positions in developing economies. In Indonesia under Suharto, British Aerospace so dominated the arms market that GB became the dictatorship's biggest arms supplier - at the height of the genocide in East Timor. In Burma, where the regime has probably the worst human rights records on earth, one of the biggest foreign investors is GB's Premier Oil. The Department for International Development provides a certain cover for this "free trade". What it does offer is "aid-for-trade" which is hardly aid at all.
If we boycott goods made by those in Malaysia on starvation wages, who will suffer?
Steve Connor
I don't think we should boycott goods. Instead, we should bring pressure on manufacturers to give their workforce all the rights that are owed to them under the charter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or more specifically, the rules of the International Labour Organisation. In other words, we should demand that workers, wherever they are, have the right to form trade unions and to work in conditions that are considered decent in any country of the world. A boycott won't work, but direct action will.
Did Mr Pilger vote at the last election and if it's not a personal question, who for?
Thomas Agius
No, I did not vote. I did not see the point in participating in something of a charade. I believe that politics has never been more vibrant and perhaps more hopeful, but these are the politics of direct action not of rubber stamp parliaments.
Do you think that the system that enforces its beliefs and ideology with military might can only be stopped in its tracks with violence?
GD
No, I don't think violence is necessary, although violence is sometimes inevitable. There can be no matching of the military power of the super power, but the might of the collective will of millions of people is just as powerful, if not more so. There are plenty of examples. The Berlin wall came down with very little violence. There is a chinese saying that 'great power is really a paper tiger'. I agree with that. Human power can be unstoppable.
Do you think that Tony Blair has a definitive ideology? What do you think his objectives are?
PK Sutton
I think Tony Blair is a leading light of the new right wing. He is at least as right wing as Margaret Thatcher, if not more so. He represents the current obsession that portrays ideology as economic necessity. Apart from that, I don't think he's very significant.
How can the everyday reporter ever defy the institutional bias towards corporate interests if the system is stacked against him to such a degree?
Izabella Kaminska
It's not easy to make an individual stand against institutional bias in jounalism, but it can be done. Journalists first need to analyse their own role in that bias and to recognise that the censorial ways of established authority are often subtle and subliminal. Consider the way the BBC, behind the cover of nerutrality, minimises the culpability of western power. In the streets of Genoa, a BBC reporter excused the marauding police for smashing his camera. They did it 'out of frustration', he said, whereas his report included a small lecture to the non-violent demonstrators to stay clear of the 'extremists'. Self-awareness is the first step for journalists who wish to retain their professional independence. Then, collectively they can make a difference within any organisation.
How do you see the future of parliamentary democracy? In which way may it need to be reformed to do justice to the new global circumstances? Do you think that the Swiss model could be a way forward?
(Dr) Stephan Quentin
At the moment parliamentary democracy is moribund. In this country, it's almost meaningless as power has shifted since the early 1980's to the executive and to a series of quangos. There is a future for parliamentary democracy if it becomes part of a system that is truly democratically accountable. I don't think this will happen for some time. I think we are entering a period of democratic direct action and as popular forces, which I believe are representative of a wider constituency, confront elites which, although elected, barely have democratic legitimacy - such as the Blair government.
How do you react to the condemning of anarchist protesters in Genoa as violent and "mindless thugs" by police who left one person dead?
Pope Vasilly Deferns
I react I think the same way you have reacted - when does broken windows, trashed computers and a few torched cars equal the taking of a human life? The police behaved apallingly, confirming their role as agents of a violent state by their attack over the weekend on sleeping demonstrators in a school in Genoa. I think the demonstrators who went into the streets in Genoa were extraordinarily courageous.
How do you define the term "globalisation"? Surely, the end result of a more "globalised world" through increased communication and information technology is inevitable. But the means to arrive at increased globalisation should be more open to debate?
Dean Cooper, UK
Globalisation is a dreadful word. I much imperialism. At least it was honest and it sounds a lot better. The positive word that I think you're searching for is internationalism. That has an honourable tradition and lives on today with the new generation and is enhanced by the new technology. May I suggest you don't confuse the two.
How significant was the recent summit between the poorest 49 nations? How successful can they be in placing blocks on the World Trade Organisation?
Anon
Are you referring to the G77 meeting? I think that was a very significant coming together of governments to share information on the pressure that is brought to bare on them by the rich world and especially institutions like the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF. One of the solutions to the exploitation that comes with globalisation is loose federations like the G77 and regional groupings that are not those set up by the west. This collective opposition to globalisation carries potentially enormous power.
How is the problem of corporate power originated? Is it the governments that created these institutions? (World Bank, IMF, WTO, GATT agreement)
Giannis
The IMF and World Bank were created in 1944 by the great powers on the verge of their victory in Europe. The hidden agenda was that the power that emerged unscathed from the war, the United States, wanted to ensure its economic dominance and created a system of debt dependence. The power of debt cannot be underestimated. When the British representative at the 1944 conference proposed a scheme whereby creditor nations would be taxed if they increased the debt, he was warned that Britain would be denied American war loans if he persisted. In other words, the US took over Britain's and Europe's imperial role in another form.
Should the likes of Tiger Woods and David Duval be displaying the Nike logo? Brilliant documentary John, certainly has made me more aware of the dangers of Globalisation.
Paul Burke Eire (Teacher)
Is it too much to expect great sportsmen not to collaborate with the exploitation of working people in poor countries? As they are public figures, they do have a public responsibility - but nothing describes the true nature of globalisation than the greed that has overwhelmed so much sport. Having said that, it would be good if the likes of Tiger Woods received the same kind of pressure that the famous brand he promotes is now getting from concerned people all over the world.
I saw your programme on Wednesday night and one of the companies you mentioned as being involved somehow in all of this is Siemens. Can you tell me exactly how they are involved?
Pauline McKee.
Siemens was one of the companies whose Chief Executive attended an important conference in 1967 in Geneva, at which Indonesia was effectively carved up between the corporate giants. Apart from that, I don't know about Siemens involvement in Indonesia since then. Suffice to say that it is a very big and important mulitnational corporation.
World Leader's Summit in Genoa: How do you feel about the media coverage of the anti-globalisation demonstrations?
Kate
The media coverage I have seen follows the usual pattern. For example, the BBC performed its standard task of minimising the culpability of authority. I saw a BBC reporter whose camera had just been smashed by the police describe this as 'clearly a result of police frustration'. He wasn't quite as charitable towards the demonstrators. However, the media does follow public opinion in many areas and the debate has certainly widened since Seattle. I don't think anybody is any doubt that the Italian police behave like a bunch of stormtroopers.
Is it probable that some of the very violent "demonstrators" at Genoa were indirectly used by Govt. bodies to create an excuse for the Govt. leaders to call for more remote meetings; or is that conspiracy theory gone mad?
Barry Fitzgerald
There is certainly evidence that there were agents provocateurs sent in by the Italian police. But this was a violent confrontation. The stage was set for it to be violent, and the economic issues the protestors are concerned about are themselves violent.
Apart from goods marked Fair Trade, how can we as consumers tell if products have been manufactured under the horrendous conditions shown in your film?
Anon
If it isn't marked 'Fairtrade' and it's been manufactured in a developing country, you can assume it has been made in a sweatshop of one kind or another.
How do you see the overall situation and the recent financial crisis in Turkey as a country which is under huge debt?
Memet
Turkey is a victim of both its own establishment, masking a military regime, and the IMF, which has imposed impossible conditions on Turkish working people. However, the collusion between the government and the IMF is significant. Last January, the IMF approved a huge loan - I can't remember the exact figure. A week later, the Turkish government announced that it was buying millions of dollars worth of American arms. The Turkish people, and especially the Kurdish people, desperately need relief from these anti-democratic forces.
Do you think the change in Government announced today in Indonesia will make any difference?
Craig
This was inevitable. The new government represents a worrying development. It masks the rise again of the military and Suharto's front party, Golkar. This is not to say that a dictatorship is returning, but what we are seeing is the result of 30 odd years of the suppression of democratic politics.
I am Eritrean. And my country has been following the footstapes of Indonesia you described on the programme. It has so far costed us dearly, but do you think the goverment can make it by beliving in self reliance and refusing aid or should we give in.
Awet
I think the birth of Eritrea was one of the most hopeful events of the 20th century - which made the conflict with Ethiopia all the more tragic. Eritrea, more than almost any country I know, demonstrated the most incredible self-reliance for year after year as its people struggled for their independence. When I made the long journey across from Sudan during the war, I was moved by the spirit of people and the amazing underground world they had created. Peace time is different of course. But if self-reliance could guide the nation all those years, why not now?
John's Thank You
I would like to thank very warmly, everybody who has taken the trouble to come online tonight. The questions have been of an extraordinarily high standard and my only regret is that I am unable to answer more than the time has allowed. Thank you for your interest and in many cases, your passion and commitment, and please keep looking at the website which is always changing.
On that score, I would like to register a special thanks to Oliver Doward who runs the website and has done a remarkable job in keeping it all together and progressing. I would also like to thank Laura Maxwell and Sam Chambers who have done a terrific job in supporting the site. And a special thanks also to Usman Aslam whose technical wizardry has allowed this webchat to take place.
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