On Monday 27 September 2010, Marcos Germán Guglielmetti wrote: |On Monday 27 September 2010 05:25:47 Juan Carlos Gentile wrote: |> In this article, we focus on a related concept, namely the |>         process of "manufacturing dissent" (rather than "consent"), |>         which plays a decisive role in serving the interests of the |>         ruling class. |>         Under contemporary capitalism, the illusion of democracy must |>         prevail. It is in the interest of the corporate elites to |> accept dissent and protest as a feature of the system inasmuch as they |> do not threaten the established social order. The purpose is not to |> repress dissent, but, on the contrary, to shape and mould the protest |> movement, to set the outer limits of dissent. |>         To maintain their legitimacy, the economic elites favor limited |>         and controlled forms of opposition, with a view to preventing |>         the development of radical forms of protest, which might shake |>         the very foundations and institutions of global capitalism. In |>         other words, "manufacturing dissent" acts as a "safety valve", |>         which protects and sustains the New World Order. |>         To be effective, however, the process of "manufacturing |> dissent" must be carefully regulated and monitored by those who are the |> object of the protest movement. |>         |>           |>         |>         "Funding Dissent" |>         |>         |>         How is the process of manufacturing dissent achieved? |>         Essentially by "funding dissent", namely by channelling |>         financial resources from those who are the object of the |> protest movement to those who are involved in organizing the protest |> movement. |>         Co-optation is not limited to buying the favors of politicians. |>         The economic elites --which control major foundations-- also |>         oversee the funding of numerous NGOs and civil society |>         organizations, which historically have been involved in the |>         protest movement against the established economic and social |>         order. The programs of many NGOs and people's movements rely |>         heavily on both public as well as private funding agencies |>         including the Ford, Rockefeller, McCarthy foundations, among |>         others. | |O sea, para el que no lee inglés, digamos que expresa que los | capitalistas para mantener la apariencia democrática del sistema deben | sostener también a los grupos de protesta, los grupos que podrían estar | en desacuerdo con varias políticas, etc. | |Ese sostenimiento del disenso, según el artículo se hace mediante dinero | hacia ONGs | |¿Uds conocen casos al respecto? | |Greenpeace? | | PIenso que tambien. Como podes ver tambien el WSF Yo estuve metido bien adentro de la ''organizacion'' discutiendo por meses enteros con ellos. Bien pronto me di cuenta de la ''mafia''. Ahora el paralelismo con lo de cabezas etc ...... parte delmismo plan. z/juan | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |(obviamente me estoy haciendo el boludo) | |>         The anti-globalization movement is opposed to Wall Street and |>         the Texas oil giants controlled by Rockefeller, et al. Yet the |>         foundations and charities of Rockefeller et al will generously |>         fund progressive anti-capitalist networks as well as |>         environmentalists (opposed to Big Oil) with a view to |> ultimately overseeing and shaping their various activities. |>         The mechanisms of "manufacturing dissent" require a |> manipulative environment, a process of arm-twisting and subtle |> cooptation of individuals within progressive organizations, including |> anti-war coalitions, environmentalists and the anti-globalization |> movement. |>         Whereas the mainstream media "manufactures consent", the |> complex network of NGOs (including segments of the alternative media) |> are used by the corporate elites to mould and manipulate the protest |> movement. |>         Following the deregulation of the global financial system in |> the 1990s and the rapid enrichment of the financial establishment, |> funding through foundations and charities has skyrocketed. In a bitter |> irony, part of the fraudulent financial gains on Wall Street in recent |> years have been recycled to the elites' tax exempt foundations and |> charities. These windfall financial gains have not only been used to |> buy out politicians, they have also been channelled to NGOs, research |> institutes, community centres, church groups, environmentalists, |> alternative media, human rights groups, etc. "Manufactured dissent" |> also applies to "corporate left" and "progressive media" funded by NGOs |> or directly by the foundations. |>         The inner objective is to "manufacture dissent" and establish |>         the boundaries of a "politically correct" opposition. In turn, |>         many NGOs are infiltrated by  informants often acting on behalf |>         of western intelligence agencies. Moreover, an increasingly |>         large segment of the progressive alternative news media on the |>         internet has become dependent on funding from corporate |>         foundations and charities. |>         |>           |>         |>         Piecemeal Activism |>         |>         |>         The objective of the corporate elites has been to fragment the |>         people's movement into a vast "do it yourself" mosaic. War and |>         globalization are no longer in the forefront of civil society |>         activism. Activism tends to be piecemeal. There is no |> integrated anti-globalization anti-war movement. The economic crisis is |> not seen as having a relationship to the US led war. |>         Dissent has been compartmentalized. Separate "issue oriented" |>         protest movements (e.g. environment, anti-globalization, peace, |>         women's rights, climate change) are encouraged and generously |>         funded as opposed to a cohesive mass movement. This mosaic was |>         already prevalent in the counter G7 summits and People's |> Summits of the 1990s. |>         |>           |>         |>         The Anti-Globalization Movement |>         |>         |>         The Seattle 1999 counter-summit is invariably upheld as a |>         triumph for the anti-globalization movement: "a historic |>         coalition of activists shut down the World Trade Organization |>         summit in Seattle, the spark that ignited a global |>         anti-corporate movement." (See Naomi Klein, Copenhagen: Seattle |>         Grows Up, The Nation, November 13, 2009). |>         Seattle was an indeed an important crossroads in the history of |>         the mass movement. Over 50,000 people from diverse backgrounds, |>         civil society organizations, human rights, labor unions, |>         environmentalists had come together in a common pursuit. Their |>         goal was to forecefully dismantle the neoliberal agenda |>         including its institutional base. |>         But Seattle also marked a major reversal. With mounting dissent |>         from all sectors of society, the official WTO Summit |> desperately needed the token participation of civil society leaders "on |> the inside", to give the appearance of being "democratic" on the |> outside. |>         While thousands of people had converged on Seattle, what |>         occurred behind the scenes was a de facto victory for |>         neoliberalism. A handful of civil society organizations, |>         formally opposed the WTO had contributed to legitimizing the |>         WTO's global trading architecture. Instead of challenging the |>         WTO as an an illegal intergovernmental body, they agreed to a |>         pre-summit dialogue with the WTO and Western governments. |>         "Accredited NGO participants were invited to mingle in a |>         friendly environment with ambassadors, trade ministers and Wall |>         Street tycoons at several of the official events including the |>         numerous cocktail parties and receptions." (Michel |> Chossudovsky, Seattle and Beyond: Disarming the New World Order , |> Covert Action Quarterly, November 1999, See Ten Years Ago: |>         "Manufacturing Dissent" in Seattle). |>         The hidden agenda was to weaken and divide the protest movement |>         and orient the anti-globalization movement into areas that |> would not directly threaten the interests of the business |>         establishment.   |>         Funded by private foundations (including Ford, Rockefeller, |>         Rockefeller Brothers, Charles Stewart Mott, The Foundation for |>         Deep Ecology), these "accredited" civil society organizations |>         had positioned themselves as lobby groups, acting formally on |>         behalf of the people's movement. Led by prominent and committed |>         activists, their hands were tied. They ultimately contributed |>         (unwittingly) to weakening the anti-globalization movement by |>         accepting the legitimacy of what was essentially an illegal |>         organization. (The 1994 Marrakech Summit agreement which led to |>         the creation of the WTO on January 1, 1995). (Ibid) |>         The NGO leaders were fully aware as to where the money was |>         coming from. Yet within the US and European NGO community, the |>         foundations and charities are considered to be independent |>         philanthropic bodies, separate from the corporations; namely |> the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, for instance, is considered to be |> separate and distinct from the Rockefeller family empire of banks and |> oil companies. |>         With salaries and operating expenses depending on private |>         foundations, it became an accepted routine: In a twisted logic, |>         the battle against corporate capitalism was to be be fought |>         using the funds from the tax exempt foundations owned by |>         corporate capitalism. |>         The NGOs were caught in a straightjacket; their very existence |>         depended on the foundations. Their activities were closely |>         monitored. In a twisted logic, the very nature of |>         anti-capitalist activism was indirectly controlled  by the |>         capitalists through their independent foundations.   |>         |>           |>         |>         "Progressive Watchdogs" |>           |>         In this evolving saga, the corporate elites whose interests are |>         duly served by the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO, will |> readily fund (through their various foundations and charities) |> organizations which are at the forefront of the protest movement |> against the WTO and the Washington based international financial |> institutions. |>         Supported by foundation money, various "watchdogs" were set up |>         by the NGOs to monitor the implementation of neoliberal |>         policies, without however raising the broader issue of how the |>         Bretton Woods twins and the WTO, through their policies, had |>         contributed to the impoverishment of millions of people.   |>         The Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Network (SAPRIN) |>         was established by Development Gap, a USAID and World Bank |>         funded NGO based in Washington DC. |>         Amply documented, the imposition of the IMF-World Bank |>         Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) on developing countries |>         constitutes a blatant form of interference in the internal |>         affairs of sovereign states on behalf of creditor institutions. |>         Instead of challenging the legitimacy of the IMF-World Bank's |>         "deadly economic medicine", SAPRIN's core organization sought |> to establish a participatory role for the NGOs, working hand in glove |> with USAID and the World Bank. The objective was to give a "human face" |> to the neoliberal policy agenda, rather than reject the IMF-World Bank |> policy framework outright: |>         "SAPRIN is the global civil-society network that took its name |>         from the Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initiative |>         (SAPRI), which it launched with the World Bank and its |>         president, Jim Wolfensohn, in 1997. |>         SAPRI is designed as a tripartite exercise to bring together |>         organizations of civil society, their governments and the World |>         Bank in a joint review of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) |>         and an exploration of new policy options. It is legitimizing an |>         active role for civil society in economic decision-making, as |> it is designed to indicate areas in which changes in economic policies |> and in the economic-policymaking process are required. ( |> http://www.saprin.org/overview.htm  SAPRIN website, emphasis added) |>         Similarly, The Trade Observatory (formerly WTO Watch), |> operating out of Geneva, is a project of the Minneapolis based |> Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), which is generously |> funded by Ford, Rockefeller, Charles Stewart Mott among others. (see |> Table 1 below). |>         The Trade Observatory has a mandate to monitor the World Trade |>         Organization (WTO), the North American Free Trade Agreement |>         (NAFTA and the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas |>  (FTAA). (IATP, About Trade Observatory, accessed September 2010). The |> Trade Observatory is also to develop data and information as well as |> foster "governance" and "accountability". Accountability to the victims |> of WTO policies or accountability to the protagonists of neoliberal |> reforms? |>         The Trade Observatory watchdog functions does not in any way |>         threaten the WTO. Quite the opposite: the legitimacy of the |>         trade organizations and agreements are never questioned. |>         |>           |>         |>         Table 1 Minneapolis Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy |>         (IATP) largest donors |>         (for complete list click here) |>           |>         Ford Foundation$2,612,500.001994 – 2006 |>         Rockefeller Brothers Fund$2,320,000.001995 – 2005 |>         Charles Stewart Mott Foundation$1,391,000.001994 – 2005 |>         McKnight Foundation$1,056,600.001995 – 2005 |>         Joyce Foundation$748,000.001996 – 2004 |>         Bush Foundation$610,000.002001 – 2006 |>         Bauman Family Foundation$600,000.001994 – 2006 |>         Great Lakes Protection Fund$580,000.001995 – 2000 |>         John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation$554,100.001991 – |>         2003 |>         John Merck Fund$490,000.001992 – 2003 |>         Harold K. Hochschild Foundation$486,600.001997 – 2005 |>         Foundation for Deep Ecology$417,500.001991 – 2001 |>         Jennifer Altman Foundation$366,500.001992 – 2001 |>         Rockefeller Foundation$344,134.002000 – 2004 |>         Soruce: |>         |> http://activistcash.com/organization_financials.cfm/o/16-institute-for- |>agri culture-and-trade-policy |>           |>         The World Economic Forum. "All Roads Lead to Davos"   |>         |>         The people's movement has been hijacked. Selected |> intellectuals, trade union executives, and the leaders of civil society |> organizations (including Oxfam, Amnesty International, Greenpeace) are |> routinely invited to the Davos World Economic Forum, where they mingle |> with the World's most powerful economic and political actors. This |> mingling of the World's corporate elites with hand-picked |> "progressives" is part of the ritual underlying the process of |>  "manufacturing dissent". |>         The ploy is to selectively handpick civil society leaders "whom |>         we can trust" and integrate them into a "dialogue", cut them |> off from their rank and file, make them feel that they are "global |> citizens" acting on behalf of their fellow workers but make them act in |> a way which serves the interests of the corporate establishment: |>         "The participation of NGOs in the Annual Meeting in Davos is |>         evidence of the fact that [we] purposely seek to integrate a |>         broad spectrum of the major stakeholders in society in ... |>         defining and advancing the global agenda ... We believe the |>         [Davos] World Economic Forum provides the business community |>         with the ideal framework for engaging in collaborative efforts |>         with the other principal stakeholders [NGOs] of the global |>         economy to "improve the state of the world," which is the |>         Forum's mission. (World Economic Forum, Press Release 5 January |>         2001) |>         The WEF does not represent the broader business community. It |> is an elitist gathering: Its members are giant global corporations |> (with a minimum $5 billion annual turnover). The selected |> non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are viewed as partner |> "stakeholders" as well as a convenient "mouthpiece for the voiceless |> who are often left out of decision-making |>         processes." (World Economic Forum - Non-Governmental |>         Organizations, 2010) |>         "They [the NGOs] play a variety of roles in partnering with the |>         Forum to improve the state of the world, including serving as a |>         bridge between business, government and civil society, |>         connecting the policy makers to the grassroots, bringing |>         practical solutions to the table..." (Ibid) |>         Civil society "partnering" with global corporations on behalf |> of "the voiceless", who are "left out"? |>         |>         |>         Trade union executives are also co-opted to the detriment of |>         workers' rights.  The leaders of the International Federation |> of Trade Unions (IFTU), the AFL-CIO, the European Trade Union |> Confederation, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), among others, are |> routinely invited to attend both the annual WEF meetings in Davos, |> Switzerland as well as to the regional summits. They also participate |> in the WEF's Labour Leaders Community which focuses on mutually |> acceptable patterns of behavior for the labor movement. The WEF |> "believes that the voice of Labour is important to dynamic dialogue on |> issues of globalisation, economic justice, transparency and |> accountability, and ensuring a healthy global financial system." |>         "Ensuring a healthy global financial system" wrought by fraud |>         and corruption? The issue of workers' rights is not mentioned. |>         (World Economic Forum - Labour Leaders, 2010). |>           |>           |>         The World Social Forum: "Another World Is Possible" |>         |>         |>         The 1999 Seattle counter-summit in many regards laid the |>         foundations for the development of the World Social Forum. |>         The first gathering of the World Social Forum took place in |>         January 2001, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. This international |>         gathering involved the participation of  tens of thousands of |>         activists from grass-roots organizations and NGOs.   |>         The WSF  gathering of NGOs and progressive organizations is |> held simultaneously with the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF). It was |> intended to voice opposition and dissent to the World Economic Forum of |> corporate leaders and finance ministers. |>         The WSF at the outset was an initiative of France's ATTAC and |>         several Brazilian NGOs': |>         "... In February 2000, Bernard Cassen, the head of a French NGO |>         platform ATTAC, Oded Grajew, head of a Brazilian employers' |>         organisation, and Francisco Whitaker, head of an association of |>         Brazilian NGOs, met to discuss a proposal for a "world civil |>         society event"; by March 2000, they formally secured the |> support of the municipal government of Porto Alegre and the state |> government of Rio Grande do Sul, both controlled at the time by the |> Brazilian Workers' Party (PT).... A group of French NGOs, including |> ATTAC, Friends of L'Humanité, and Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique, |> sponsored an Alternative Social Forum in Paris titled "One Year after |> Seattle", in order to prepare an agenda for the protests to be staged |> at the upcoming European Union summit at Nice. The speakers called for |> "reorienting certain international institutions such as the IMF, World |> Bank, WTO... so as to create a globalization from below" and "building |> an international citizens' movement, not to destroy the IMF but to |> reorient its missions." (Research Unit For Political Economy, The |> Economics and Politics of the World Social Forum, Global Research, |> January 20, 2004) |>         From the outset in 2001, the WSF was supported by core funding |>         from the Ford Foundation, which is known to have ties to the |> CIA going back to the 1950s: "The CIA uses philanthropic foundations as |> the most effective conduit to channel large sums of money to Agency |> projects without alerting the recipients to their source." (James |> Petras, The Ford Foundation and the CIA, Global Research, September 18, |> 2002) |>         The same procedure of donor funded counter-summits or people's |>         summits which characterized the 1990s People's Summits was |>         embodied in the World Social Forum (WSF):   |>         "... other WSF funders (or `partners', as they are referred to |>         in WSF terminology) included the Ford Foundation, -- suffice it |>         to say here that it has always operated in the closest |>         collaboration with the US Central Intelligence Agency and US |>         overall strategic interests; the Heinrich Boll Foundation, |> which is controlled by the German Greens party, a partner in the |> present [2003] German government and a supporter of the wars on |> Yugoslavia and Afghanistan (its leader Joschka Fischer is the [former] |> German foreign minister); and major funding agencies such as Oxfam |> (UK), Novib (Netherlands), ActionAid (UK), and so on. |>         Remarkably, an International Council member of the WSF reports |>         that the "considerable funds" received from these agencies have |>         "not hitherto awakened any significant debates [in the WSF |>         bodies] on the possible relations of dependence it could |>         generate." Yet he admits that "in order to get funding from the |>         Ford Foundation, the organisers had to convince the foundation |>         that the Workers Party was not involved in the process." Two |>         points are worth noting here. First, this establishes that the |>         funders were able to twist arms and determine the role of |>         different forces in the WSF -- they needed to be `convinced' of |>         the credentials of those who would be involved. Secondly, if |> the funders objected to the participation of the thoroughly |> domesticated Workers Party, they would all the more strenuously object |> to prominence being given to genuinely anti-imperialist forces. That |> they did so object will be become clear as we describe who was included |> and who excluded from the second and third meets of the WSF.... |>         ... The question of funding [of the WSF] does not even figure |> in the charter of principles of the WSF, adopted in June 2001. |> Marxists, being materialists, would point out that one should look at |> the material base of the forum to grasp its nature. (One indeed does |> not have to be a Marxist to understand that "he who pays the piper |> calls the tune".) But the WSF does not agree. It can draw funds from |> imperialist institutions like Ford Foundation while fighting |> "domination of the world by capital and any form of imperialism" |> (Research Unit For Political Economy, The Economics and Politics of the |> World Social Forum, Global Research, January 20, 2004) |>         The Ford Foundation provided core support to the WSF, with |>         indirect contributions to participating "partner organizations" |>         from the McArthur Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott |>         Foundation, The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the W. Alton Jones |>         Foundation,  the European Commission, several European |>         governments (including the Labour government of Tony Blair), |> the Canadian government, as well as a number of UN bodies (including |> UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, ILO and the FAO) .(Ibid). |>         In addition to initial core support from the Ford Foundation, |>         many of the participating civil society organizations receive |>         funding from major foundations and charities. In turn, the US |>         and European based NGOs often operate as secondary funding |>         agencies channelling Ford and Rockefeller money towards partner |>         organizations in developing countries, including grassroots |>         peasant and human rights movements. |>         The International Council (IC) of the WSF is made up of |>         representatives from NGOs, trade unions, alternative media |>         organizations, research institutes, many of which are heavily |>         funded by foundations as well as governments. (See  Fórum |> Social Mundial). The same trade unions, which are routinely invited to |> mingle with Wall Street CEOs at the Davos World Economic Forum (WSF) |> including the AFL-CIO, the European Trade Union |>         Confederation and the  Canadian Labor Congress (CLC) also sit |> on the WSF's International Council (IC). Among NGOs funded by major |> foundations sitting on the WSF's IC is the Institute for Agriculture |> and Trade Policy (IATP) (see our analysis above) which oversees the |> Geneva based Trade Observatory. |>         The Funders Network on Trade and Globalization (FTNG), which |> has observer status on the WSF International Council plays a key role. |> While channelling financial support to the WSF, it acts as a clearing |> house for major foundations. The FTNG describes itself as "an alliance |> of grant makers committed to building just and sustainable communities |> around the world". Members of this alliance are Ford Foundation, |> Rockefeller Brothers, Heinrich Boell, C. S. Mott, Merck Family |> Foundation, Open Society Institute, Tides, among others. (For a |> complete list of FTNG funding agencies see FNTG: Funders). FTNG acts as |> a fund raising entity on behalf of the WSF. |>         |>           |>         |>         Western Governments Fund the Counter-Summits and Repress the |>         Protest Movement |>         |>         |>         In a bitter irony, governments including the European Union |>         grant money to fund progressive groups (including the WSF) |>         involved in organizing protests against the very same |>         governments which finance their activities: |>         "Governments, too, have been significant financiers of protest |>         groups. The European Commission, for example, funded two groups |>         who mobilised large numbers of people to protest at EU summits |>         at Gothenburg and Nice. Britain's national lottery, which is |>         overseen by the government, helped fund a group at the heart of |>         the British contingent at both protests." (James Harding, |>         Counter-capitalism, FT.com, October 15 2001) |>         We are dealing with a diabolical process: The host government |>         finances the official summit as well as the NGOs actively |>         involved in the Counter-Summit. It also funds the anti-riot |>         police operation which has a mandate to repress the grassroots |>         participants of the Counter-Summit, including members of NGOs |>         direcly funded by the government. .   |>         The purpose of these combined operations, including violent |>         actions of vandalism committed by undercover cops (Toronto G20, |>         2010) dressed up as activists, is to discredit the protest |>         movement and intimidate its participants. The broader objective |>         is to transform the counter-summit into a ritual of dissent, |>         which serves to uphold the interests of the official summit and |>         the host government. This logic has prevailed in numerous |>         counter summits since the 1990s. |>         |>         At the 2001 Summit of the America in Quebec City, funding from |>         the Canadian federal government to mainstream NGOs and trade |>         unions was granted under certain conditions. A large segment of |>         the protest movement was de facto excluded from the People's |>         Summit. This in itself led a second parallel venue, which some |>         observers described as a "a counter-People's Summit. In turn, |>         with both the provincial and federal authorities that the |>         protest march would be move towards a remote location some 10 |> km out of town, rather than towards the historical downtown area were |> the official FTAA summit was being held behind a heavily guarded |> "security perimeter". |>         "Rather than marching toward the perimeter fence and the Summit |>         of the Americas meetings, march organizers chose a route that |>         marched from the People's Summit away from the fence, through |>         largely empty residential areas to the parking lot of a stadium |>         in a vacant area several miles away. Henri Masse, the president |>         of the Federation des travailleurs et travailleuses du Quebec |>         (FTQ), explained, "I deplore that we are so far from the |>         center-city.... But it was a question of security." One |> thousand marshals from the FTQ kept very tight control over the march. |> When the march came to the point where some activists planned to split |> off and go up the hill to the fence, FTQ marshals signalled the |> Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) contingent walking behind CUPE to sit down |> and stop the march so that FTQ marshals could lock arms and prevent |> others from leaving the official march route." (Katherine Dwyer, |>  Lessons of Quebec City, International Socialist Review, June/July |> 2001) |>         |>         |>         The Summit of the Americas was held inside a four kilometer |>         "bunker" made of concrete and galvanized steel fencing. The |>         10 feet high "Quebec Wall" encircled part of the historic city |>         center including the parliamentary compound of the National |>         Assembly, hotels and shopping areas. |>         |>         |>         |>         NGO Leaders versus their Grassroots |>         |>         |>         The establishment of the World Social Forum (WSF) in 2001 was |>         unquestionably a historical landmark, bringing together tens of |>         thousands of committed activists. It was an important venue |>         which allowed for the exchange of ideas and the establishment |> of ties of solidarity. |>         What is at stake is the ambivalent role of the leaders of |>         progressive organizations. Their cozy and polite relationship |> to the inner circles of power, to corporate and government funding, aid |> agencies, the World Bank, etc, undermines their relationship and |> responsibilities to their rank and file. The objective of manufactured |> dissent is precisely that: to distance the leaders from their rank and |> file as a means to effectively silencing and weakening grassroots |> actions. |>         |>         Funding dissent is also a means infiltrating the NGOs as well |> as acquiring inside information on strategies of protest and resistance |> of grass-roots movements. |>         Most of the grassroots participating organizations in the World |>         Social Forum including peasant, workers' and student |>         organizations, firmly committed to combating neoliberalism were |>         unaware of the WSF International Council's relationship to |>         corporate funding, negotiated behind their backs by a handful |> of NGO leaders with ties to both official and private funding agencies. |>         Funding to progressive organizations is not unconditional. Its |>         purpose is to "pacify" and manipulate the protest movement. |>         Precise conditionalities are set by the funding agencies. If |>         they are not met, the disbursements are discontinued and the |>         recipient NGO is driven into de facto bankruptcy due to lack of |>         funds.   |>         The WSF defines itself  as "an open meeting place for |> reflective thinking, democratic debate of ideas, formulation of |> proposals, free exchange of experiences and inter-linking for effective |> action, by groups and movements of civil society that are opposed to |> neo-liberalism and to domination of the world by capital and any form |> of imperialism, and are committed to building a society centred on the |> human person". (See Fórum Social Mundial, accessed 2010). |>         The WSF is a mosaic of individual initiatives which does not |>         directly threaten or challenge the legitimacy of global |>         capitalism and its institutions. It meets annually. It is |>         characterised by a multitude of sessions and workshops. In this |>         regard, one of the features of the WSF was to retain the |>         "do-it-yourself" framework, characteristic of the donor funded |>         counter G7 People's Summits of the 1990s. |>         This apparent disorganized structure is deliberate. While |>         favoring debate on a number of individual topics, the WSF |>         framework is not conducive to the articulation of a cohesive |>         common platform and plan of action directed global capitalism. |>         Moreover, the US led war in the Middle East and Central Asia, |>         which broke out a few months after the inaugural WSF venue in |>         Porto Alegre in January 2001, has not been a central issue in |>         forum discussions. |>         What prevails is a vast and intricate network of organizations. |>         The recipient grassroots organizations in developing countries |>         are invariably unaware that their partner NGOs in the United |>         States or the European Union, which are providing them with |>         financial support, are themselves funded by major foundations. |>         The money trickles down, setting constraints on grassroots |>         actions. Many of these NGO leaders are committed and well |>         meaning individuals acting within a framework which sets the |>         boundaries of dissent. The leaders of these movements are often |>         co-opted, without even realizing that as a result of corporate |>         funding their hands are tied. |>         |>           |>         |>         Global capitalism finances anti-capitalism: an absurd and |>         contradictory relationship. |>         |>         |>         "Another World is Possible", but it cannot be meaningfully |>         achieved under the present arrangement. |>         A shake-up of the World Social Forum, of its organizational |>         structure, its funding arrangements and leadership is |>         required.     |>         There can be no meaningful mass movement when dissent is |>         generously funded by those same corporate interests which are |>         the target of the protest movement. In the words of McGeorge |>         Bundy, president of the Ford Foundation (1966-1979),"Everything |>         the [Ford] Foundation did could be regarded as 'making the |> World safe for capitalism'". -- Fingerprint = EBFC CDE9 E57C 3EAD 65B1 2A59 5364 48C8 EACF 7357 Public key = 0xEACF7357 at http://pgp.mit.edu