The anti-globalization movement is often perceived as a bunch of young criminals armed with bats wich keep deranging the work of international organizations, world summits, crashing shops and setting the cars on fire. They are often compared with luddists, who in 19th century rioted and destroyed the laboursaving  textile mashinery in the belief that such mashinery would diminish the employment. So is the anti-globalism a sort of luddism?

Anti-globalism is a poliical movement aimed against major world financial institutions and corporations which  activity results in crimes against all humanity. The movement starts with the Zapatist Army's  rebel against North America Free Trade Agreement. That's  enough!- Ya Basta!- has become a slogan of "People's Global Action" founded in 1994. The leader of the movement is subcomandante Marcos, who led an army of Mayan farmers into eastern Chiapas state to protest the Mexican federal goverment's mistreatment of Mexican indigenous people.   Subcommander Marcos is a writer, a political poet, and an anti-capitalist who advocates the amendment of the Political Constitution of Mexico to formally and specifically recognize political and human rights of Mexican indigenous people. 

The European anti-globalization movement is set into motion by French farmer Jose Bove who smashed up the McDonald’s shop window with his own tractor. Inspired with the deed Susan George would write her bestseller novel "The Lugano Report”. Bove and Gerge set up  "Assosiation for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and for Citizen’s Actions” aimed to fight against the devil three: WTO, IMF and corporations. The main goal of the NGO is promotion of  the Tobin tax intended to put a penalty on short-term financial round-trip excursions into another currency.

 "Reclaim the Streets” is another widespread movement against globalization.  Its members demand IMF and world leaders to forgive the debts of "third world” countries, They consider these debts to be  imposed by policy of latters. More information here http://rts.gn.apc.org/

In 1999 in Seattle a global participatory network  the Indepentent Media Center was set up. Indymedia is closely associated with the global justice movement, which criticizes neo-liberalism and its associated institutions. Indymedia uses an open publishing and democratic media process that allows anybody to contribute. For more information  click here http://www.indymedia.org

The anti-globalization movement can’t be called homogenous. It  includes different organizations which make a wide range of social protests (marxists, pacifists, Green Peace, trade unions, youth movements, isolationists and so on).  Anti-globalization activists  constantly emphasize non-violent nature of their actions. However,  due to the multilayer nature of the movement different extremist groupings  in the ranks of demonstrators  often cause disturbances and rioting.

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