This month the G8 summit meets in Germany. We present a debate of protest tactics.
'STOP THE G8'
Shutting down the meetings is the aim of many summit protestors at the G8. This stems from a view that the G8 is an illegitimate body meeting only to coordinate how better to protect the interests of corporate and political elites. As Alex Smith recollects, the direct actions against the G8 summit in Scotland in 2005 were seen as 'a means of hindering the expansion and intensification of the neo-liberal project, and the smooth reproduction of the capitalist system as a whole.' The summit protests are part of a global effort to dismantle the economic and political system. As 'Some Committee' protest call-out put it, 'We call for you to join us in making this mobilisation yet another stepping stone, another nail in the coffin of international capitalism...we should not just disturb the global elite, but start a fire of rebellion.' While stopping the G8 meeting sounds ambitious, our longer-term aims are even more so. Summit protests help to build and strengthen the global resistance movements. They are place where friends, networks, and cultures of resistance emerge, and where discussions and ideas flow - the creation of lasting networks sharing ideas across borders. Furthermore, the experience of resisting collectively binds movements together. Seemingly unrelated struggles unite their resistance. One call-out pointed out that 'It is not only since Seattle...that we are out in the streets fighting ....But it is here that we do it together.' Summit protests can also act as entry points into radical politics. The protests reveal that other systems of social organisation are possible and fought for - that capitalism is fiercely resisted all over the world, everyday - and that capitalism also has its own formidable defences: the police, the corporate media, and the G8 itself. We have to understand that the protests are not simply about mindless destruction, or liberal lobbying. We have to look beyond the media that is controlled by corporate and state interests, to alternative media forms. Therefore, to get more accurate coverage of the G8 and the action taken to stop it, we highly recommend checking out: www.indymedia.org.
'DON'T PLAY THE G8'S GAMES'
During the 2007 G8 summit all media eyes will be trained on Heiligendamm , as police and demonstrators fight it out on a TV near you. The trouble with this is that what is being played out is simply a spectacle created by a gathering of activists and politicians and is inaccessible and irrelevant to most people's lives. The G8 functions to bring stability to the world economy - the G8 leaders turn up in their suits and look like world statesmen or their home audiences. Meanwhile tens of thousands of corporate lobbyists turn up to try to gain access to these corridors of power. Many high-profile campaigners also attend, in the hope of gaining attention for their pet cause. These charities and aid organisations may think they are having an effect, but in reality they're simply adding to the prestige and power of the G8. Celebrity campaigner Midge Ure recently said, apropos of the 2005 G8, that 'Britain showed that you can make politicians pay attention if you shout loud enough. But promises are easily
made. Lets hope they're not so easily broken.' As Midge may know, most of the G8's 2005 aid promises were indeed broken;
simply turning up to the G8 summit with enough white wristbands will not change the basic pro-corporate basis of the G8 economic policies. As the Financial Times recently observed, in the eyes of the G8 leaders, 'Adding more emotive issues to the G8's traditionally dry economic agenda adds to the elite club's legitimacy'. Complete rejection of the G8, and attempting to simply disrupt it may seem like an alternative to the charity lobbying approach, but in fact this again adds to the G8's vampiric appeal, by making the G8 summit 'the place to be'. And in that place, faced by a huge build up of police, media and lobbyists, it's all but impossible to put across any message or achieve any end without being misrepresented, crushed or both. The movements that are powerful, that can achieve lasting social change, have strong roots in local communities and in people's everyday interests and needs. Playing the G8's game by giving attention to their summits detracts from the ability of activists to root themselves in meaningful activity on a daily basis. In the UK, and in Europe in general, this should be the main problem for those who want to change the world - how do we become a genuine social movement? Protesting at the G8 will not achieve this end.
Shutting down the meetings is the aim of many summit protestors at the G8. This stems from a view that the G8 is an illegitimate body meeting only to coordinate how better to protect the interests of corporate and political elites. As Alex Smith recollects, the direct actions against the G8 summit in Scotland in 2005 were seen as 'a means of hindering the expansion and intensification of the neo-liberal project, and the smooth reproduction of the capitalist system as a whole.' The summit protests are part of a global effort to dismantle the economic and political system. As 'Some Committee' protest call-out put it, 'We call for you to join us in making this mobilisation yet another stepping stone, another nail in the coffin of international capitalism...we should not just disturb the global elite, but start a fire of rebellion.' While stopping the G8 meeting sounds ambitious, our longer-term aims are even more so. Summit protests help to build and strengthen the global resistance movements. They are place where friends, networks, and cultures of resistance emerge, and where discussions and ideas flow - the creation of lasting networks sharing ideas across borders. Furthermore, the experience of resisting collectively binds movements together. Seemingly unrelated struggles unite their resistance. One call-out pointed out that 'It is not only since Seattle...that we are out in the streets fighting ....But it is here that we do it together.' Summit protests can also act as entry points into radical politics. The protests reveal that other systems of social organisation are possible and fought for - that capitalism is fiercely resisted all over the world, everyday - and that capitalism also has its own formidable defences: the police, the corporate media, and the G8 itself. We have to understand that the protests are not simply about mindless destruction, or liberal lobbying. We have to look beyond the media that is controlled by corporate and state interests, to alternative media forms. Therefore, to get more accurate coverage of the G8 and the action taken to stop it, we highly recommend checking out: www.indymedia.org.
'DON'T PLAY THE G8'S GAMES'
During the 2007 G8 summit all media eyes will be trained on Heiligendamm , as police and demonstrators fight it out on a TV near you. The trouble with this is that what is being played out is simply a spectacle created by a gathering of activists and politicians and is inaccessible and irrelevant to most people's lives. The G8 functions to bring stability to the world economy - the G8 leaders turn up in their suits and look like world statesmen or their home audiences. Meanwhile tens of thousands of corporate lobbyists turn up to try to gain access to these corridors of power. Many high-profile campaigners also attend, in the hope of gaining attention for their pet cause. These charities and aid organisations may think they are having an effect, but in reality they're simply adding to the prestige and power of the G8. Celebrity campaigner Midge Ure recently said, apropos of the 2005 G8, that 'Britain showed that you can make politicians pay attention if you shout loud enough. But promises are easily
made. Lets hope they're not so easily broken.' As Midge may know, most of the G8's 2005 aid promises were indeed broken;
simply turning up to the G8 summit with enough white wristbands will not change the basic pro-corporate basis of the G8 economic policies. As the Financial Times recently observed, in the eyes of the G8 leaders, 'Adding more emotive issues to the G8's traditionally dry economic agenda adds to the elite club's legitimacy'. Complete rejection of the G8, and attempting to simply disrupt it may seem like an alternative to the charity lobbying approach, but in fact this again adds to the G8's vampiric appeal, by making the G8 summit 'the place to be'. And in that place, faced by a huge build up of police, media and lobbyists, it's all but impossible to put across any message or achieve any end without being misrepresented, crushed or both. The movements that are powerful, that can achieve lasting social change, have strong roots in local communities and in people's everyday interests and needs. Playing the G8's game by giving attention to their summits detracts from the ability of activists to root themselves in meaningful activity on a daily basis. In the UK, and in Europe in general, this should be the main problem for those who want to change the world - how do we become a genuine social movement? Protesting at the G8 will not achieve this end.
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