Magazine Issue 10 - Spring 2000
Reviews

Brave New Economy: (CD)
How to grow a better world - The bods from NatWest have decided that there's a market in the 'New Economy'. People are after all prepared to buy locally grown organic food, buy photo-voltaics and live an altogether more sustainable, community-orientated lifestyle. Which is why they have sponsored this superb CD-ROM from New Economics Foundation (NEF). NatWest aside (please), NEF have produced a great resource for anyone who wants to live sanely in a mad world. Brave New Economy guides us through the actions and ideas we can depend on to bring positive change to the world. It's beautifully designed and packed with heaps of useful information Nik Allsop.

For more details contact NEF: 020 7407 7447, info@neweconomics.org, www.neweconomics.org


Europe Inc -
Balanyá, Doherty, Hoedeman, Ma’anit & Wesselius. Pluto Press (London), ISBN 0-7453-1496-1
     Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) are the experts on corporate lobbying in Europe. Since 1993, they have monitored the activities of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT). An ERT report now talks about "competitiveness", "innovation", issues that governments constantly talk about. This is an indication of the influence of the ERT - that its vision of a Corporate Europe has been accepted.
     At the global level, the EC serves European corporations by arguing their case on WTO, MAI etc. CEO leads the field in study of the influential business forum the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), and of the development of increasingly important EU-US bilateral agreements.
     One of the things that impressed me most was what was extracted from interviews with senior industrialists: on setting up the EC’s Competitiveness Advisory Group, Keith Richardson bluntly told CEO, "the original idea was fundamentally put together by Floris Maljers [of Unilever] and me. The first idea was not accepted, so we changed the format and the final idea was accepted at the Essen Summit".
     If you think the EU is primarily about protecting human rights, democracy and the environment, think again. Greg Muttit


Big Business, Poor Peoples
– John Madeley. The Impact of Transnational Corporations on the World’s Poor. Zed Books (London), ISBN 1-85649-672-4
     Madeley deals thematically with the major impacts of TNCs: agriculture, energy (dams, oil), mining, manufacturing, tourism and health are discussed critically with a wealth of examples. Some of these tend to the superficial and often the examples are less than conclusive. However, chapters on health and agriculture TNCs are particularly strong – casting doubt on the ‘altruistic’ motives of the biotech industry and its cynical approach to patents.
Despite the relentless documenting of the ‘Corporate Persuaders’ there is a lack of analysis of motives behind corporate behaviour. On the other hand his thoughtful discussion throughout the book of the resistance put up by ordinary people to the powerful TNC encroachments into their environments is far more interesting. Madeley’s obvious belief in better regulation is somewhat contradicted by his examples of how regulatory initiatives have been consistently met by evasion and fudge by some key TNCs. The real lesson here is the clear introduction to corporate abuses and approaches for resistance and change. Greg Muttit


No Logo -
Naomi Klein.Published by Flamingo 2000 £14.99 ISBN 0-00-255919-6
The world is ruled by greedy corporations who buy our individuality and sell it back as a brand. The only product in this market driven life experience is YOU. Labour rights have vanished, leaving us all in some enormous sweatshop.
     The environment, and even democracy itself is cast aside by the rush for the next designer high. Sound familiar? Regular readers of CW spit out this kind of rant in their sleep. Not too many suprises in 'No Logo' then? no - but it’s still a great book. The writing's fluid and jargon free. The research, the pie charts of corporate tax as a percentage of Total Federal Revenue (!), all seem well thought through.
No Logo has been reviewed everywhere, including the Economist and the Guardian. All are impressed with the unsparing reportage but few have lingered on the suggested cure, and it’s here that Kein reveals her true colours: she trumpets the dawning of a revolution that she sees growing on the factory floor, new student groups, in Reclaim the Streets and grassroots direct action. Hurrah!
     This is written from a North American perspective and many of the brands discussed are just getting a foot hold in the UK. What better time then, to get this book and gen up. Compulsory reading for those confused by images of a teenager in Nike shoes kicking a Nike window in Seattle. Jai


Primal Seeds Website www.primalseeds.org
Biotech multinationals are swallowing up seed companies, force-feeding us GM food, pushing for patents on life and demanding liberal trade laws. Their legacy is the degraded soil and endless monocultures of plants.
To escape this mess we need to create methods of production and exchange which simply eliminate the need for corporations; and to ask for the food they can never produce. The answer to this is at the heart of the 'Primal Seeds' message: the seed is a revolutionary instrument.
     Visiting this website is equipping yourself with tools to make this a reality. From grafting edible varieties onto ornamental cherry trees in the park, to a passionate defence of 'weeds' and their medicinal properties, Primal Seeds gives us info and ideas for action so we can 'untangle ourselves from the monocult', and quietly undermine corporate power. This is an informative, accessible and empowering website crafted with an obvious love and respect for the land. Lucy