• 2011movements-fsm discussion

(Fwd) WSF alive and well in Tunis (Immanuel Wallerstein)

de la part de Patrick Bond on 31/03/2013 23:00
(Is a critique of the BRICS a reflection of 'fear' not 'hope'? I doubt 
this formulation - but agree with the rest of this wonderful article. 
For Immanuel to be out and about in a volatile Tunis, age 82, with his 
amazing permanent ally Beatrice, is a model for us all.)

April 1, 2013

"The World Social Forum: Still Meeting Its Challenge"

The World Social Forum (WSF) has just ended its now biennial meeting, 
held this time in Tunis. It was very largely ignored by the world's 
mainstream press. It was attended by many skeptics who pronounced its 
irrelevance, something that has occurred at every meeting since the 
second WSF in 2002. It was torn by debates about the very structure of 
the WSF. It was filled with debates about the correct political strategy 
for the world left. And despite this, it was an enormous success.

One way to measure its success is by remembering what happened on the 
last day of the previous WSF in Dakar in 2011. On that day, Hosni 
Mubarek was forced to abandon the presidency of Egypt. Everyone at the 
WSF applauded. But many said that this very act proves the irrelevance 
of the WSF. Did any of the revolutionaries in Tunisia or Egypt draw 
their inspiration from the WSF? Had they even heard of the WSF?

Yet two years later, the WSF met in Tunis, invited by the very groups 
that launched the revolution in Tunisia, and who seemed to think that 
holding the WSF in Tunis would be a great assistance to their internal 
struggle to preserve the gains of the revolution against forces that 
they believed were working to tame the revolution and to bring to power 
a new form of oppressive, antisecular, governance.


The long-time slogan of the WSF has been "another world is possible." 
The Tunisians insisted on adding a new one, displayed with equal 
prominence at the meeting. The slogan was "Dignity" - on everyone's 
badge in seven languages. In many ways, this additional slogan 
emphasizes the essential element that brings together the organizations 
and individuals present at the Forum - the search for true equality, 
which respects and enhances the dignity of everyone everywhere.

This doesn't mean that there was total accord at the Forum. Far from it! 
One way to analyze the differences is to see them as reflecting the 
contrast between emphases on hope and emphases on fear. As constituted, 
the Forum has always been a large and inclusive arena of participants 
ranging from the far left to the center-left. For some this has been its 
strength, allowing a mutual education of the various tendencies and 
various zones of primary concern - a mutual education that would lead in 
the middle run to joint action to transform our existing capitalist 
system. For others this seems the path to co-option by those who wish 
merely to palliate existing inequalities without making any fundamental 
change. Hope versus fear.


Another source of constant discussion has been the role of left 
political parties in the process of transformation. For some, no 
significant changes can be made in either the short-run or the 
middle-run without left parties in power. And once in power, these 
people feel it is essential to keep them in power. Others resist this 
idea. They feel that, even if one helps such parties come to power, the 
social movements should remain outside as critical controls on these 
parties, whose actual practice will almost certainly fall short of their 
promises. Once again, hope versus fear.

The attitude to have toward the newly-emerging countries - the so-called 
BRICS and others - is another source of division. For some the BRICS 
represent an important counter-force to the classical North - the United 
States, western Europe, and Japan. For others, they raise suspicions 
about a new group of imperialist powers. The role of China today in 
Asia, Africa, and Latin America is particularly controversial. Hope 
versus fear.

The actual program of the world left is another source of internal 
debate. For some, the WSF has been good on the negative - opposition to 
imperialism and neoliberalism.But it has been sadly lacking in proposing 
specific alternatives. These persons call for the development of 
concrete programmatic objectives for the world left. But for others, the 
attempt to do this would serve primarily to divide and weaken the forces 
brought together in the WSF. Hope versus fear.


Another constant locus of debate is what has been called the 
"decolonization" of the WSF. For some, the WSF has been from the 
beginning too much in the hands of persons from the pan-European world, 
of men, of older persons, and others defined as coming from the 
privileged populations of the world. The WSF has, as an organization, 
sought to extend itself beyond its initial base - extending itself 
geographically, seeking to make its structures reflect more and more 
demands from the base. This has been a continual effort, and looking at 
each successive Forum, the WSF has become in this sense more and more 
inclusive. The presence at Tunis of all sorts of "new" organizations - 
Occupy, /Indignados/, etc. - is proof of this. For others, this goal has 
been very far from achieved, to the point where some doubt there has 
been any real intention to realize this objective. Hope versus fear.

The WSF was founded as a space of resistance. Twelve years later, it 
remains the only place where all sides to these debates come together to 
continue the discussion. Are there people who are tired of the same 
continuing debates? Yes, of course. But there also seem always to be new 
persons and groups arriving who seek to participate and contribute to 
the construction of an efficacious world left. The World Social Forum is 
alive and well.

by Immanuel Wallerstein



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