• 2011movements-fsm discussion

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

from Mikifus on Apr 02, 2013 06:27 PM
Is this text published somewhere? Has it copyright?


2013/4/1 Patrick Bond <pbond@...>

>   (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
>
>
> --
> Archive: http://openfsm.net/[…]/1364770827211<http://openfsm.net/projects/2011movements-fsm-wsf/lists/2011movements-fsm-wsf-discussion/archive/2013/03/1364770827211>
> To unsubscribe send an email with subject "unsubscribe" to
> 2011movements-fsm-wsf-discussion@.... Please contact
> 2011movements-fsm-wsf-discussion-manager@... for questions.
>


Return to date view: threaded or flat