254/YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE!
grassroots movements, or from new social movements born in
the latter half of the twentieth century - must reclaim their
right to intervene in society and exercise control over certain
aspects of public life, to exert pressure on other political and
economic players, and to raise in concrete terms the question
of hands-on political power.- The economic dimension. Economic decisions lie at the
junction of all the other dimensions. Such decisions should be
directed at placing restrictions on capital flows and on those
that control them, the holders of capital.
The recent evolution of capitalism has given renewed urgency to
the debate on new forms of radicalism. Indeed, forms of consensus
and compromise inherited from the past have been swept aside by the
economic crisis and the neo-liberal onslaught.
Although the Fordist social consensus in the North, the develop-
mentalist consensus in the South and bureaucratic control in the East
did not do away with the use of force by those in positions of power -
far from it- each of the three paths gave rise to genuine social progress
in a number of fields. In fact, compromise was only possible thanks to
this social progress. Yet these compromises have now been split apart
by the current logic of capital and by the paths chosen by the different
governments. In response, there is a need for a new approach that is
anti-systemic and seeks to make a clean break with the current order.
This means that those 'from below' have to become central players in
the fight for change and in the administration of this change once it
begins to take place. Just as important, this means that social
movements have to remain loyal to the interests of those they
represent and that they remain scrupulously independent of the insti
tutions of political power. This can only be obtained by fostering real
forms of internal democracy that give voice to those engaged in the
daily grind of politics, that allow for choices to be made from a variety
of contending approaches, that stimulate the debate on concrete
strategies for attaining a movement's objectives.
CONCERTED ACTION BY WORKERS AND SOCIAL
MOVEMENTS
The neo-liberal offensive is so relentless and wide-ranging that it calls
for a concerted response from workers and the oppressed the world