Although the United Nations remains heavily criticised for its complexity and bias towards the ‘big 5’ nations, it’s noble origins and ideals – embodied in the UN Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights – emphasises the need for a more democratic, powerful and ultimately more representative UN system that can act as a conduit for international cooperation and the securing of basic human needs.
Civil society groups have strong concerns about the growing influence of major
corporations and business lobby groups within the United Nations, and call for the UN to prioritise steps that
serve the public interest over
the creation of policies that result in profits for businesses. A joint statement from Friends of the Earth.
The question we ask is
whether today’s generation of protestors represent the harbingers of a new
emancipatory agenda, or whether the opposite is the case, that social
fragmentation and polarisation from above as well as from below could usher in
an even more dangerous and divided world. Or both? By Mary Kaldor.
The mythic figure of a wealth-redistributionist Robin Hood spans back
hundreds of years, and lives on today in the streets of Cairo and
Occupied sites worldwide. In the struggle to reclaim common space and
share resources, we need him now more than ever, says Paul Buhle.
As we become increasingly dominated by the pursuit of economic growth, what can campaigners learn from #occupy as well as previous radical movements in our attempt to forge a new kind of political economy based on a
framework of equality, mutuality and respect for nature? By Hilary Wainright.
The Occupy Movement, far from having no programme, has revolutionized
our sense of self. The 'Citizen of the World' adopts a panoramic view of
society and takes the interests of others all over the world to be as
important as her or his self interest, writes Kerry-anne Mendoza.
The idea and practice of global citizenship is spreading, but a
coherent global citizens movement that engages masses of people remains latent, ready to be
born. Giving life to this critical actor, now missing from the world
stage, stands as the next phase in the evolution of civil society
activism. An initiative by Kosmos.
All
in all, 2011 will be remembered as a seminal year, principally due to
innovative political uprisings that shook the foundations of established
orders. This has produced some hope that a
politics of impossibility may lead to an as yet unimaginable global
dawn, writes Richard Falk.
