G8 Options

[*kryogenix*]

Can someone fill me in on why so many people hate the G8?

[*mipadi*]

There are a lot of reasons, but there are some key ones held by those against the G8. Most are anti-globalists (media's term, not mine), which means they oppose globalization, of course. One of the biggest reasons is due to fair trade. Fair trade is a movement that supports labor/environmental standards and economic justice for workers in Third World countries. (Basically, fair trade activists say that those Chinese workers that make seventy-five cents a day should get a fair working wage for their labor.) They believe that globalization will result in unrestricted fair trade that will allow the rich nations of the world to grow richer off the hard labor of the poor nations, while the poor nations continue to get even poorer.

Some see globalization as strengthening corporations, building massive multinational corporate entities that have so much capital that they can influence entire governments. (Hm...sounds familiar, huh?) As an extension, some see globalization as inevitably resulting in continued and unrestricted corporate rape of the environment, and corporate rape of people, in the name of profits and the search for another dollar.

Others see globalization as modern imperialism; for example, American nations expand into foreign nations, and those nations welcome the companies and their income, doing everything they can do accomodate them, and in effect become American colonies, since they act in accord with US government and corporate policies. Along the same lines, some anti-globalists also see globalization as an attack on their nation's sovereignty.

Credit is also an issue. Globalization, some say, results in an emphasis on credit, which results in soaring debt and debt crisis. (Hm...sounds familiar, huh?) This also results in a lot of money flowing into America, instead of developing nations that need that money to improve their infrastructure and standard of living.

In a nutshell, that is what causes a lot of opposition to the G8.