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| Douglas Rushkoff on Fri, 10 Dec 1999 20:15:40 +0100 (CET) |
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| <nettime> Gary Chapman, brilliant on WTO |
>Monday, December 6, 1999
>
>DIGITAL NATION
>
>A Classic Clash of Values in Seattle
>
>By Gary Chapman
>
>Copyright 1999, The Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved.
>
>The protests and riots in Seattle last week during the World Trade
>Organization summit jolted many Americans. Photo images of black-clad and
>helmeted police lobbing tear gas at rioters in the center of an American
>city clashed with the rosy nostrums of economic prosperity endlessly
>repeated by our political and business leaders.
>
>Aren't we all supposed to be celebrating affluence, peace and technology
>at the end of the millennium? The protesters showed us that not everyone
>is quite so content.
>
>The regrettable violence and vandalism perpetrated by a handful of those
>in the streets obscured the real issues the peaceful protesters sought to
>raise. And the news media has in large part been of little help in
>clarifying what's at stake.
>
>Pundits mused over their surprise that any Americans cared about the WTO
>and its agenda, or had even heard about the world trade body. They
>shouldn't have been surprised, but most elite opinion-makers in the U.S.
>don't go to union hall meetings, church basement gatherings or the living
>room discussions of concerned citizens.
>
>A myth rampant in the press is that the WTO's business is about obscure
>and arcane details of world trade, a boring subject usually reserved for
>economists, government ministers and academics.
>
>But in fact, the protesters are astonishingly sophisticated in their
>understanding of the most important issues facing the world's population.
>This sophistication has come, almost miraculously, not from academic
>research or ivory tower contemplation but from street-level experience and
>democratic discussions across this country.
>
>The "new economy" of digital information technologies is caught up in the
>controversy surrounding the WTO, obviously. In fact, there is, by now, no
>other economy than the global system being reshaped by computers and the
>Internet. That's part of the problem the peaceful protesters were talking
>about.
>
>For partisan advocates of the new digital economy, there is a utopian
>promise unfolding around the world. The Internet promotes, they say, an
>unprecedented level playing field that can be exploited by people with
>intelligence and skill, without regard to economic background, race,
>religion, ethnicity, geographic location or gender. This leads to a new
>meritocracy based on individual value and contribution, a historic
>improvement over previous ways of acquiring status and wealth such as
>title, birth or inheritance.
>
>The efficiencies fostered in the economy by new forms of production,
>global integration, the "friction free" character of e-commerce and other
>techniques will lead to cheaper goods, falling prices, a greater
>distribution of wealth and a corresponding decline in the desperation that
>has produced wars and other conflicts in the past. This is the optimistic
>picture painted in a book released a few weeks ago, "The Long Boom," by
>Peter Schwartz, Peter Leyden and Joel Hyatt (Perseus Books), which argues
>that the digital economy will escape the boom-and-bust cycles of
>industrial production.
>
>Most important, say the "comp-utopians," the Internet and personal
>computers free individuals from being simply tools of government,
>corporations or other large institutions. The Internet fosters freedom of
>thought and expression, individual confidence in forging personal
>autonomy, and the economic means to live an individualized life free of
>coerced conformity.
>
>For all these reasons, they say, the information age is the dawn of a new
>era in human potential. And anyone presenting obstacles to this new
>potential -- such as trade unions, foot-dragging politicians, Luddites and
>other doubters -- need to be, and will be, swept away.
>
>The comp-utopians, say their critics, are blind to the realities of
>contemporary economic relations and the true nature of the digital
>revolution.
>
>The critics, including the protesters in Seattle, point out that the "new
>economy" is demonstrably worsening inequality, threatening to develop a
>surveillance society, inexorably expanding the power of large corporations
>and crushing all forms of cultural diversity and authenticity. Instead of
>the utopia of individual freedom, they say, we're seeing a
>"Disney-fication" of the world, a radical transformation of the Internet
>from a medium of communications to something that looks like the worst
>shopping mall, and a bland, corporate entertainment culture that
>anesthetizes people into debased, insatiable consumerism.
>
>Furthermore, say the critics, the foundational premise of the WTO and
>other advocates of globalization is unending economic growth and
>consumption, with the single and unchallengeable model of the United
>States as the paradigm that should be emulated around the world. This
>points to environmental suicide. It's unthinkable that the billions of
>people we expect to greet in the next century should all be encouraged to
>strive for the American dream of a suburban house, a car and everything
>that Wal-Mart or Sears sells. Under that model, the human race would
>devour the Earth very rapidly, as we seem to be doing already.
>
>The prospect that every person on Earth should be turned into a clone of
>the average American middle-class consumer is terrifying and abhorrent to
>many people who treasure the diversity of human culture, which is rapidly
>eroding.
>
>When the promises of abundance and the easy consumer life are combined
>with the realities of environmental constraints and deepening income
>inequality, the critics say, we are setting ourselves up for huge future
>conflicts, not sustainable world peace.
>
>One op-ed columnist began a piece last week with the question and answer:
>"Is there anything more ridiculous in the news today than the protests
>against the World Trade Organization in Seattle? I doubt it."
>
>The question should have been, "Is there anything more serious in the news
>today than the protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle?"
>I doubt it. What happened in Seattle was the most important confrontation
>of values we've seen in a long time, and one that will last well into the
>next millennium.
>
>Gary Chapman is director of the 21st Century Project at the University of
>Texas at Austin. He can be reached at gary.chapman {AT} mail.utexas.edu.
--MS_Mac_OE_3027572402_4790365_MIME_Part
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Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Gary Chapman, brilliant on WTO</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR=3D"#FFFFFF">
<TT><BR>
>Monday, December 6, 1999<BR>
><BR>
>DIGITAL NATION<BR>
><BR>
>A Classic Clash of Values in Seattle<BR>
><BR>
>By Gary Chapman<BR>
><BR>
>Copyright 1999, The Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved.<BR>
><BR>
>The protests and riots in Seattle last week during the World Trade<BR>
>Organization summit jolted many Americans. Photo images of black-clad a=
nd<BR>
>helmeted police lobbing tear gas at rioters in the center of an America=
n<BR>
>city clashed with the rosy nostrums of economic prosperity endlessly<BR=
>
>repeated by our political and business leaders.<BR>
><BR>
>Aren't we all supposed to be celebrating affluence, peace and technolog=
y<BR>
>at the end of the millennium? The protesters showed us that not everyon=
e<BR>
>is quite so content.<BR>
><BR>
>The regrettable violence and vandalism perpetrated by a handful of thos=
e<BR>
>in the streets obscured the real issues the peaceful protesters sought =
to<BR>
>raise. And the news media has in large part been of little help in<BR>
>clarifying what's at stake.<BR>
><BR>
>Pundits mused over their surprise that any Americans cared about the WT=
O<BR>
>and its agenda, or had even heard about the world trade body. The=
y<BR>
>shouldn't have been surprised, but most elite opinion-makers in the U.S=
.<BR>
>don't go to union hall meetings, church basement gatherings or the livi=
ng<BR>
>room discussions of concerned citizens.<BR>
><BR>
>A myth rampant in the press is that the WTO's business is about obscure=
<BR>
>and arcane details of world trade, a boring subject usually reserved fo=
r<BR>
>economists, government ministers and academics.<BR>
><BR>
>But in fact, the protesters are astonishingly sophisticated in their<BR=
>
>understanding of the most important issues facing the world's populatio=
n.<BR>
>This sophistication has come, almost miraculously, not from academic<BR=
>
>research or ivory tower contemplation but from street-level experience =
and<BR>
>democratic discussions across this country.<BR>
><BR>
>The "new economy" of digital information technologies is caug=
ht up in the<BR>
>controversy surrounding the WTO, obviously. In fact, there is, by now, =
no<BR>
>other economy than the global system being reshaped by computers and th=
e<BR>
>Internet. That's part of the problem the peaceful protesters were talki=
ng<BR>
>about.<BR>
><BR>
>For partisan advocates of the new digital economy, there is a utopian<B=
R>
>promise unfolding around the world. The Internet promotes, they say, an=
<BR>
>unprecedented level playing field that can be exploited by people with<=
BR>
>intelligence and skill, without regard to economic background, race,<BR=
>
>religion, ethnicity, geographic location or gender. This leads to a new=
<BR>
>meritocracy based on individual value and contribution, a historic<BR>
>improvement over previous ways of acquiring status and wealth such as<B=
R>
>title, birth or inheritance.<BR>
><BR>
>The efficiencies fostered in the economy by new forms of production,<BR=
>
>global integration, the "friction free" character of e-commer=
ce and other<BR>
>techniques will lead to cheaper goods, falling prices, a greater<BR>
>distribution of wealth and a corresponding decline in the desperation t=
hat<BR>
>has produced wars and other conflicts in the past. This is the op=
timistic<BR>
>picture painted in a book released a few weeks ago, "The Long Boom=
," by<BR>
>Peter Schwartz, Peter Leyden and Joel Hyatt (Perseus Books), which argu=
es<BR>
>that the digital economy will escape the boom-and-bust cycles of<BR>
>industrial production.<BR>
><BR>
>Most important, say the "comp-utopians," the Internet and per=
sonal<BR>
>computers free individuals from being simply tools of government,<BR>
>corporations or other large institutions. The Internet fosters freedom =
of<BR>
>thought and expression, individual confidence in forging personal<BR>
>autonomy, and the economic means to live an individualized life free of=
<BR>
>coerced conformity.<BR>
><BR>
>For all these reasons, they say, the information age is the dawn of a n=
ew<BR>
>era in human potential. And anyone presenting obstacles to this new<BR>
>potential -- such as trade unions, foot-dragging politicians, Luddites =
and<BR>
>other doubters -- need to be, and will be, swept away.<BR>
><BR>
>The comp-utopians, say their critics, are blind to the realities of<BR>
>contemporary economic relations and the true nature of the digital<BR>
>revolution.<BR>
><BR>
>The critics, including the protesters in Seattle, point out that the &q=
uot;new<BR>
>economy" is demonstrably worsening inequality, threatening to deve=
lop a<BR>
>surveillance society, inexorably expanding the power of large corporati=
ons<BR>
>and crushing all forms of cultural diversity and authenticity. Instead =
of<BR>
>the utopia of individual freedom, they say, we're seeing a<BR>
>"Disney-fication" of the world, a radical transformation of t=
he Internet<BR>
>from a medium of communications to something that looks like the worst<=
BR>
>shopping mall, and a bland, corporate entertainment culture that<BR>
>anesthetizes people into debased, insatiable consumerism.<BR>
><BR>
>Furthermore, say the critics, the foundational premise of the WTO and<B=
R>
>other advocates of globalization is unending economic growth and<BR>
>consumption, with the single and unchallengeable model of the United<BR=
>
>States as the paradigm that should be emulated around the world. This<B=
R>
>points to environmental suicide. It's unthinkable that the billions of<=
BR>
>people we expect to greet in the next century should all be encouraged =
to<BR>
>strive for the American dream of a suburban house, a car and everything=
<BR>
>that Wal-Mart or Sears sells. Under that model, the human race would<BR=
>
>devour the Earth very rapidly, as we seem to be doing already.<BR>
><BR>
>The prospect that every person on Earth should be turned into a clone o=
f<BR>
>the average American middle-class consumer is terrifying and abhorrent =
to<BR>
>many people who treasure the diversity of human culture, which is rapid=
ly<BR>
>eroding.<BR>
><BR>
>When the promises of abundance and the easy consumer life are combined<=
BR>
>with the realities of environmental constraints and deepening income<BR=
>
>inequality, the critics say, we are setting ourselves up for huge futur=
e<BR>
>conflicts, not sustainable world peace.<BR>
><BR>
>One op-ed columnist began a piece last week with the question and answe=
r:<BR>
>"Is there anything more ridiculous in the news today than the prot=
ests<BR>
>against the World Trade Organization in Seattle? I doubt it."<BR>
><BR>
>The question should have been, "Is there anything more serious in =
the news<BR>
>today than the protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle=
?"<BR>
>I doubt it. What happened in Seattle was the most important confrontati=
on<BR>
>of values we've seen in a long time, and one that will last well into t=
he<BR>
>next millennium.<BR>
><BR>
>Gary Chapman is director of the 21st Century Project at the University =
of<BR>
>Texas at Austin. He can be reached at <FONT COLOR=3D"#0000FF"><U>gary.cha=
pman {AT} mail.utexas.edu.</U></FONT></TT>
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