Is the anti-globalization movement that has taken to the streets of Seattle, Goteborg, Genoa and other cities likely to achieve its goals?
Not unless it unites behind a few clear objectives, which are explained in terms of the everyday concerns of ordinary people, because they choose the rulers who underwrite the global institutions which the movement opposes. But to do that, the movement must first dissociate itself unambiguously from the violent fringe that its street actions attract. Nothing weakens a nonviolent movement more than the sporadic use of violence by people on its side of the barriers, because that discourages civilians from joining the ranks, justifies repression, and distracts the media and the public from the injustices that the movement wants corrected.
