"Good winds do not blow to those who do not know where they are going" said Seneca, the stoic roman philosopher who was forced to commit suicide in the year 65 BC, accused of conspiring against Nero.

The inspiration for a new kind of initiative related to the World Social Forum (FSM) seems to come from these words. For the past few months there have been a multiplying number of debates in which activists and intellectuals try, together, to develop a new project for social emancipation. The concept of a single truth is being rejected. The participants in these meetings relate to several organizations and social sectors; they come from different parts of the world; they have multiple political backgrounds. Unlike in previous times, they believe the ways to overcome capitalism will appear through the dialogue between different sensibilities - and not from the dispute concerning the assumed "superiority" of a given theory. But they are excited about giving a step ahead. They believe rejecting neo-liberal globalization is not enough: in order to build a new world it is necessary to picture a distinct social logic, in which rights are granted, democracy is reinvented and peace culture replaces endless accumulation, political vacuum and war.

Planeta Porto Alegre is pleased to invite its readers to take part in this daring initiative: the Post-neoliberal Agenda.

Resulting from a movement carried out by Ibase together with the Rosa Luxemburgo Foundation [1], the Agenda was launched in 2003. Its results were, at first, six lectures that were presented in many social forums [2]. In January, as its organizers gathered in Porto Alegre, they decided to change their proposal. The Agenda will not be limited to a series of events such as seminars and presentations. It will also promote debate - a permanent and open one - on themes which are being perceived as more and more relevant to those participating in the WSF.

These themes are:
1. The creation of a new space for politics;
2. The proposition of an alternative pattern of "development" (based on wealth distribution and on a new relation with the environment);
3. The creation of a new international democratic system to oppose the Empire.

Rio Bonito's Debates

The starting point for the challenge we are embarking in was last May, 20. The three main themes proposed by the Agenda were debated in a meeting in Rio Bonito, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Many important characters were face to face, like Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, a reference when it comes to civil rights in Brazil, Roná dos Santos, one of the coordinators of the Indigenous Confederation of the Amazon (Coica); Ana Ester Ceceña, a Mexican intellectual strongly related to the zapatist tradition; Gianpiero Rasimelli, spokesperson for the Italian Third Sector Forum; José Luís Coraggio, a theorist of solidary economy and of industry take overs by workers in Argentina; Michael Brie, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation's researcher for new forms of democracy in Germany and Ricardo Gebrim, an activist for the Brazilian movement Consulta Popular (Popular Referendums Movement)[3].

But to thread and paint images of the world that might emerge with the end of the market dictatorship cannot be the privilege of a few. That is why the most instigating and innovative stage of the Agenda begins after the seminar. The project's web page is being redesigned to allow anyone permanent participation on the debate's central themes. A virtual library will offer articles that aim to enable people to understand and debate each subject deeply. A section on the latest news will reveal how these subjects are part of important international events. Readers will be able to make suggestions and express their opinions. The website will be updated weekly. The public's participation will help the development of a second seminar, scheduled to happen in September.

Some people participating in the Rio Bonito meeting have previously sent their contributions. Planet Porto Alegre starts to publish them. Michael Brie's three original thesis on neo-liberalism and how to overcome it will be available. In contradiction to simplistic points of view he admits that policies that started spreading in the beginning of the 80s have not originated in the heads of some world leaders with anti-humanitarian ideas. They were actually a conservative answer to the previous pattern of capitalist accumulation, which was what we can call Ford-ism. These policies have allowed the great capital owners to establish an alliance to one sector of workers - a minor one, but extremely influential. They have even created conditions to include in the system a certain quantity of poor laborers, which were hired to perform unqualified work.

Brie states that the new pattern has long entered a legitimacy crisis. Incapable of living up to its promises, it is openly going against the conquest of the 18th century humanism. By taking over the public services, the model has reinforced the notion that we live in a society of privileges, obstacles, classes and exploitation. It threatens historical achievements - like the de-colonization of countries - and tries to revert emblematic modern movements like the struggle for racial equality and women's emancipation. It neutralizes politics and establishes a dictatorship concerning the relations between the nations.

But maybe the most interesting aspect of Brie's work is his thoughts on alternatives. The first of Michael Brie's texts will be available on Planeta Porto Alegre soon.

Brie points out- updating a well-known proposition by Antonio Gramsci- the necessity of developing a project and an anti-hegemonic block, capable of overcoming the capitalist paradigm. Punctual alternatives are not enough, he says. Those fighting for a new world must be able to come out openly, in all sectors of society, as the supporters of a social order granting much superior life perspectives - both material and cultural, to everyone. The author believes the new block should comprise the medium layers and impoverished sectors of society. A worthy life, a secure future, access to "freedom's assets" - health, social security, entertainment, culture, education - would be offered to some. Others would benefit from the increasing demand for the goods and services they produce and - most importantly - from the opportunity of living in a non-violent social environment, in a stimulating cultural atmosphere and in a non-destructive relation with nature.

A way of reaching such goals is related to, according to Brie, initial projects that indicate the possibility of a new logic. Among them there are: the control over capital flow, free and universal public service, the improvement of participative democracy mechanisms, the demand for corporate commitment to social and cultural sustainability, and the stopping of USA's projects for military-imperial power.

Recovering radicalism

Brazilian Evelina Dagnino presents, in a brief though deep and provocative text, the possibilities and limits of the fight for citizenship. "I still believe", she says, that this struggle "is a productive path for 'democratic reinvention'". However, she warns: the neo-liberal theories are still putting an effort on disqualifying the radicalism of the concept. They try taking away its rebel character: the establishment of social rights for everyone, despite financial possibilities. They want to restrict it to the simple granting of individual freedom, or to the formal participation in a 'democracy' that is, in reality, becoming only a façade.

In the same article Evelina suggests to those who identify themselves with the World Social Forum, to keep on claiming both for the right to equality and the right to difference. One of the greatest achievements of the new social fights, she points out, is the emphasis on the importance of this association: 'the affirmation of multiplicity is always related to the right of being different without receiving, as a consequence, any unequal treatment, or suffering any form of prejudice. (...) To me it seems the right to a specific difference, if based on this perspective, strengthens and widens the right to equality. More than that, in contemporary societies it is impossible to think of universal equality without considering the right to differ. This false dichotomy has to be criticized, therefore.'

Antidotes for tyranny

Two texts bring about the debate on social change and personal transformation. Carlés Rivera, one of the organizers of the Mediterranean Social Forum, points out the importance of creating new ways of community relations to oppose the ultra-individualism of neo-liberal societies. 'In the current relation system', he says, 'human beings are presented as people without roots, which makes them more vulnerable'. The return to traditional societies - which usually surrender to the fundamentalism and are incapable of prizing the notion of individuals - is not an alternative. Emerging social movements should take advantage of the gap that there is because emphasizing justice and solidarity in a transversal manner can offer a completion to the individualization of rights. This could give us a post- neo liberal paradigm" (...) Common property, social economy, a local participative democracy, global justice, ecology, mutual support, reciprocity and solidarity regarding diversity can all relate the individual right to common goals of social transformation can represent a great element of crisis for neo liberalism".

The Chilean-French Gustavo Marin wrote a little manifest, supporting the "Re-enchantment of the world". It worships the generosity of people and invites them to fight for diversity. Marin was inspired by the Freedom Chart, which was written by Nelson Mandela in 1995. The Leader against the apartheid stated, chocking sectarian groups: 'South Africa belongs to all people: black and white.'

He was not backing off, as some thought he was - it was a strategy to isolate the racist minority that ruled the country. By suggesting the inclusion of all people, the Chart brought to the ground the discourse on mutual exclusion by making it ridiculous. The Chart ruled out the prevalence of a single ethnic group. The radical support for diversity, Marin states, is the best antidote to neutralize fundamentalism's strength - Both imperialistic and of other kinds of terror. It offers a possible and attractive alternative to the culture of violence and to the law of the fittest.

The Rio Bonito meeting will allow the study of emblematic cases of the struggle for a new world. One of them is the reestablishment of state ownership of water resources and services - achieved by Uruguay through a poll on November 2004. Robert Grosse, who will take part in the seminar, will contribute with a text about the episode. He reports on the privatization process that had been taking place since the 90's - with a description of the resistance against it, which grew slowly, thanks to small symbolic achievements. An example of this is the 'fountains of the people', where those who could not afford to buy water could- even if in an precarious way- get their water supply for free. Finally, he narrates the great victory of November, when society voted to include in the constitution an article establishing the concept of public asset, forbidding new privatizations and reverting the ones that were already done (a necessary measure that the newly-elected government of Tabaré Vasquez is reluctant to take)

In order to describe the transforming power of the fight for a new world, Grosse quotes Bertold Brecht: 'Our Theater must entice the desire to know and to organize the pleasure one feels when they change reality'.

'Is another kind of economy possible without another kind of politics?' This question, which is the title of a cherished article by José Luís Coraggio, is the base for a debate on some of the great dilemmas of the so called solidary social and work economy. He presents a paradox: in Latin America, many alternative forms of production have spread, but most of these movements lack analysis and reflection about their effects on politics and in the mechanisms of power. Coraggio asks: Will Latin-America be able to regenerate itself without a political intervention? We believe not.'

Without getting into politics, the author says, movements and organizations supporting various forms of social economy will end up making legitimate one of the most cruel processes of dominant globalization: the 'naturalization' of decisions, the belief that neo-liberalism is inevitable, the castrating idea that 'there are no alternatives.'

Coraggio is not suggesting the diluting of social economy networks in political parties. On the contrary, he suggests 'breaking the circle' of impotence, 'demonstrating, in solving the most distressing problems of everyday life, that there are better ways of micro and macro economic organization.' At the same time, he says, we must 'demonstrate that, in order to stand on their own, these innovative solutions 'have to be based on an organic system - which cannot be done if we do not gather, debate and reflect together in democracy.'

Values that cannot be measured

The first contributions to the Agenda comprise an inspired text by Cândido Grzybowski. He tries to understand the cultural scenery in which capitalism (or 'the Western logic of production") has emerged and developed, in order to study ways to overcome it. The current system, he states, is related to other paradigms that characterize the West - scientific rationalism, the fixation on progress and development and competition. Seen as someone almost external to nature, the human being, in this tradition, is obligated to dominate the environment. The same logic was applied to society: the triumph of the strongest was always considered positive".
Such concept 'does not take into account any concept of sustainability", Cândido says. It is not possible to picture a new world without 'changing human relations" and 'changing the production and consumption paradigms that support the present logic. He gives us a clue: we must search for radical alternatives to the marketing of all things. Cândido points out: "The concept established by production was that only the productive is valuable. This despises all of the human and natural expressions that cannot be measured or evaluated in terms of quantities or money (?) To reach peace and solidarity among all people in the world, we must think of the planet as the consciousness of humanity and not as a place that works according to the agenda of production oriented globalization".



1)A partnership between Action Aid, Attac Brazil, Marcosul Feminist Articulation and planeta Porto alegre.

2) 30 other participants: Ana Garcia (Brazil), Betania Avila (Brazil), Carles Riera (Spain), Clair Hickman (Brazil), Dulce Pandolfi (Brazil), Evelina Dagnino (Brazil), Fatima Mello (Brazil), Guacira Oliveira (Brazil), Gustavo Marin (Chile/France), Itamar Silva (Brazil), Jose Antonio Moroni (Brazil), Jorge Romano (Argentina/Brazil), Jurema Werneck (Brazil), Mauricio Santoro (Brazil), Patricia Rangel (Brazil), Paulo Magalhaes (Brazil), Pedro Santana (Colombia), Robert Grosse (Uruguay), Teivo Teivanem (Finland).
Agenda's coordinators: Candido Grzybowsky (Ibase-Brazil), Gert Peuckert (Rosa Luxemburgo Foundation-Germany), Moema Miranda (Ibase-Brazil), Nelson Delgado (UFRJ-Brazil), Ivo Lesbaupin (ISER-Brazil), Guacira Oliveira (Cfêmea-Brazil) e Antonio Martins (ATTAC-Brazil)

Further footnotes missing at www.planetaportoalegre.net
Translation: Ruby Zatz and Adriana Bosco


Publicado em www.planetaportoalegre.net: 25/05/2005

see also:
Library of Alternatives:  http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/main.php?id_menu=13&cd_language=2

 http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/wsf