Declaring war against the corporations Five steps, six ways or seven points? Perhaps it has to do with spring cleaning, but the March CCPA (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) Monitor is replete with lists. Ed Finn writes about six ways that Canadians can work to "tame the TNCs". Colin Hines outlines a "seven-point plan to challenge corporate rule". The Port Elgin Declaration pledges five steps to "equip a global movement and challenge corporate rule." Such profuse enumeration brings to mind Roland Barthes' commentary about striptease as a *de-eroticization* of the body. Is the body in question the body politic or the ruling "corpora"? If it's the latter, is this unmasking necessary? -- isn't the emperor already naked *enough*? If it's the former, don't all these steps, ways and points distract from our irreducible vulnerability -- that is to say, our nakedness before the law? Out of a total of 18 points (some undoubtedly redundant), only one mentioned civil disobedience -- and that almost as an aside. Point four of the Point Elgin Declaration spoke of "launching an International Day of Resistance to Corporate Rule each year, aimed at targeting and exposing [!] the operations of specific transnational corporations. . . " The Declaration included civil disobedience as one of "a variety of direct action tactics." I'm confused. Doesn't the logic of "corporate rule" make it against the rules (against the law) to effectively oppose -- and seek to overthrow -- that rule? Wouldn't that make civil disobedience (if not outright insurrection) a central part of any effective strategy? There needs to be proportion between rhetoric and remedy. I can't say whether it's the rhetoric of corporate rule that's too strong or the remedy of list making that's too weak but the discrepency between the two is indefensible. Who will care for the wounded? It seems to me that the way to explore whether to tone down the rhetoric or escalate the strategy is to engage in a serious discussion of civil disobedience. What are the risks and what are the expected benefits? Is there any point to 'symbolic' acts of disobedience? What are the logistics of a sustained campaign of civil disobedience? Who will care for the wounded? What kind of a general staff would declare war without making plans and send troops into battle without training? -- without even boots or uniforms? Regards, Tom Walker ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Vancouver, B.C. [EMAIL PROTECTED] (604) 669-3286 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The TimeWork Web: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/timework/
