Bris tolD is s e nt!

Brie fing •It is a forum of finance m iniste rs & ce ntralbank

gove rnors from th e 20 m e m be rs, th at se e k s to
ach ie ve stable & sustainabl e w orl d grow th th at
be ne fits al
l.
IN FORMATION FOR ACTION •Ch ina and India are th e l
G8, pure l
ik e l
y ne xt additions to th e
y be cause of th e ir e conom ic pow e r and
grow th .
Th e G8 - An Introduction H ow doe s th e G8 w ork ?
•Th e G8 h as an annualsh ow pie ce sum m it l ocate d
W h o is in th e G7/8? som e w h e re in th e h ost state h e nce Gle ne agl e s in th e
•19 75 USA, UK, France , Ital y, Ge rm any, Japan UK, in Jul y 2005. Th e h ost to a de gre e dictate s th e
•19 76 Canada (pl us th e EU h as atte nde d since age nda.
19 77) •Bl air, as curre nt l e ade r of th e UK, is focusing on
•19 9 8 R ussia (obse rve r since 19 9 1) Africa (via h is Com m ission to Africa), cl im ate
ch ange , and sustainabil ity. Th e Middl e East m ay w e l l
W h atis th e G8? crop up too!
•R ussias re ce nt ratification of th e Kyoto agre e m e nt
• G8 stands for Group of e igh t m ajor industrial
is m e re l
y a pl oy to gain e ntry to th e W TO (W orl d
de m ocracie s, al th ough not ne ce ssaril y th e 8 rich e st
Trade O rganisation). Th e y, al ong w ith th e US,
countrie s, nor th e m ost de m ocratic!
Ch ina & India produce so m any h arm fule m issions
•It starte d l ife as th e G6, in France in 19 75, as th e
th at im pl e m e ntation of Kyoto is w orth l e ss, so e xpe ct
w orl d w as grippe d by an oilcrisis (déjà vu anyone ?)
am id fe ars of w orl dw ide re ce ssion & de pre ssion. Th e
UK, in a financialcrisis, h ad just re ce ive d a m ajor
loan from th e IMF (Inte rnationalMone tary Fund).
•Canada w as invite d in 19 76 at th e USA's re q ue st as
it fe lt outnum be re d by Europe . In practice th e USA,
and its corporations, dom inate th e G8.
•Th e aim w as to de alw ith th e m ajor e conom ic &
pol iticalissue s of th e day, to e nsure a grow ing gl obal
e conom y and incre asing gl obal profits th e
m anage m e nt of capital ism , or m ore bl untl y gl obal
gove rnance .
•Th e G8 h as no H Q , office s, constitution, rul e book ,
nor l e galstanding.
• It is an ad h oc cl ub for th e w orl ds rul ing e l ite ,
atte m pting to dictate th e course of w orl d e ve nts and
e nforcing its w il lupon th e w orl ds e conom y.
•W ith th e col l
apse of th e Sovie t Bl oc, R ussia w as
al low e d in from th e col d as an obse rve r from 19 9 1,
and ful lcl ub m e m be r in 19 9 8. R ussia w il ltak e its
turn to h ost th e G8 in 2006. H ost status am ong th e
G8 rotate s annual ly, w ith th e h ost acting as ch air.
H ow e ve r it re m ains e xcl ude d from som e m e e tings,
h e nce th e G7 stil le xists.
disagre e m e nt on cl im ate ch ange .
•Confusingl y th e G8 h as a 9 th m e m be r, th e EU (a
•Ministe rs & advise rs from th e G7/8 m e e t al lye ar
25 country bl oc) in re cognition of its e conom ic
round at Ministe rial s, al ong w ith re ps from oth e r
pow e r, al th ough it cannot h ave h ost status.
countrie s th e y w ant to infl ue nce , in atte m pts to
sm ooth and cal m pol iticaland e conom ic crisis, and
So w h atis th e G20? k e e p th e globale conom y fl ow ing & grow ing.
•Th e G20 is an appe ndage of th e G8, and incl ude s •Basical l
y th e G8 im pre sse s on e ve ryone th at it is in
th e G8 plus th e ne xt 11 m ost e conom ically pow e rful e ve ryone 's be st inte re sts - to do w h at th e G8 says.
and/or strate gically im portant nations, for obvious Sim pl e as th at, be st sum m e d up as th e carrot and
re asons. Ch ina, India, Arge ntina, Braz il, Turk e y & stick approach .
Saudi Arabia are in th is group.
Th e G8, IM F, W B & W TO Th e G8 & Bris tol?
•Th e G8 ope rate s l ik e an unse e n h and th rough th e •Th e G8 & gl obal isation in practicalte rm s m e ans
IMF, W B (W orl d Bank , or Inte rnationalBank for ope ning up e ve ry se ctor of a nations e conom y to th e
R e construction & D e ve l opm e nt), and W TO . m ark e t e conom y. In th e UK, th e post- w ar conse nsus
• Th e IMF & W B w e re form e d as part of th e on th e UK's l arge publ ic se ctor w as sm ash e d by
Bre tton W oods agre e m e nt in 19 44 to sort out th e Th atch e r & h e r Torie s, w h o se t out to se l l
- off and
e conom ic & pol itical m e ss cause d by th e se cond privatise th e l ot.
w orl d w ar and th e w orl dw ide de pre ssion in th e •Bl air's Ne w Labour h as continue d th is proce ss. H is
19 30s. Th ird W ay is a l ittl
e m ore subtl e , tal k ing about
•Pre se ntl y, th e G8 control s about 45% of vote s on Publ ic/Private Initiative s, inte rnal m ark e ts (th e
th e ir boards, as oppose d to say th e 3% of vote s going NH S), and re ge ne ration, but th e re sul t is th e sam e .
to th e w orl ds 41 m ost inde bte d nations. •So w e h ave th e ongoing privatisation of th e publ ic
•Th e th ird m ajor institution at th e G8's bidding is se ctor, w e l fare state , publ ic h ousing, transport
th e W TO , form e d in 19 9 5 to gove rn inte rnational ne tw ork s, util itie s (gas, w ate r, l e ccy); th e
trade re l ations, in th e inte re sts of th e th e n G7 of casual isation of l abour (jobs) th rough inse curity &
course . sh ort- te rm contracts, and union- bash ing; cutback s in
•Al lth e se institutions are m assive l y infl ue nce d by be ne fits both in re al te rm s and by m ak ing th e m
th e m ajor corporations, w h o al so e m pl oy som e of th e h arde r to cl aim (sick ne ss & disabil ity be ne fits cuts
pol iticians, be it in th e past, pre se nt or future (ie are up ne xt); m anipul ation of pe opl e 's savings &
D ick Ch e ne y at H al liburton)! pe nsions funds th rough spe cul ation by bank s,
•So w h il st th e G8 doe s th e pol itick ing & outl ine financialinstitutions & stock m ark e ts; th e m ove m e nt
pol icy form ing, th e IMF, W B & W TO are its cash of finance , inve stm e nt & jobs to w h e re ve r l abour is
col l e ctors, and al ong w ith th e Unite d Nations (UN), ch e ape r & profits gre ate r; and th e e xpl oitation of th e
al so its e nforce rs. de ve l oping w orl d's re source s & l abour m ark e ts.
•Th e ir carrot is l oans, aid, de bt re l ie f, inve stm e nt, • R e ge ne ration sch e m e s of poore r are as - City
trade agre e m e nts, e xpe rtise , m il itary & l ogistical Ch al le nge , Ne igh bourh ood R e ne w al , Com m unitie s
support; th e ir stick is de bt col l
e ction, trade barrie rs at H e art e tc - sound good, but in practice its anoth e r
& tariffs, e conom ic re structuring, pol itical& m il itary w ay of funne l l ing m one y to th e private se ctor.
inte rve ntion, th e w ar on te rror, fam ine & dise ase . Mainl y publ ic m one y (taxe s), com ing via l ocal &
ce ntral gove rnm e nt, and th e EU, is use d to pay
Th e G8 & Globalis ation private contractors & consul tants. It m ay cre ate som e
• Gl obal isation is fundam e ntal ly th e rul e of th e jobs, but at th e e nd of th e day th e firm s invol ve d are
m ark e t e conom y via th e re m ovalof barrie rs to fre e in it for a profit.
trade and th e cl ose r inte gration of national •Th e re ge ne ration of form e r industrialare as, such
e conom ie s, w h ich is just w h at th e G8 and its as Bristol 's h arbourside , and ol de r com m e rcial
e nforce rs w ant. ce ntre s, such as Broadm e ad, is facil itate d by ye t m ore
•It acce l e rate d from th e l ate 19 70's, push e d by th e publ ic m one y. Al ong w ith l and de al s and tax bre ak s,
ide ol ogy of ne o- l ibe ralisation, and e ncourage d by its th is e nabl e s private de ve l ope rs, back e d by
pol iticalacol yte s Th atch e r & R e agan. It w ork e d, th e inte rnationalinve stors, to m ove in and cash in.
top 20% h ave got incre dibl y rich e r, th e top 10%
e ve n m ore so. Th e rich /poor divide in th e w e st, and
th e gl obalnorth /south divide , h as be e n incre ase d.
•Gl obal isation l ie s be h ind m ost of w h at h appe ns in
th e w orl d today. France , Ge rm any & R ussia m ay
h ave appe are d oppose d to th e w ar in Iraq , but th e y M ore info:
agre e w ith th e principl e of ope ning up Iraq and oth e r w w w .g7.utoronto.ca
Arab state s to m ark e t force s via gl obal isation. Th e y w w w .g20.org
just w e re n't k e e n on th e proce ss, and th e sigh t of th e w w w .g8.gov.uk
US m arch ing rough sh od ove r th e ir vie w s to gain w w w .corporate w atch .org.uk
gre ate r controlof th e are a th an th e m . w w w .ifiw atch ne t.org

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