Alter-globalization
Alter-globalization (or altermondialization from the French altermondialisation) is the name of a social movement which supports the international integration of globalization but demands that values of democracy, economic justice, environmental protection, and human rights be put ahead of purely economic concerns. The term is a positive spin on the more widely-used and pejorative word 'anti-globalization'.
This movement is objects to what it deems as neo-liberal globalization. It mainly opposes the way international institutions work towards economic development, such as the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank. In its most radical form, alter-globalization approaches and is confused for internationalism as put forth by communists, since both oppose a globalization that would prioritize business executives (capitalists) over ordinary people (the proletariat).
The term alter-globalization is derived from the term anti-globalization, which journalists and others used to describe the movement. French participants of the movement preferred the term "altermonialization", which is more positive and constructive, and more revealing of the its principled stances, than the dogmatic opposition suggested by the "anti-globalization" label. Many French journalists, in particular, have since ceased using the latter term in order to distinguish proponents of alterglobalization from anti-globalization activists (nationalists, protectionists, communitarians, etc.), even if the differences between the two are difficult to perceive. This term, originating from Belgium, does not seem to have taken root outside of France. The term seems to be used with declining frequency.
Advocates of alter-globalization have set up an online global news network, the Independent Media Center, to report on and shed light on developments pertinent to the movement. Groups in favor of alter-globalization include ATTAC, an international trade reform network headquartered in France.
See also Democratic globalization
