Citizendia

In most discussions, the global citizens movement is a socio-political process rather than a political organization or party structure. The term is often used synonymously with the anti-globalization movement, the movement of movements, or the global justice movement. " Anti-globalization " is a term that encompasses a number of related ideas " Anti-globalization " is a term that encompasses a number of related ideas The global justice movement is the broad globalized Social movement opposing what is often known as “corporate globalization” and promoting equal distribution [1] Colloquially the term is also used in this imprecise manner.
Global citizens movement has been used by activists to refer to a number of organized and overlapping citizens groups who seek to influence public policy often with the hope of establishing global solidarity on an issue. Such efforts include advocacy on ecological sustainability, corporate responsibility, social justice and similar progressive issues.
In theoretical discussions of social movements,[2] global citizens movement refers to a complex and unprecedented phenomena made possible by the unique subjective and objective conditions of the planetary phase of civilization. Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of Individuals and/or Organizations focused on specific The Planetary Phase of Civilization is a concept defined by the Global Scenario Group (GSG an environmental organization that specializes in Scenario analysis The term is used to distinguish the latent potential for a profound shift in values among an aware and engaged citizenry from existing transnational citizens movements[3] which tend to focus on specific issues (such as the anti-war movement). A peace movement is a Social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or all wars minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or

Contents

Background

The concept of a global citizen first emerged among the Greek Cynics in the 4th Century BC, who coined the term “cosmopolitan” – meaning citizen of the world. The Cynics (Κυνικοί Cynici were an influential group of Philosophers from the ancient school of Cynicism The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified The Roman Stoics later elaborated on the concept. Stoicism, a school of Hellenistic philosophy, was founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early third century BC The contemporary concept of cosmopolitanism, which proposes that all individuals belong to a single moral community, has gained a new salience as scholars examine the ethical requirements of the planetary phase of civilization. Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single Moral community. The Planetary Phase of Civilization is a concept defined by the Global Scenario Group (GSG an environmental organization that specializes in Scenario analysis [4]

The idea that today’s objective and subjective conditions have increased the latency for an emergent global civic identity has been argued by the authors of the Global Scenario Group’s final report Great Transition: the Promise and Lure of the Times Ahead. The Global Scenario Group (GSG was a team of environmental scholars headed by Paul Raskin, who used Scenario analysis to analyze future paths for world development Similar arguments for the existence of a latent pool of tens of millions of people ready to identify around new values of earth consciousness have been put forth by such authors as Paul Raskin (see World Lines: Pathways, Pivots, and the Global Future), Paul Ray (see Cultural Creatives[5]), and David Korten (see Great Turning). Dr Paul Raskin is the Founding Director of the Tellus Institute which has conducted over 3500 research and policy projects throughout the world on environmental issues resource Paul Ray is a member of the Utah House of Representatives in the U Cultural Creatives is a term coined by Sociologist Paul H Ray and Psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson to describe a large segment in Western society that Dr David C Korten is an author and a leader in the global resistance against corporate Globalization. This article refers to the 2006 book The Great Turning From Empire to Earth Community by David Korten, and The Great Turning Initiative based on that book and others' Organizations, such as Oxfam International believe that a global citizens movement rooted in social and economic justice is emerging and is necessary for ending global poverty. Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice [6]

Visions of a Global Citizens Movement

In the last chapter of his book, Red Sky at Morning, Gus Speth describes the potential for a new type of social movement composed of "we the people, as citizens" rooted in the principles of the Earth Charter to lead the transition in consciousness and values necessary for the emergence of a new planetary civilization. James Gustave (Gus Speth (born March 4 1942) is an American environmental Lawyer and advocate The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental values and principles from Earth Charter International that it considers as necessary for building a just sustainable and peaceful global [7]

Orion Kriegman, author of Dawn of the Cosmopolitan: The Hope of a Global Citizens Movement, states, “Transnational corporations, governments, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) remain powerful global actors, but all of these would be deeply influenced by a coherent, worldwide association of millions of people who call for priority to be placed on new values of quality of life, human solidarity, and environmental sustainability. ”

Kriegman distinguishes this “coherent, worldwide association of millions” from the existing fragmented social movements active in the World Social Forum. The World Social Forum (WSF is an annual meeting held by members of the Anti-globalization (using the term Globalization in a Doctrinal sense not These movements tend to be issue-specific – focused on labor, environment, human rights, feminist issues, indigenous struggles, poverty, AIDS, and numerous other interrelated but “siloed” efforts. Coherence among these movements would require a reframing of their work under the rubric of the struggle for a socially just and ecologically sustainable global society and the establishment of an institutional structure to defend the rights of humanity, future generations, and the biosphere. Kriegman asserts, “The upsurge of civil society activity, in the form of NGOs and social movements, over the past few decades can be understood as an early manifestation of the latency in the global system, and at the same time this transnational activity helps deepen the latency. However, existing social movements have not found a way to effectively balance the creative tension between pluralism and coherence to provide a collective framework for theory and action. Without a shared framework, it is hard to imagine how the latent potential would coalesce into a global systemic movement. The development of a shared framework will depend on new forms of leadership to facilitate engaged dialogue inclusive of diverse voices. ”

Critiques of a Global Citizens Movement

The major critique of the notion of a global citizens movement centers around the potential for the emergence of solidarity on issues at the global level. Nationalism, racism, and the dominance of the Westphalian state system are considered antithetical to the adoption of a global civic identity. However, some scholars point out that the historical emergence of nationalism must have felt just as improbable in a time of warring city-states,[8] and yet in retrospect it appears inevitable. [9]

A more radical critique stems from the arguments put forth by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri in their book Multitude and enshrines Foucault’s notion of a “plurality of resistance”[10] as the only legitimate path forward. Michael Hardt (born 1960 is an American literary theorist and political philosopher based at Duke University. Antonio ("Toni" Negri (born August 1, 1933) is an Italian Marxist political philosopher. Multitude is a political term first used by Machiavelli and reiterated by Spinoza. This argument asserts that an organized movement among the vast multitude is both undesirable and impossible. Instead of leadership and organizational structures, Hardt and Negri put faith in the emergence of spontaneous coherence due to increasing self-organized networks among various autonomous resistance movements. They critique the notion that there could be legitimate leaders, democratically chosen through a formal network of grassroots structures, acting on behalf of a big-tent pluralistic association of global citizens to directly confront the entrenched power of transnational corporations and state governments. However, it remains unclear how a network of autonomous movements would differ in practice from the vision of an authentic global citizens movement.

Notes

  1. ^ George, Susan. 2001. Global citizens movement: A new actor for a new politics TNI
  2. ^ Kriegman, Orion. 2006. Dawn of the Cosmopolitan: The Hope of a Global Citizens Movement Boston: Tellus Institute
  3. ^ Guidry, J. , M. Kennedy, and M. Zald (eds). 2003. Globalizations and Social Movements: Culture, Power, and the Transnational Public Sphere. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
  4. ^ Appiah, K. 2006. Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers (Issues of Our Time). New York: W. W. Norton.
  5. ^ Ray, P. and S. Anderson. 2000. The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World. New York: Three Rivers Press.
  6. ^ Oxfam International. 2001. Towards Global Equity
  7. ^ James Gustave Speth. James Gustave (Gus Speth (born March 4 1942) is an American environmental Lawyer and advocate 2004. Red Sky at Morning. New York: Yale University Press
  8. ^ Anderson, B. R. 1991. Imagined communities: reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London; New York: Verso.
  9. ^ Rajan, Chella. 2006. Global Politics and Institutions. Boston: Tellus Institute
  10. ^ Foucault, M. 1980. The History of Sexuality. New York: Vintage Books.

References

Florini, A. 2000. The Third Force: The Rise of Transnational Civil Society. New York: Carnegie Endowment. ISBN 0-87003-180-5

Gelder, Melinda. 2006. Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend. Boulder: Bauu Press. ISBN 0-9721349-5-6

Kriegman, Orion and Great Transition Initiative. 2006. "Global citizens movement. " Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland. (Washington, D. C. : Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment).

Mayo, Marjorie. 2005. Global Citizens: Social Movements and the Challenge of Globalization. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN-13 9781842771389

Raskin, P. , T. Banuri, G. Gallopín, P. Gutman, A. Hammond, R. Kates, and R. Swart. 2002. The Great Transition: The Promise and the Lure of the Times Ahead. Boston, MA: Tellus Institute.

External links

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