The Battle Of Seattle

It's a wonderful outline of the new anti-capitalist activity. It pulls together all aspects of changes to all levels of education, as it is drawn into the profit business - and ever further away from wider concepts of education. - Caroline Benn, Hillcole Group of Radical Left Educators, and President of the Socialist Education Association; This is essential reading for all those the world over who have been driven to the margins of existence by forces of the current phase of capitalism - globalisation. It helps to understand the forces hiding behind bodies such as the World Trade Organisation that drive us relentlessly towards giving up control over our minds and bodies. This booklet looks particularly at the dangers facing education systems from the global search for mega profits. It also shows that people's resistance can make a difference in snatching control over their lives. - Shiraz Durrani, Information for Social Change; Glenn Rikowski vividly demonstrates the centrality of education in capitalist globalisation. With precision and utmost clarity, he also details the historical background to 'The Battle in Seattle' as well as the other mass demonstrations against global capitalism and its agents of destruction. Rikowski's seminal text is destined to become essential reading for critical/radical educators and political activists, but it should be read by everyone who is concerned with, and about, the future of education, indeed, the future of humanity. - Paula Allman, Honorary Research Fellow, University of Nottingham, and author of Critical Education Against Global Capital: Karl Marx and Revolutionary Critical Education; Glenn Rikowski has produced a brilliant and I believe historical landmark in Left education. - Peter McLaren, University of California, Los Angeles, and author of Che Guevara, Paulo Freire, and the Pedagogy of Revolution; I felt compelled to grab the red flag and take to the streets as I worked through Glenn Rikowski's well documented expose of what the World Trade Organisation is up to and its plans for education. But Glenn's analysis is much more than a clarion call. It anchor's that call in solid theory and critique so that my immediate response can now be matched by informed and focused action. An activist's true handbook. - Helen Raduntz, University of South Australia

Glenn Rikowski is Senior Research Fellow in Lifelong Learning, Faculty of Education, University of Central England in Birmingham, UK. He has been a member of the Hillcole Group of Radical Left Educators since 1994.

Preface; The Morning after Prague 1; References 4; The battle in Seattle: Its significance for education; Introduction 7; 1. The World Trade Organisation and the Battle in Seattle 9; 2. The Significance of Seattle 15; After Seattle 20; 3. Seattle, the WTO and Education 23; 4. The Significance of Education for Anti-Capitalism 30; After Marx 34; The Pay-Off 37; Conclusion: The Question of Alternatives 38; References 43; Notes 48; Post-Nice Postscript 51; References