New World Development Movement director Nick Dearden will present ‘a feast of practical alternatives’ to corporate power when he adddresses a meeting in Sheffield on Thursday, 19 June, asking what happened to democracy?
It is sometimes said by pessimists that “No matter who you vote for, you always get the government.” But do we nowadays even get the policies of the government we’ve voted for, or just those of corporate business?
We are constantly being urged to believe that ‘there is no alternative’ to profit-only means of providing for our needs – from privatised public services at home, to expensive, privately-patented seeds and agricultural inputs to ‘feed the world’.
But, Dearden argues: “A picture is building which is finding alternatives to the market even when we’re told such solutions are unthinkable.”
“‘There is no alternative’ is an incredibly powerful concept,” he says. “But the models being experimented with in some parts of Latin America go beyond anything we’ve seen in decades. It is the challenge to corporate power even if it’s somewhat patchy and it’s not a straight line to a better world.”
As director of Jubilee Debt Campaign, Deardon built strong relationships with campaigners in the global south, and helped win a new law to stop ‘vulture funds’ from using UK courts to squeeze huge debt payments out of poor countries.
Where: Quaker Meeting House, St. James Street, Sheffield, S1 2EW
When: Thursday 19 June; 7.15pm (tea/coffee from 6.45pm).
All welcome. No charge (donations to costs requested).
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More details from: World Development Movement in Sheffield
Website: http://groups.wdm.org.uk/sheffield/
Email: wdmsheffield@googlemail.com
Twitter: @WDMSheffield
Tel.: 0114 265 5896
