Association pour la Taxation des Transactions pour l'Aide aux Citoyens
Encyclopedia
Foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...
transactions.
Background
Originally a single-issue movement demanding the introduction of the so-called Tobin taxTobin tax
A Tobin tax, suggested by Nobel Laureate economist James Tobin, was originally defined as a tax on all spot conversions of one currency into another...
on currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
speculation
Speculation
In finance, speculation is a financial action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum...
, ATTAC now devotes itself to a wide range of issues related to globalisation, monitoring the decisions of the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
(WTO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
(OECD) and the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF). ATTAC attends the meetings of the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
with the goal of influencing policymakers' decisions. Attac recently criticised Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for what it called the criminalisation of anti-G8 groups.
ATTAC is not an anti-globalization movement, but it criticises the neoliberal ideology
Neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to economic and social policy based on neoclassical theories of economics that emphasizes the efficiency of private enterprise, liberalized trade and relatively open markets, and therefore seeks to maximize the role of the private sector in determining the...
that it sees as dominating economic globalisation. It supports globalisation policies that they characterise as sustainable
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
and socially just
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
. One of ATTAC's slogans is "The World is not for sale", denouncing the "merchandisation
Merchandization
Merchandization is a critical term coined by the anti-globalization movement to designate the process of change in viewpoint of individuals or society towards an object, service or substance. Things that were formerly thought of as "simply being there", are now being thought of as commodities for...
" of society. Another slogan is "Another world is possible" pointing to an alternative globalization where people and not profit is in focus.
James Tobin opposing Attac
Attac was originally founded to promote Tobin taxTobin tax
A Tobin tax, suggested by Nobel Laureate economist James Tobin, was originally defined as a tax on all spot conversions of one currency into another...
by the Keynesian economist James Tobin
James Tobin
James Tobin was an American economist who, in his lifetime, served on the Council of Economic Advisors and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard and Yale Universities. He developed the ideas of Keynesian economics, and advocated government intervention to...
. Tobin himself has accused Attac for misusing his name and said that he has nothing in common with Attac and is a supporter of free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
— "everything that these movements are attacking. They're misusing my name."
Organisational history
In December 1997, Ignacio RamonetIgnacio Ramonet
Ignacio Ramonet is a Spanish journalist and writer.He was the editor-in-chief of Le Monde diplomatique from 1991 until March 2008....
wrote in Le Monde diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique
Le Monde diplomatique is a monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first created mainly for a diplomatic audience as its name implies...
an editorial in which he advocated the establishment of the Tobin tax
Tobin tax
A Tobin tax, suggested by Nobel Laureate economist James Tobin, was originally defined as a tax on all spot conversions of one currency into another...
and the creation of an organisation to pressure governments around the world to introduce the tax. ATTAC was created on June 3, 1998, during a constitutive assembly in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. While it was founded in France it now exists in over forty countries around the world. In France, politicians from the left are members of the association.
ATTAC functions on a principle of decentralisation
Décentralisation
Décentralisation is a french word for both a policy concept in French politics from 1968-1990, and a term employed to describe the results of observations of the evolution of spatial economic and institutional organization of France....
: local associations organise meetings, conferences, and compose documents that become counter-arguments to the perceived neoliberal discourse. ATTAC aims to formalise the possibility of an alternative to the neoliberal society that is currently required of globalisation. ATTAC aspires to be a movement of popular education.
Finland
Communist Juhani Lohikoski, previously a chairman of Communist Youth LeagueCommunist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China also known as the China Youth League is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, run by Communist Party of China. The league is organized on the party pattern. Its leader is its First Secretary...
and Socialist League
Socialist League
Socialist League may refer to one of several organisations:*Socialist League *Socialist League *Socialist League *Socialist League *Socialist League *Socialist League...
, served as the chairman of Finnish Attac for two terms (2002 - 2004). Yrjö Hakanen, pro-Soviet chairman of the Communist Party of Finland, was a member of the board and a member of the founding committee. In March 2002 Aimo Kairamo, the long-time chief editor of the party organ of the Social Democrat Party, resigned from Attac and recommended the same decision for other social democrats because of the left-wing minority communists' leading positions. Soon also the social democrat foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja
Erkki Tuomioja
Erkki Sakari Tuomioja is the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs. He is currently a member of the Finnish Parliament.Tuomioja is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, although his political views are thought to be more to the left than the party line. He is also a member of ATTAC...
considered to follow Kairamo's example.
Sweden
Researcher Malin Gawell covers the birth and development of Attac Sweden in her doctoral thesis on activist entrepreneurship. She suggests that Attac in Sweden was formed by people seeking a new way of organising with flat hierarchy, and with the strongly sensed need of making a change as the driving force.From another perspective, Sydsvenskan
Sydsvenskan
-External links:*...
newspaper suggested that the downturn of memberships in Swedish Attac after the hype in the beginning of 2001 may be due to its views on trade policies.
Issues and activities
The main issues covered by ATTAC today are:- Control of financial markets (e.g., Tobin tax)
- "Fair" instead of "free" trade, via democratic control of the World Trade Organisation and international financial institutions such the International Monetary FundInternational Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, Worldbank, European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, North American Free Trade AgreementNorth American Free Trade AgreementThe North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
, Free Trade Area of the AmericasFree Trade Area of the AmericasThe Free Trade Area of the Americas , , ) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas but Cuba. In the last round of negotiations, trade ministers from 34 countries met in Miami, United States, in November 2003 to discuss the proposal...
, and G8G8The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
. - Defense of public goods - air, water, information
- Defense of public social services - like those relevant to health, social services, and social securitySocial securitySocial security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
. For example, it is against the privatisation of pensionPensionIn general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
s and of the health care systemHealth care systemA health care system is the organization of people, institutions, and resources to deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations....
. ATTAC has also taken a position on genetically-modified organisms. ATTAC also opposes General Agreement on Trade in ServicesGeneral Agreement on Trade in ServicesThe General Agreement on Trade in Services is a treaty of the World Trade Organization that entered into force in January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations...
. - The struggle to end tax evasion (tax havensCorporate havenA corporate haven is a jurisdiction with laws friendly to corporationsthereby encouraging them to choose that jurisdiction as a legal domicile.- History :...
) as practiced by transnational corporations and rich individuals - Sustainable globalisation
- Cancellation of the debt of Developing Countries.
- ATTAC campaigned against the Treaty establishing a Constitution for EuropeTreaty establishing a Constitution for EuropeThe Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe , , was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European Union...
.
In France, ATTAC associates with many other left-wing causes. ATTAC supports José Bové
José Bové
Joseph Bové is a French farmer and syndicalist, member of the alter-globalization movement, and spokesman for Via Campesina. He was one of the twelve official candidates in the 2007 French presidential election...
.
See also
- Alter-globalizationAlter-globalizationAlter-globalization is the name of a social movement that supports global cooperation and interaction, but which opposes the negative effects of economic globalization, feeling that it often works to the detriment of, or does not...
- Anti-globalizationAnti-globalizationCriticism of globalization is skepticism of the claimed benefits of the globalization of capitalism. Many of these views are held by the anti-globalization movement however other groups also are critical of the policies of globalization....
- ClearstreamClearstreamClearstream Banking S.A. is the clearing and settlement division of Deutsche Börse, based in Luxembourg and Frankfurt. Clearstream was created in January 2000 through the merger of Cedel International and Deutsche Börse Clearing...
scandal, a clearing houseClearing house (finance)A clearing house is a financial institution that provides clearing and settlement services for financial and commodities derivatives and securities transactions...
(meta-bank) involved in one of the biggest financial scandals ever - Currency transaction taxCurrency transaction taxA currency transaction tax is a tax placed on a specific type of currency transaction for a specific purpose. This term has been most commonly associated with the financial sector, as opposed to consumption taxes paid by consumers....
- Financial transaction taxFinancial transaction taxA financial transaction tax is a tax placed on a specific type of financial transaction for a specific purpose.This term has been most commonly associated with the financial sector, as opposed to consumption taxes paid by consumers. However, it is not a taxing of the financial institutions themselves...
- MRAP, anti-racist NGO engaged in the creation of ATTAC
- Tobin taxTobin taxA Tobin tax, suggested by Nobel Laureate economist James Tobin, was originally defined as a tax on all spot conversions of one currency into another...
External links
- ATTAC official web site
- ATTAC-Austria
- ATTAC-Belgium
- ATTAC Catalunya
- ATTAC Chile
- ATTAC Denmark
- ATTAC Finland
- ATTAC France
- ATTAC Germany (Group on Information Society (German only))
- ATTAC Hellas
- ATTAC Iceland
- ATTAC Italia
- ATTAC Lebanon
- ATTAC Madrid
- ATTAC Mallorca
- ATTAC Norway
- ATTAC País Valencià
- ATTAC Poland
- ATTAC Québec
- ATTAC Spain
- ATTAC Sweden
- "Disarming the Markets", editorial by Ignacio RamonetIgnacio RamonetIgnacio Ramonet is a Spanish journalist and writer.He was the editor-in-chief of Le Monde diplomatique from 1991 until March 2008....