February-March 1996

Economic Globalization:

Increased Prosperity or Increasing
Inequality and Insecurtiy?

In the winter of 1996, Wall Street soared while Main Street suffered as corporations downsized and exported jobs to foreign countries. A new global corporate assembly line was pitting employees everywhere against one another, driving down wages and working conditions, degrading the environment and shredding social safety nets. Presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan struck a resonant chord with a public wondering where their job security had gone and where this global juggernaut was heading. But his solutions often sounded a sour note, blaming the victims instead of a system that victimizes everyone. We asked our guests to discuss the impacts of economic globalization in light of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and World Bank policies.

Sixty-two interviews were completed between mid-February and mid-March. Spokespeople appeared on a wide range of commercial and public radio stations, as well as on major networks like CBS and Mutual Broadcasting.

Guest Speakers

Brent Blackwelder, President, Friends of the Earth

John Cavanagh, Director, Institute for Policy Studies

Richard Grossman, Co-Director, Program on Corporations and Democracy

Karen Hansen-Kuhn, Latin America Program Coordinator, The Development Gap

Doug Hellinger, Managing Director, The Development Gap

Steve Hellinger, Executive Director, The Development Gap

David Korten, Founder and President, Human-Centered Development

Thea Lee, Economist, Economic Policy Institute

Juliette Majot, Policy Analyst, International Rivers Network

Ward Morehouse, Project on Corporations and Democracy

David Morris, Vice President, Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Ralph Nader, Founder, Public Citizen

Carl Pope, Executive Director, Sierra Club

David Ranney, Associate Professor, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois/Chicago

Jeremy Rifkin, President, Foundation on Economic Trends

Mark Ritchie, President, Institute for Trade and Agriculture Policy

Laurie Wallach, Director, Global Trade Watch, Public Citizen