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Published byStuart Barker Modified over 9 years ago
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Brand-Based Politics The prospects for anticorporate activism (Klein, Ch. 18)
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Targets “The conduct of the individual multinationals is simply a by-product of a broader global economic system that has steadily been removing almost all barriers and conditions to trade, investment, and outsourcing” (p. 421) e.g. US policy on KyotoKyoto
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True or false? “The all-star multinationals … are the celebrity face of global capitalism, but when they come under public scrutiny, the entire system is hauled under the microscope as well” (p. 422).
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One brand, or many? “... a warped hierarchy of oppression is emerging from the factories of the third world: when it comes to seeking international solidarity, only designer injustices need apply” (p. 423). “What we are trying to really do... Is to let people have the feeling that they can at least have the moral force to make one company change” (p. 423).
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What about the unbrandables? Companies that don’t sell directly to the public don’t have to worry about their public image. Are brand-based campaigns “powerless in the face of corporations who opt out of the branding game” (p. 424)?
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Follow corporate tracks “Investigative activists are starting to track the progress of harvested resources through the economy to the point that they turn into consumer goods; at that stage public pressure can be applied at the mall, superstore or grocery chain” (p. 426).
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The politics of consumerism Is anticorporate activism the same as consumer activism? “... politics in Cavite is about fighting for concrete improvement in worker’s lives—not about what name happens to be on a T-shirt you happen to have on your back” (p. 429).
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Codes of ethics: Privatizing protest “… what we are seeing is no less than a struggle over who will control the agenda for eradicating sweatshop abuses. Nike’s implicit message is Leave it to us. We have voluntary codes of conduct. We have a task force. We’ll tae care of it from here. Go home and forget about sweatshops” (Charles Kernaghan, quoted p. 436).
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Boycott wars Legal attacks on selective purchasing laws US supreme court rules in favour of National Foreign Trade Council, against Massachusetts Burma Lawrules in favour
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Future of anticorporate activism? Collective action Distributed networks Re-appropriation of media & information technologies Knowledge Theory Pleasure
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