A Critique of the Juliette Beck Speech Essay - 967 Words

A Critique of the Juliette Beck Speech Juliette Becks speech, Reclaiming Just and Sustainable Communities in the Age of Corporate Globalization neither adequately described the problems of globalization as it is currently structured, nor did it provide any answers to the problems with it, either the real problems that actually exist (labor and environmental exploitation) or the problems that Beck purported (large corporations). Primarily, Becks speech was flawed in that it was incoherent and empirical incorrect. For instance 1) it purported the idea that globalization was not inevitable, 2) it called upon the myth of small is beautiful, confusing the real problem with globalization (Capitalist structure) with a false problem†¦show more content†¦Localism, by its nature, cannot address problems that exist beyond local levels. Globalization, it should be obvious, is one of these. Too bad for us on the left certain supposedly left political analysts of global activity cannot pi ck up this basic truth. Maybe part of the reason one analyst in particular is unable to realize the futility of localism is that she has succumbed to the false romantic ideology that small is beautiful. Much in the same way as libertarians and conservative, Beck beat on the drum of Localism, relating to the audience the horrors of such companies as Wal-Mart, Nike, and Starbucks. She advised us not to shop at these as they (in the case of Wal-Mart) drive out mom and pop stores in local communities. As an alternative, we should shop at locally own stores, and buy fair-trade coffee. One should not try to persuade others into action on the basis of ones own guilt, for it is futile if one seeks structurally change. But this is what Beck does, by personalizing the trauma (your local store vs. big nasty corporate stores), and it is not effective. Instead of focusing on the problems of one order of Capitalism (localism) vs. a different order of Capitalism (big business), one should realizes that it is Capitalism it self that is the impetus of the problem, and that the Capitalist exploitation of the earth, labor, and