I was published in the March 2004 issue of Fraser Forum with an article titled “World Social Forum: No Help to the Poor.”

Writing after the January 2004 World Social Forum in Mumbai, I examine the contradictions between its anti-globalization message and its reliance on international funding, commercial air travel, modern technology, and products made by multinational companies.

I argue that activists who claim to speak for India’s poor often disregard what poorer people actually want: reliable water, electricity, healthcare, employment, and access to better products. When privileged activists presume to dictate how poorer people should live, their supposed opposition to imperialism becomes another form of it.

The article appears on pages 24–25 of the print issue.

Read “World Social Forum: No Help to the Poor” in the March 2004 issue of Fraser Forum (PDF) →