smashing the wto and creating global democratic socialism

Here is my response to Patrick Bond's discussion of a potential split in
the WTO coalition between the smashers and the reformers:

First, not all the "radicals" want to stop global trade and smash the
WTO. The Global Exchange people have this figured out. They are older,
but not part of any aristocracy.

We need to talk to the "smash it" folks about how global democracy could
actually  be organized. Going back to local democracy simply will not
work, except for a few.
Real democracy can only be organized by constructing institutions that
protect workers and the environment, and doing that at the local level
will not solve the problems. It has been tried repeatedly, but has not
solved the problems because it drives capital to organize on a greater
scale. This is where globalization came from. There was already a lot of
resistance (labor unions, socialist parties, communist states). But they
did not succeed at the level of the system as a whole.

On the other hand, it does not make sense to pursue only a global
institution-building strategy. Gaining say in local and national venues
should be part of the strategy, but not for the purpose of erecting a
local utopia. Rather these should be tactics for pursuing the goal of
global democratic socialism.

    chriscd