February 2002

Of all the forms of hidden persuasion,
the most implacable is that imposed
by the way things are
Pierre Bourdieu
In Italy “the way things are” has persuaded a majority of voters, successfully and inconspicuously, that the days of the traditional political parties are gone. This has its roots in a simple fact: since the 1980s the political system has degenerated at an alarming rate. Some speak of gangrene and rot. The scale of and extent of corruption astounds. The system of backhanders (...)

Yasser Arafat did not break with the Oslo peace accords, nor did he refuse Ehud Barak’s famous “generous offer” at Camp David – at least according to new books written by Israelis present at negotiations with Arafat (see ’Constructing catastrophe’). Many Israelis believe, after 25 years of national denial, that Arafat is still the only potential partner who can deliver peace.

What really happened at Camp David? Three books by Israelis who were involved in the peace negotiations both reveal and conceal Ehud Barak’s strategies – and the parts that the authors themselves played in the events.

The world’s largest pharmaceuticals company, Pfizer, and 10 others have promised to give the US Congress General Accounting Office all the data it needs to check drug prices. Like Europe, the US is concerned about the massive profits made by the pharmaceuticals industry. In rich countries, the laboratories’ pricing policies are a scam; in poor countries, they are preventing most people from getting treatment. Stavudine, used to treat Aids, is the perfect demonstration of what is wrong with the system. It hugely profits its makers – and Yale University, where it was researched.

The collapse of Enron is one of the biggest scandals in US economic history. Besides ruining many of its employees and wiping out their pensions, the affair reveals the cynicism of the directors, the links between US politics and multinationals, and the weird practices of auditors.

For 25 years the rich in Argentina have grown richer, the state has been dismantled and the country’s industries run down. In December the people rose in revolt. The two political parties – the Peronists and the Radicals – that have historically governed the country have been swept away, together with the ruling elite. The international community wants Argentina to adopt a coherent and sustainable programme – presumably to protect the interests of multinationals, creditors and the IMF.

China supports the international coalition against terrorism mostly to get acceptance for its policy of repression in the Muslim province of Xinjiang, which isn’t working. Beijing has failed to contain Uighur nationalism and there has also been a new upsurge of Islamic militancy in the region.

A journalist was sent to prison for four years last year after filming the Russian navy dumping radioactive waste into the Sea of Japan. He, like many other Russians and environmental organisations, opposed the new laws that allow the privately profitable import of foreign nuclear waste.

Senegal, once the showpiece of francophone Africa, has suffered over 20 years from the financial change demanded by international investors. It is now classed as one of the world’s least developed countries, and poverty and unemployment force many people to live hand to mouth. Their patience with the coalition elected in 2000 may be running out.

The new European Union arrest warrant is a worrying part of the West’s misguided attempt, in the name of anti-terrorism, to criminalise all forms of political, economic and social protest against any established order.