Globalisation has turned the world into a glorified production line. It has allowed corporations to access resources and market their products right around the planet. It has also allowed them to exploit the world’s cheapest labour, the world’s poorest environmental regulations and the world’s most repressive political environments.

Three organisations have led the charge of globalisation. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation are all dominated by Western governments, which in turn are strongly influenced by Western business interests. Since the mid 1980s these organisations have been threatening middle and low-income countries with exclusion from the global economy unless they implement drastic economic "reforms".

The reforms have included the removal of trade barriers, the privatisation of public services and cutbacks in spending on health care and education. The result has been economic growth in some countries, particularly in East Asia, but disaster for millions of the world’s poorest people. The environment has also suffered.

Exploiters are not having things all their own way. In Bolivia, a popular revolt threw out the government after it privatised gas and water supplies. Similar revolts have occurred in Uruguay and Ecuador. Venezuela has embarked on land reform and food subsidy, and Tanzania has renationalised its water. The tide may be turning.

See also Employment, Trade, Corporations.