Developmental States: The Next Generation

For three long decades, neoliberal capitalism pitilessly savaged the planet, blighting billions of human lives and wrecking entire continents for the sake of a tiny oligarchic elite.

But beginning in the late 1990s, resistance movements began to emerge. In the beginning, they were tiny -- a handful of protests here, a scattering of workers there. But the resistance grew and grew. The handful turned into an armful, armfuls into gatherings, gatherings into crowds.

All across the planet, working people fought back -- and began to win victories.

One of the most significant of these victories was the construction of mighty developmental states. These were peaceful, democratic revolutions which took back national economies bankrupted by predatory foreign neoliberal elites and from their no less predatory comprador underlings.

The first group of developmental states emerged around 1999 or. Their most obvious manifestation: the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China), trillion-dollar behemoths who are rapidly becoming the leading engines of the world economy.

But the story doesn't end there. The next generation of developmental states is emerging, born out of geopolitical necessity and ongoing struggles for human dignity and social justice. Here are some snapshots of the process:

Bangladesh: Al-jazeera: Bangladeshi labourers demand more pay

Egypt: In These Times: In Egypt, Arab World’s ‘Largest Social Movement’ Gains Steam Among Workers

Indonesia and Turkey: Antara: President arrives in Turkey