Association pour la taxation des transactions pour l'aide aux citoyens

The Association pour la taxation des transactions pour l'aide aux citoyens ("Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens", ATTAC) is an activist organization for the establishment of a tax on foreign exchange transactions.

Background

Originally a single-issue movement demanding the introduction of the so-called Tobin tax on currency speculation, ATTAC now devotes itself to a wide range of issues related to globalisation, monitoring the decisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ATTAC attends the meetings of the G8 with the goal of influencing policymakers' decisions. Attac recently criticised Germany for what it called the criminalisation of anti-G8 groups. [cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EFC22DAF-E4DF-4E86-A850-0D3E2F67E81C.htm |title=German police raid G8 opponents |accessdate=2007-05-10]

ATTAC claims not to be anti-globalization, but only that it criticises the neoliberal ideology that it sees as dominating economic globalisation. It supports globalisation policies that they characterise as sustainable and socially just. One of ATTAC's slogans is "The World is not for sale", denouncing the "merchandisation" of society.

Organisational history

In December 1997, Ignacio Ramonet wrote in "Le Monde diplomatique" an editorial in which he advocated the establishment of the Tobin tax and the creation of an organisation to pressure governments around the world to introduce the tax. ATTAC was created on June 3, 1998, during a constitutive assembly in France. While it was founded in France it now exists in over forty countries around the world. In France, politicians from the left are members of the association.

ATTAC functions on a principle of decentralisation: local associations organise meetings, conferences, and compose documents that become counter-arguments to the perceived neoliberal discourse. ATTAC aims to formalise the possibility of an alternative to the neoliberal society that is currently required of globalisation. ATTAC aspires to be a movement of popular education.

Issues and activities

The main issues covered by ATTAC today are:
* Control of financial markets (e.g. Tobin tax)
* "Fair" instead of "free" trade, via democratic control of the WTO and international financial institutions such the IMF, Worldbank, EU, NAFTA, FTAA, and G8.
* Defense of public goods - air, water, information
* Defense of public social services - like those relevant to health, social services, and social security. For example, it is against the privatisation of pensions and of the health care system. ATTAC has also taken a position on genetically-modified organisms. ATTAC also opposes General Agreement on Trade in Services.
* The struggle to end tax evasion (tax havens) as practiced by transnational corporations and rich individuals
* Sustainable globalisation
* Cancellation of the debts of developing countries.
* ATTAC campaigned against the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.

In France, ATTAC associates with many other left-wing causes. ATTAC supports José Bové.

ee also

* Alter-globalization
* Anti-globalization
* Clearstream scandal, a compensation chamber (meta-bank) involved in one of the biggest financial scandals ever
* MRAP, anti-racist NGO engaged in the creation of ATTAC

References

* [http://newleftreview.net/NLR25303.shtml Bernard Cassen, On the Attack, New Left Review 19, January-February 2003]
* [http://newleftreview.net/NLR26703.shtml Bernard Cassen, ATTAC against the treaty, New Left Review 33, May-June 2005]

External links

* [http://www.attac.org ATTAC homepage]
* [http://www.attac.info ATTAC.info]
* [http://mondediplo.com/1997/12/leader "Disarming the Markets"] , editorial by Ignacio Ramonet
* [http://www.attac.at ATTAC-Austria]
* [http://www.attac.be ATTAC-Belgium]
* [http://www.attac-catalunya.org ATTAC Catalunya]
* [http://www.attac.dk ATTAC-Denmark]
* [http://www.attac.fi ATTAC Finland]
* [http://france.attac.org ATTAC France]
* [http://www.attac.de ATTAC Germany] ( [http://www.attac.de/wissensallmende/ Group on Information Society (German only)] )
* [http://www.attac-hellas.org ATTAC-Hellas]
* [http://www.lubnan.attac.org ATTAC Lebanon]
* [http://www.attacmadrid.org ATTAC-Madrid]
* [http://www.attacmallorca.es ATTAC Mallorca]
* [http://www.attac.no ATTAC Norway]
* [http://www.attacpv.org ATTAC-País Valencià]
* [http://www.attac.org.pl ATTAC Poland]
* [http://www.quebec.attac.org ATTAC-Québec]
* [http://www.attac.es ATTAC Spain]
* [http://www.attac.se ATTAC Sweden]
* [http://home.arcor.de/henrik-hain/term_paper.pdf Term Paper about ATTAC]