Introduction

A main characteristic of the dominant ideologies in western capitalist societies has been to perceive workers primarily as wage earners, that is, consumers endowed with specific attributes such as income, education, and status, all defined in the spheres of exchange, distribution and consumption rather than in the world of production. Capital from the core countries, in its search for higher profits and lower wages, crosses borders looking for other parts of the world where labor is less organized and where corporations can operate with little control. Capitalism is not a national but an international or transnational system. The international mobility and nature of capital requires not only a national but also an international answer. It is difficult to imagine a more compelling call for international solidarity and cooperation among workers’ movements than the one to stop harm, disease and death.