ABSTRACT
At first glance, it may seem difficult to understand the relationship between local problems in communities and larger global economic issues. The truth of the matter is, however, that few people in this world are not affected by global economic and social dynamics in some way. People both the global North and the global South, are affected in ways of which they may not even be aware. As local industries in the North are closed in favor of cheaper labor pools in the South, people experience unemployment, the need for retraining, and associated social problems. Home and neighborhood gardens are lost to chain stores selling genetically modified food high in sugar and fats, leading to significant public health issues. Family farms and indigenous land are lost to global corporate giants. When one begins to come to terms with the relationship between what happens in a local community to the larger forces of globalization, one may wonder if the work that global justice activists are doing can even have an impact. In other words, does the global justice movement really matter? Or, are the larger mechanisms of globalization negating local, transnational, and global organizing? Indeed, some would argue that the negative aspects of globalization are an inevitable process that cannot, in effect, be challenged.
