It was never clear what the Seattle movement wanted. Anti-capitalist was a popular term at the time, but anything more ambitious or forceful than the negative was rarely mentioned. Some participants wanted a more nationally oriented capitalism, with tariffs and other protectionist policies but with no serious alterations to the structures of ownership and production. Others, appealing to sentimentalized histories of the good old days, imagined a more localized model, geographically contained and run by beneficent entrepreneurs, like, you know, way back when. It was not an intellectually rich environment.
But this is to get excessively hung up on the shortcomings. It was in many ways a glorious and exhilarating week, not least for the extraordinary meetings of worlds. Labor had a big rally on Tuesday, November 30. Quoting my own report at the time, “Unionists from all over the world spoke, some of them quite heatedly. A Mexican unionist cheered the Zapatistas, and a South African mineworker quoted Marx by name, urging the workers of the world to unite—to a great cheer from the crowd.” There was a touch of that old labor nationalism—the Teamsters denounced the threat of Mexican trucks—but there was some labor internationalism as well, though in very short supply.
And there was the meeting of labor and environmentalists, groups that were historically, if not at odds, certainly not allies in the 1990s. The odd coupling was celebrated as the meeting of Teamsters and turtles (turtles were foregrounded by protesters because the WTO had invalidated a U.S. rule that required fishing boats to use nets that allowed them to escape). Perhaps more niche, at the end of the week, I saw a moving solidarity between some Steelworkers and the Lesbian Avengers in front of Seattle’s grand old Labor Temple (once a union sanctuary that is now, sad to say, a coworking and event space). Again quoting my report at the time: “When we got here, the Steelworkers weren’t very queer-friendly,” a topless Avenger said. “As the week wore on, they got more comfortable with us. My nipples stand in solidarity with the Steelworkers and Teamsters and all the laboring people.” And a nearby locked-out Kaiser Aluminum worker responded: “A year ago I thought a redwood deck was the most beautiful thing in the world. Now I understand the importance of sustainability. I guess I’m an environmentalist now.” Another nearby union worker added, “When you’re gassed together, that forms a bond that’s hard to break.”