Blogging the WSF

Delhi, Jan 21 - I am writing now from Delhi, where Economic Research Foundation is holding a post conference on Resisting Imperialism with Samir Amin, Alejandro Bendanha and other economists working for social change.  On the last day of the conference, I was lucky to be able to engage with several US comrades on the prospects for an American Social Forum sometime in 2005.  It seems like a fantastic opportunity, if only to create a space to incentivize social movements and NGOs to get over some of their turf issues.  Of couse said turf issues arrive largely though not exclusively as a result of a problem, one of the main criticisms of the WSF process here in India.  Namely, funding.  NGOS compete for funding, take it from weird places, and can crowd out more politicized or grassroots movements.  Would these difficulties be overcome for a Social Forum?  It seems that the only way we'll know is if organizations with a serious social base -- labor, workers centers, immigrant centers, etc -- take it up and find it useful.  The more policy oriented groups have their running dialogue (Some would say monologue) anyway.  The groups I talked to, including some in the Grassroots Global Justice delegation, did seem to be into it, so hopefully it will move forward.  It could create a space for real political leadership on the US left to emerge; or  I guess it could also be another summit.  We'll just have to see.