A Tale of Two Cities

By Sanjay Suri

These are the days, then, of another tale of two cities in the making. Davos and Porto Alegre are the two most talking, and talked about cities in matters political. Talking about the same things from different, if not opposing sides.

It’s easy to look at the cynical extreme -- that those in Davos decide, and the people in Porto Alegre just talk. But Davos has begun to listen ever more seriously to the voices from Porto Alegre and the very agenda of Davos now includes Porto Alegre.

This is good, but not enough. The louder and more effective Porto Alegre becomes, the louder these voices will be heard in Davos, and the more effectual they will become. Already, Davos has developed a growing, and not too grudging acknowledgment of the power of Porto Alegre.

The meetings in the two cities are complementary. In the best of worlds the two should be talking to one another at the same place. A tale of one city would make a far better story. Porto Alegre is at one level a metaphor for the voice of the people for governments that are not always listening. But meetings here cannot be abandoned as symbolic, however significant that symbolism.

It will never be enough just to meet and talk, and muscular optimism can be just as destructive as dismissive cynicism. Saying something is no guarantee it will be heard. The meeting and talking has to lead somewhere if this is to become more than a jamboree of serial seminars and a carnival of the left.

The strength of this gathering is in a sense also its weakness. The World Social Forum is expected to be a conversation among the converted that may produce its own nuances, but will finally produce thoughts that are predictable and unremarkable. That is the expectation that delegates have to conquer.

It is reassuring to see that many delegates have come determined to do just that. The best that many hope for is a chance to network with similar groups to deepen and expand the scope of their work and to talk through different policies and strategies of groups working ultimately to the same end.

But the effectiveness of the voice of Porto Alegre will be measured by what gets done, and not what gets said. All too easily something said can begin to feel as something done. This is not to say that every meeting must be able to point in the foreseeable future to specific results on the ground. Communication itself is a form of action. It is through communication that conflict can be expressed, and it is through the expression of conflict that a consensus can be reached that can begin to acquire real solidity.

But that end is attainable only if communication comes to mean listening as well as talking. There is a real risk that too many delegates will go back talking about what they said rather than what they heard.

Shadows fall between intention and action before we know it. Not one delegate will say she or he is here just to talk. There will be felt certainties about achievements. The hard bit is telling action from pseudo-action.

It is not traitorous to admit that there is a degree of pseudo-action in the ‘alternative’ political world. Too easily a seminar becomes an event, an event becomes a media event or one enacted merely to tap donors for money and to extend us in our business.

Every bit helps, of course. Every effort does its bit to raise awareness about an issue somewhere, somehow. In this effort no one can sneer at the few who thought a week of meetings would change the world. No one is expecting to showcase snapshots of new housing for the poor, of smiling faces of the suddenly employed, of contrite multinationals on their knees. The challenge will be to differentiate between the little that stays and the little for show.

But just as non-results can be dressed up as results, results too can appear like non-results. To the extent that that other city adopts the agenda of Porto Alegre and takes steps in line with what the |WSF wants, it is possible to claim success for the World Social Forum, even if you cannot put a flag over it. Every success does not carry a by-line.