Question

Difficulty: EasyResistance to Globalization after 1900

The passage below is from a declaration distributed by activists during protests at a meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle in 1999:

"We protest the WTO because it puts corporate profits above the health of our communities, the preservation of our environment, and the sovereignty of our local democracies. The policies of unregulated free trade and deregulation enforced by global institutions benefit multinational corporations at the expense of working people and the environment."

Which of the following best explains a primary goal of the protesters described in the passage?

  1. A
    To advocate for the widespread adoption of chemical-heavy agricultural methods from the Green Revolution.
  2. To challenge the economic policies of global trade organizations and multinational corporations.Answer
  3. C
    To demand the restoration of direct colonial administration and territorial annexation by Western empires.
  4. D
    To enforce complete cultural isolation and prevent any form of international interaction.

Answer

To challenge the economic policies of global trade organizations and multinational corporations.
The correct answer is correct because the protesters in Seattle in 1999 were targeting the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the unregulated free-trade policies that they believed favored multinational corporations over local democracies and the environment, which is a key example of resistance to globalized economic structures in the late twentieth century.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus passage for clues regarding the protesters' targets and objectives.
The text identifies the World Trade Organization (WTO) and multinational corporations as the targets of the protest.
This establishes the subject of the resistance described in the passage.
2
Determine the historical context of the Seattle protests of 1999.
These protests were a response to late-twentieth-century economic globalization and the growth of free-market capitalism.
This contextualizes the event within the broader historical process of globalization.
3
Evaluate the choices to see which one accurately reflects the protesters' resistance to the WTO's policies.
The goal of challenging the economic policies of global trade organizations matches the protesters' opposition to unregulated free trade.
This selects the correct answer based on historical context and textual evidence.

Key Concept

Resistance to globalization after 1900
Estimated Time:45s
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