Right to be Left

As the crisis unfolds and expands, leaders everywhere are frightened.

One headline in BBC reads Crisis may 'spark social unrest'

Another BBC report says that "Tens of thousands of social activists and environmental and political groups have gathered in the Brazilian city of Belem for the World Social Forum. The event is timed deliberately to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Organisers say the global financial crisis has given the six-day meeting new importance in providing an alternative perspective. Environmental issues are featuring prominently in the discussions. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will join four other presidents from across South America at the forum later this week."

According to BBC, "across Europe, victims of the economic slump who are losing their jobs in their tens of thousands are furious that public money is being doled out to the banks. In some countries, they are more willing to vent their anger. As huge crowds took to the streets across France this week, in a national day of protests and strikes, the far left points to a boost in the number of its supporters in times of financial gloom. The French communist movement has remained a significant political force even in the decades when their cause was less than fashionable abroad. Now, France's communists believe they are staring at the proof that capitalism has failed, once and for all. And they see an opportunity."

NT reports that "Protesters held demonstrations throughout Russia on Saturday, offering largely subdued, but pointed criticism of the government’s economic policies as the country continues to sink deeper into an economic morass."