Bretton Woods, New Hampshire: Country club-esque getaway where international bigwigs got together after WWII and set up a slew of international economic institutions. Resulted in the creation of the World Bank, IMF, and GATT.

General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT): Nasty, 52 year-old organization responsible for regulating international trade. Doesn't get out much, just plots out global capitalism from the safe confines of its luxury armchair. Has serious personal problems with quotas and tariffs.

International Monetary Fund (IMF): If you're a poor country and you need money for development, where do you go to get the $50 billion to get health care and create good jobs? Well, the IMF. Only, since they gave you the money, you end up having do what they tell you, so you use all your money to get foreign companies to come in, and you have to privatize everything, and you end up just working to pay off the debt and everyone's still shit poor. But you did get the $50 billion.

Liberalized Trade: Liberal here doesn’t mean the sort of policy that makes Rush Limbaugh mad. It means unregulated movement of money and jobs. Incidentally, it also means the elimination of any barriers to profit-making, like tariffs, health and environmental standards.

Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI): A proposed international contract between countries which would render international relations like so: Nigeria [to US company]: "Hey, you can't pollute here because it's against our laws." US company: "Oh yeah? The laws in the US say it's okay." Nigeria: "We don't care, you can't pollute here. It kills people." US company: "That’s not fair. That restricts our investment." Nigeria: "Nuh-uh." US company: "Uh-huh. I'm gonna tell the MAI bosses on you." [Enter MAI] MAI: "Nigeria, shut the fuck up. You can't restrict their investment with your environmental responsibility laws. Suck it up." That's what the MAI would've done, but grassroots opposition stopped 'em. For now, anyway.

Neoliberalism: In plain English? Sidelining public interest for private profit. If you want to get technical, it's an economic model based on privatization of government services, elimination of regulation and standards, a tight monetary policy to curb inflation (and raise unemployment) prioritizing investment (often foreign investment), and (where applicable) foreign debt repayment.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): You know what would suck? If money and factories and products could go between the US, Canada, and Mexico without paying those pesky taxes and shit, while people wouldn’t have such an ability. You know what would suck more? If labor and environmental standards were played against each other by big corporations, so companies went wherever the standards were lowest, and then that forced the places that had standards to get rid of them, so everyone ends up poorer and in pollution. You know what really sucks? It’s already in effect and its called NAFTA.

Round(Uruguay Round, for example): Snappy GATT lingo referring to a negotiation meeting.

World Bank: International funder of development, a la the International Monetary Fund. Preaches the gospel of producing for export (say, coffee) instead of self-sufficiency (growing the food you need).

World Trade Organization (WTO): Reagan: "Maggie Thatcher, let's have a bastard love child." Thatcher: "OK, Ronnie. What should we call it?" Reagan: "The World Trade Organization has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" Thatcher: "Yes, it does. Such a lovely name. We'll let him decide who's being good and bad, and he can punish the bad boys and girls." Reagan: "What a lovely idea, Maggie." At the tender age of 5, the WTO decides if someone is restricting someone else's trade and hands out punishments accordingly. Of course, restrictions include taxes, subsidies, quotas, regulations, and all the other things that democratic states use to influence their own economies.

Tracie McMillan