Book excerpt: The events around the WTO conference in Seattle focused attention on the rise of social movements opposing globalisation and the power of corporations. This work is the first systematic analysis of these diverse, at present uncoordinated, movements. They are a new phenomenon that has as yet received scant media or scholarly attention. But it is likely to assume much greater political prominence as the globalised economy dominated by giant corporations fails to deliver on jobs, social justice, development and th environment. The dialectic between public opposition and the corporate sector's response is likely to shape how our economic institutions will change in the coming years.