It seems so long ago, but the movement against global capitalism that featured mass protests against meetings of capital’s biggest criminals and powerbrokers (usually one and the same) had center stage a mere twenty-five years ago. For those who participated, it was an exhilarating time filled with confrontation, conversation, debate and determination represented by the decision of so many to risk prison and injury. It was also a time that saw the forces of law and order show the reality of capitalism—a reality that evoked the viciousness of the Pinkertons and the military in railroad and miner strikes of more than a century ago. Indeed, one of the last major such protests saw police murder Carlo Giuliani in Genoa, Italy. The scenes of police violence against protesters, media and supporters that followed reminded the world just how much the accumulation of wealth by the already wealthy meant to them.

As noted, Giuliani’s murder was the culmination of less than three years of rapidly intensifying protests and even greater attacks on those protests and the protesters organizing and participating in them. Although the bulk of the protests involved nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience, there were also incidents of property destruction and fighting with police and vigilantes. Much of the latter was attributed to a phenomenon that became known as the Black Bloc. In my understanding, most of the streetfighting was defensive on the part of most protesters, with the Black Bloc often being the first to fight back.

There were many among the protesters—from organizers to participants—who disagreed with the tactics of the Black Bloc. Although it seems fair to say that most of those who disagreed were what might best be called militant liberals, several leftist groups and individuals also joined in the criticism. Of course, more mainstream liberals in corporate media and corporate politics added to the chorus, often with a vehemence one would........

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