From the Editor

It's January again, a good time to review the events of the year gone by and assess the present state of multinational corporations.

In this, our second annual report, we look back at three critical issues of 1982: how the big companies got along with Third World governments; how activists around the world organized against the multinationals; and how Reagan aggressively promoted the interests of the global corporations.

New to this year's annual report is our awards list (see page 15), where we pinpoint Multinational Monitor's choices for the worst company of 1982, the activist of the year, the most significant Third World actions in regulating a multinational, and the "profits before people" winner.

This issue also contains a feature that puts into perspective some of the monumental changes that have occurred in the world economy over the past 20 years, from a viewpoint that is rarely presented in popular magazines. And, since regulating multinational pharmaceutical companies has become a major focus of activist work, we detail an impressive success story: how Mozambique has managed to provide health care at reasonable prices to its people, without relying on the multinationals.

We hope you like the issue. Please send us your comments.

Multinational Monitor is now entering its fourth year of publication, and I'm pleased to report that we are doing fine. We have a supportive and growing readership.

We are grateful for your support. Without the interest you have shown to date, Multinational Monitor would not now be in your hands.

Let me add one personal note. I have been with the magazine almost since its inception.

I have seen the Monitor take shape, reform, and grow. The process has not always been easy. We've never enjoyed a huge budget or a large staff, never a fancy direct mail or graphics department. Still we have managed to come out, month after month, always after a long night of pasting up the publication ourselves.

I will miss those nights. I will miss writing some of the Monitor's investigative stories. I will dearly miss my colleagues here, who have made the magazine what it is, and who have made the office an exciting place to work.

This is my last issue as editor. I am leaving to take up a job as an associate editor of The Progressive magazine.

As of next month, Tim Shorrock will be the editor of Multinational Monitor. Tim brings to the job a great deal of experience in the field of political economy. Raised in Japan, he has also spent time in South Korea and Switzerland. He has worked intensively on issues relating to the U.S. role in Korea, the South Korean labor movement, and Japanese political and economic issues. He has also been active in church and labor efforts to respond to plant closures in the U.S.

To some of you, Tim may already be familiar. He has written three articles for Multinational Monitor in the past (see MM, June 1981, March 1982 and September 1982), and this month we are running his fourth (see page 5).

As with any staff change, this one may bring the magazine a few different stories and look. But the basic thrust of Multinational Monitor will remain the same: exposing wrongdoings of multinationals, explaining issues of political economy, and highlighting campaigns to control these corporate giants.