The globalisation of liberalism pushes to the limits the logic of the free market which seeks to reduce society to nothing more than a collection of individuals pursuing their own self-interests. This form of capitalism is also cultural and eats into the very base of collective life. Renewing local economies is the most effective way to combat this new form of capitalism and to lead to a major transformation of society. Moving beyond the Fordist model of the protection of workers through public national regulation, policies for strengthening local economies have the goal of renewing the democratic process by giving local people the right to speak and the power to act. Particularly consumers are encouraged to become conscious of their collective power facing global capital markets which exacerbate North/South inequalities.