The word "hijacking" has the same grim associations for all of us by now. But a different kind of hijacking was taking place long before 11 September, with devastating consequences for life on this planet. Investigative journalists George Monbiot and John Pilger have shown how the vehicle of democracy has been hijacked by corporate power. Suddenly it seems that we have no control over the direction we're taking or the speed at which we're going. By allowing businessmen to take over the steering, world governments have surrendered nearly all of their powers. Like modern versions of nineteenth century colonisers, these white men (for they are mostly men, and mostly white) are aiming to dominate the world. They are doing so not by sending armies to every corner of the globe, but by co-opting governments and imposing a "one size fits all" economic model on every society. This allows transnational corporations to maximise their profits at the expense of local communities and the environment. They have very powerful tools at their disposal: institutions like the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - all of which exist to serve their interests.

While a huge protest movement has emerged in response to the problems of globalisation, the full implications of this process of neo-colonialism are rarely discussed. The corporate destruction of the ecosystem has been reasonably well documented. Most of us are aware that big business has no concept of ecological value, even if its PR literature states otherwise. We know, for example, that forests are disappearing all over the world in the name of profit (80 per cent of the world's ancient forests have now been destroyed or degraded) and that there is a concomitant loss of biodiversity. According to some estimates, 60 per cent of all biological species may become extinct within 100 years.

We are also aware that corporations are guilty of human rights abuses wherever they operate, destroying communities which prevent the exploitation of lucrative resources. But while it should be a central theme in anti-globalisation discourse, the impact of the current economic climate on the extraordinary pool of languages in the world is rarely addressed. Languages are dying on an unprecedented scale. A language dies every two weeks according to linguist David Crystal. Another distingushed linguist, Michael Krauss, believes that 90 per cent of the world's estimated 6500 languages will die this century. The current climate of unfettered corporate capitalism is causing a crisis of language extinction, as well as species extinction, and the implications are terrifying. The death of a language is as disastrous to the planet as the death of a species…

It is too early to assess the long-term impact of 11 September on global capitalism. Some commentators have talked about "the end of globalisation". It is conceivable, however, that this is just the beginning. Businessmen have seized the opportunity to argue that a further round of trade liberalisation is what is needed in order to restore consumer confidence and to promote world peace. Let's remember that McDonald's was rebuilt within days of its collapse on the doomed streets of Manhattan, handing out Big Macs to firefighters. We cannot underestimate the resilience of neo-liberalism.

As long as we remain subservient to the narrow dictates of the global "free market", people all over the world will continue to lose their lands, their livelihoods, their languages. The tyranny of corporate capitalism is such that it allows no space for diversity. It is destroying the essence of life itself. We need to take urgent action.

While David Crystal calls for more "green linguists", I would also like to call for culturally-minded environmentalists. We are seeing the desertification of both physical and cultural landscapes, and so a holistic approach is needed. The environmental activist in Wales who refuses to produce bilingual material is as misguided as the language campaigner who eats at McDonald's.

Communities and ecosystems are delicate structures and need to be actively protected. We cannot rely on big business to use minority languages, more than we can rely on them to regulate their environmental practices. Monetary value is the only type of value it can accommodate. Legally binding language acts are needed along with environmental regulations. More importantly, we need to start re-building the local economy, as well as supporting indigenous peoples in their struggle for land rights and self-determination. The decolonisation of our lands and minds can only happen when we all have a political voice. Diversity can only be sustained in a democracy.