We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, January 21, 2011

The crisis in Europe and the financial aristocracy

by Stefan Steinberg from World Socialist Web Site. 

It's banksters über alles in Europe!
In one country after another, social systems are being dismantled and health care provision ravaged. Echoing a demand from the money markets, the German chancellor called last week for the increase in retirement age to 67 years for all of Europe.

The slash-and-burn tactics advocated by the financial elite and introduced by compliant governments across Europe are rapidly impoverishing workers and the middle class. The rapacious and completely reckless nature of this layer introduces a new and explosive element into world politics.
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