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

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Economic forum kicks off in Davos [2:28m video]

Emma Hayward reports on the scene in Davos, from Al Jazeera.  

Our capitalist masters are meeting at a swanky ski resort in Davos, Switzerland to decide on their, and our, economic fates. Guess whose interests will take priority?