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

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Mont Pelerin Society A Window Into Ideological Heart Of Kochtopus Climate Denial

Click here to access article by Graham Readfearn from DeSmogBlog.
It’s known as the Kochtopus – the extensive network of think tanks, institutes, university departments, political funding arms and “grassroots” activist groups funded by oil billionaires Charles and David Koch.

...Charles Koch is a long-standing member of the Mont Pelerin Society (MPS) – a global group of industrialists, academics and economists who share the “neoliberal” ideology of limiting government control.

.... From Argentina to Venezuela, the MPS directory shows almost 400 members in more than 50 countries. The Atlas Economic Research Foundation, a US-based global network of about 400 free market think tanks around the world, also has MPS members.
Readfearn does us a really good service to expose how two rich brothers through their money have reached into all areas of society and throughout the world to influence people's thinking to deny the impending climate crisis. As I have been arguing for years and I believe is obvious, capitalism and a stable climate that can support human life (and many other life forms) cannot coexist any longer. So, one of them has to go. The fact that so many capitalists choose climate denial in opposition to 95% of the world's scientists shows that they are addicted to this system. 

But now I want you to see this view of one single, but critically important issue where a few rich people have such powerful influence and apply their influence to every facet of our lives: what we think, how we think, how we relate to each other, how we behave in general, other major issues such as war and peace, our total culture. Isn't it crazy that we allow so few people to determine so much of our lives? This is precisely what happens in all class structured societies, but is most pronounced in contemporary capitalist society with all the sophisticated communication technology available to the ruling class. Isn't it about time we changed things? Especially now when faced with a climate crisis which will result in our extinction