Surviving Capitalism (Not) : The "Ralph Nader" Illusion

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

Sunday, May 25, 2014

The "Ralph Nader" Illusion

Click here to access article by John Spritzler from New Democracy World.

The "Ralph Nader" illusion is a quintessential liberal illusion, and as such must be seen for what it really is.

Nader's goal is to reform our capitalist society, to have fettered capitalism instead of unfettered capitalism, to have capitalism with some protections for the working class such as single payer health care and a higher minimum wage. This goal will leave unchanged the root cause of our many problems.

The root cause is that our society is based on class inequality. It is based on the principle that there should be two very different classes of people.