Surviving Capitalism (Not)

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, April 27, 2010

The number of posts today are fewer than what was possible because I have been trying to watch the televised US Senate hearings that are questioning Goldman Sachs officials on their dubious transactions which many feel contributed to the collapse of the economies of many countries.

Unlike most such hearings, these hearings are less political theater than usual. To be sure, there is some political posturing by Senators who claim to be questioning the "banksters" on behalf of all the little people who are out of work and have lost pensions, etc. But the reality is that many people in the ruling class and important members of the middle class were harmed by the actions of Goldman Sachs and other financial institutions. Hence, the questioning is unusually aggressive and hard-hitting. It is amusing to see the Goldman Sachs officials squirm under fire.

I just ran into an article from Naked Capitalism about the hearings. Check it out.