Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Live Dangerously: 10 Easy Steps

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, June 29, 2010

Live Dangerously: 10 Easy Steps

by Shannon Hayes from Yes! Magazine.

The subtitle for this piece is an example of drama hyped journalism that is typical in the US where "radical" and "revolutionary" have been reduced to mere buzz words in order to break through the limited attention spans of most Americans: "When Shannon Hayes made a list of easy steps for becoming a radical homemaker, she didn't realize just how revolutionary they were."

Nevertheless, the article is interesting in that it illustrates how even such benign attempts to wean people away from a consumption oriented lifestyle clashes with capitalist culture.