Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Behind the Hamptons Hedges

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

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Behind the Hamptons Hedges

by Jessica Flint from Vanity Fair. This week's visit to the habitats of our fellow Americans referred to as the 1%. Check out their lives and see how much we have in common with them.

The Hamptons were once an idyllic enclave where Manhattanites decamped to escape the bustle of city life. But in recent summers, the sleepy community on the Atlantic Ocean has become infested with pop-up shops, bass-thumping nightclubs, and publicity parties. If you look for it, though, the romantic charm of Long Island’s South Fork does still exist. We asked eight young people who do the East End right to show us around their Hamptons habitats.