Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Who Are The Neoliberals And How Did They Take Over The World?

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

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Who Are The Neoliberals And How Did They Take Over The World?

by Richard Lyon from Fire Dog Lake.

This is an excellent, concise review of the history of capitalism. Also, it provides a very good explanation of economic terms widely used throughout the world to describe economic phenomena.

I especially liked this paragraph:

The neoliberal program of kicking down the doors of the third world has been heavily focused on feeding the energy driven addiction of industrialized nations to fossil fuels. The multi-national corporations that have orchestrated this resource exploitation have often created ecological disasters in various parts of the world. However, outside of some environmentalist fringe groups, most Americans were only concerned about what it would cost them to fill up the SUV. Now the ecological chickens have come to roost and they are covered in oil.