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, September 15, 2010

Don't Celebrate Mexico's Independence...Yet

by Manuel Pérez-Rocha Foreign Policy in Focus

The author provides a good assessment of Mexico's lack of independence from the Empire, and specifically examines the role of the "war on drugs" and NAFTA as the wedges the Empire uses to undermine their independence.