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, November 6, 2010

Are Cruel Years Coming to a Neighborhood Near You?

by William Loren Katz from CounterPunch. [Scroll down to article.]

The author provides a realistic view about the "good old days" that libertarians and capitalists of various types often refer to. And are these "good old days" coming back? The author says that "we should get cracking" if we are to prevent them from returning.