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, November 24, 2010

It's Official: The Economy Is Set To Starve

by Chris Martenson from his blog

The author examines the recent report on energy released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and mainstream media's coverage of the report. It is very interesting because he helps us to see the strong bias of capitalist elites both in the report and their media coverage of it. 

Now, the author is no critic of capitalism. It might be worth your while to examine his extensive background and credentials in science and finance. He clearly knows of what he writes. 

On the other hand, I don't think he believes, like many others who have spent a number of years in academia and have been subject to academic elite's indoctrination, that there is any alternative to capitalism. There certainly is no mention of the system in the article. The closest he comes is with this statement:
The IEA report indicates an enormous set of risks for an over-leveraged world reliant on constant growth. [my emphasis]
His strategy to deal with the implications of peak energy is to become as self-sufficient as possible--the individualist approach. He goes on to describe all the many ways his life has changed. He does say in his "About" statement, "...most importantly, I now know that the most important descriptor of wealth is not my dollar holdings, but the depth and richness of my community." However, in contrast to his individual adaptations, he doesn't elaborate at all on this statement.