Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Marshall Auerback Speaks on BNN About Implications of Unrest in the Middle East

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, January 29, 2011

Marshall Auerback Speaks on BNN About Implications of Unrest in the Middle East

from Yves Smith's blog, Naked Capitalism. (BNN is a Canadian version of Bloomberg TV.)

This very popular blog among investors is by a woman who has had an extensive career in the financial services industry. She is no flaming radical, but she is a decent person who is outraged by the gross excesses and injustices of the current capitalist system. It has always appeared to me that she and her followers have always insisted that the system could be reformed, that is, it could be tamed from that of a predatory wolf to a vegetarian one. Judging from the comments following the article, I'm not so sure--their perspectives may be changing!

You may want to pass up the 9:02m video featuring the views of Auerback, a prominent financial analyst, who looks at the implications for investors that the current events in the Middle East and North Africa may pose. But be sure to read the comments following the video.