Surviving Capitalism (Not) : What Are Rich People Worried About in 2011?

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 8, 2011

What Are Rich People Worried About in 2011?

by Jamie Johnson from Vanity Fair.

Today on our brief excursion into the lives of the rich one percent of Americans, the author, who is an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, leads us on this tour to find out what is causing the rich to have fear.

It seems that we have this in common with them as we look ahead to our futures. We worry about paying next month's rent, getting a job, having our unemployment benefits end, having our homes foreclosed, having our company close down and move to Asia, having our son or daughter come back from Afghanistan in a box, etc. Let's see what is so frightening to the rich.