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

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Europe's Own "Hurt Locker"

Click here to access article from Research Institute for European and American Studies.

It appears to me that the severe hits taken by working people across Europe is fairly rapidly developing into major turning points that could result in dramatic changes.
The Greek crisis, contrary to what they will tell you inside the august temples of “private investment” and “wealth creation,” has now transcended the frontier of how the “markets” work (or don’t) and is advancing deeply into political territory.
For more current details about the Greek crisis, I highly recommend that you read this piece from The New Significance.