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

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Fourth Estate is bankrupt

Click here to access article by William Bowles from his blog.

The recent hacking scandal by involving members of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp in Britain illustrates the close ties that big media corporations have with the political operatives of the ruling class and their combined role--the management of information available to ordinary citizens. This is precisely why we need WikiLeaks.
No wonder the word ‘toxic’ has been appearing with increasing frequency in the MSM, a word that parallels the state’s ‘loss of legitimacy’ in its significance. Such events put the fear of God in the ruling elite. Put the two together and you’d think that it would be obvious that it’s not only about corporate/state power ganging up to suppress knowledge of the unholy alliance that exists between Murdoch’s News Corp and the ruling political class. And not just News Corp. And not just the News of the World. And not just the current government, Labour had an equally comfortable, incestuous relationship with Murdoch’s empire. It’s about a global conglomerate, News Corp deciding what kind of government we get and of course, what kind of economy.
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