Surviving Capitalism (Not) : On conspiracy theories

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

Thursday, March 22, 2012

On conspiracy theories

Click here to access article by Julien Febvre from Eagainst.

Separating out fact from fiction in conspiracy propaganda can be very challenging. The problem is that conspiracists always use mostly real facts within which they plant seeds of misinformation, irrational fear, and misdirected anger. Because of an almost total lack of training in critical thinking, many Americans are fairly easy prey to such propaganda.