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, May 8, 2012

The European elections and the struggle against austerity

Click here to access article from World Socialist Web Site. 

Are the left electoral wins in Europe the real thing? Or, are they the European version of "change we can believe in". (Actually, François Hollande's (the French candidate for President) campaign slogan was "change now".) Did they oust Tweedledee only to vote in Tweedledum? About the only thing that is certain about the election results is as follows:
The outcome of elections throughout Europe has demonstrated the deep popular opposition to austerity measures that European and American finance capital have implemented ruthlessly since the outbreak of the global economic crisis.
Australian Nick Beams from the same website suggests, in his article entitled, "The European 'growth pact' fraud" is the current theme among some European establishment policy makers who are supporting this new "growth pact" and the winners of the weekend's European elections, but have a hidden agenda in mind for European workers: a plan to drive down wages in Europe as the US has done under the Obama administration.
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