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

Friday, May 18, 2012

Foundations for Empire: corporate philanthropy and US foreign policy

Click here to access article by Michael Barker from Ceasefire. 
...Michael Barker argues that, far from eradicating poverty and aiding economic development, major US philanthropic foundations have played a key role in undermining efforts to promote a meaningful democratic alternative to capitalism, both at home and abroad. 
Surprise, surprise! Okay, so I am descending into sarcasm once again--sorry. Using historical examples of the subversion of corporate unfriendly governments of Sukarno in Indonesia and  Allende in Chile, the author provides an excellent exposition of how soft power has played a major role in establishing the US Empire in addition to military intervention.
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