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

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The Hunger Wars in Our Future

Click here to access article by Michael T. Klare from TomDispatch. (Note: you may wish to skip the introduction by Tom Engelhardt and scroll down to the article.)

 Although the near future effects of climate change cannot be predicted with great accuracy, such dark scenarios that Klare and others present must be regarded as very possible. Notice, however, that this liberal commentator avoids any mention of the profits that the rich are going to reap from the tragedies by investing, as they are now doing, in the futures markets. For more background on the role of financial speculation to increase food prices, see these two excellent sources:
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