Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Proposing A Vision Of A New Earth

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

Monday, October 29, 2012

Proposing A Vision Of A New Earth

Click here to access article by Rajesh Makwana from Just International.

I post this article to show that there are still sane people around; it's just that they will never be allowed to express their ideas through mainstream media. What he basically proposes is an alternative vision of society different from that of the capitalist view which was articulated most famously by former Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher.

There is no such thing as society, there are only individuals and their families.

Even those One Percenters who are less likely to express such outrageous statements, you still find them arguing that capitalism may not be pretty, and it may not be moral or just, but through its use of the meanest human emotions, the desire for self-enrichment at the expense of others, it is the only system that delivers the goods.

But what the world's One Percents really believe is that there is no alternative to the private enterprise way of reaping their profits. This is actually correct. The fact that along with this wealth concentration, there is also power concentration which is rarely expressed. Only a new system based on truly social values will be able to create a healthy functioning society. It would be ridiculous for us to wait for this profit-addicted class of people to create such a society.