in the time remaining, to help us understand how the man-made system of capitalism will lead to the extinction of our human species, and so many others.
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, October 17, 2012
The teacher vs. the billionaire
The authors provide a very good summary of evidence and arguments against the privatization of public schools currently seen as the next big profit opportunity by some investors. Because I don't think that the school union advocate did an effective job on arguing his case (maybe due to time constraints), you probably can skip the video debate.
See also this, this, and this.