Surviving Capitalism (Not) : 85 people versus 3.5 billion people

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, January 21, 2014

85 people versus 3.5 billion people – the OXFAM report

Click here to access article posted by Edward Fullbrook from Real-World Economics Review Blog.

Fullbrook provides a brief summary of report from one of the quintessential liberal activist organizations. While citing the widely known trends in inequality throughout the world, OXFAM's report contains more of the same illusory recommendations that liberals are famous for.

Oxfam is calling on them [the world's capitalist leaders meeting in Davos] to pledge that they will:

Not dodge taxes in their own countries or in countries where they invest
and operate,by using tax havens;

Not use their economic wealth to seek political favors that undermine the democratic will of their fellow citizens;

Make public all the investments in companies and trusts for which they are the ultimate beneficial owners;

Support progressive taxation on wealth and income;

Challenge governments to use their tax revenue to provide universal health care, education and social protection for citizens;

Demand a living wage in all the companies they own or control;

Challenge other economic elites to join them in these pledges.