Surviving Capitalism (Not) : We cannot shop our way out of environmental crisis, ‘green’ or not

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

Thursday, July 24, 2014

We cannot shop our way out of environmental crisis, ‘green’ or not

Click here to access article by Pete Dolack from Systemic Disorder.

Using Richard Smith's longer article, Dolack explores the deceptions that lie behind the ruling class's campaign to delude the public into believing that they can "have their cake and eat it, too". It's called "green capitalism".

Trapped in an idealist mirage that capitalism can be “tamed” or “repurposed,” green capitalists, through seeking individual solutions to structural and systemic problems, not only miss the forest for the trees but leave the economic structure responsible untouched.