Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Think Tank Memories

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

Friday, October 10, 2014

Think Tank Memories

Click here to access the transcript and 37:35m audio recording of an Australian podcast featuring an interview with economist Michael Hudson.

In this free-flowing conversational style interview, I found Hudson at his best by being both very informative and entertaining. After explaining how think tanks function to promote self-serving policies while selling these policies to the public in the language of public relations, he frequently cracked me up with his sardonic humor expressed in anecdotes about the various shenanigans played by banksters and assorted (or sordid) capitalists. The interview sometimes reminded of a comedy routine featuring a comic and a straight guy. Although I only read the transcript, listening to the interview might be even more entertaining.