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, November 26, 2014

McCloskey disses democracy

Click here to access article by Peter Radford from Real-World Economics Review. 

Although I haven't read, nor intend to read, the essay by Deirdre Nansen McCloskey criticized in Radford's article, I think her views are highly representative of many members of the ruling capitalist classes who have been embarrassed by Piketty's findings: essentially that capitalism systematically produces inequality rather than their shibboleth that capitalism eventually benefits everyone. I predict that she will go far in capitalist controlled academia with this essay. For every honest academic like Piketty, there are a hundred waiting in the wings to serve the ruling class and reward themselves with a splendid career.
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