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, February 26, 2015

Architecture of Impunity

Click here to access an excellent graphic from Transnational Institute website.

The graphic illustrates how one major oil corporation (Chevron corp.) can exercise so much control over societies in which it functions. It also serves as an introduction to many interesting articles posted by this website. Most of these articles are from academics whose examinations of capitalist operations are sometimes a bit muted because academia is, like all major institutions, under considerable control of the capitalist ruling class. Still there are gems to be found, and this graphic is one of them.
Corporate crime is not due to a few´bad apples´ but to an architecture of impunity and a structure of power that puts corporate rights above human rights. An infographic from the State of Power report 2015.