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, March 26, 2015

Two videos – one politics, one philosophy

Click here to access article by David Malone from his blog Golem XIV

The first video, “The Death of Democracy”, is a lengthy but very important explanation to a thinking general audience what the new neoliberal treaties, that are currently being negotiated in secret among various key figures in capitalist ruling classes, are all about. Hence, it is very important that we the people become informed about these new treaties which will likely have, if they are passed, a profound impact on ordinary working people throughout the world. 

The title, "Death of Democracy", I interpret to mean the death of what little democracy already exists, at least for ordinary people. Democracy, which I take to mean as a participation in decision-making, largely exists among local capitalists; and their role as decision-makers is being challenged by transnational capitalists who are increasingly shaping the world of today. 
[“The Death of Democracy”] is a public talk I gave recently on the TTIP trade agreement and its Investor State Dispute Settlement ISDS.  I have been giving this talk up and down the country for most of the last two years, updating it as events have unfolded.  Most of what I say is about the way Arbitration works, who the arbitrators are and what power arbitration gives to corporations.


I listened to very little of the second shorter video which featured a debate among a panel of three, one of which was David Malone, on the subject of science and its future in society.