Surviving Capitalism (Not) : The Anti-Empire Report #140: Are you confused by the Middle East? Here are some things you should know. (But you’ll probably still be confused.)

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 4, 2015

The Anti-Empire Report #140: Are you confused by the Middle East? Here are some things you should know. (But you’ll probably still be confused.)

Click here to access article by William Blum.

I completely endorse 99% of this article. The remaining 1% consists of this paragraph:

The candidacy of Bernie Sanders, a “democratic socialist”, for the US presidency has produced an unprecedented barrage of discussion in the American media about just what is this thing called “socialism”. Most of the discussion centers around the question of government ownership and control of the economy versus private ownership and control. This is, of course, a very old question; the meat and potatoes of the Cold War ideological competition.

I haven't seen any discussion about what socialism really is in American media--if by that he means mainstream media. The elaboration of the concept, if any, is limited to more generous welfare benefits, enhancement of labor protections, and more government spending on public projects. I have seen nothing about public ownership of the economy. This is blasphemy to a capitalist and anyone who affirms such a notion is immediately excommunicated.

As I've said before, Sanders' role for the ruling class is to make nice sounding words that will herd independent sheep back into the corral of the Democratic Party where they can once again be forced down the chute to the capitalist slaughterhouse. Obama performed this task last time, Gore the time before last, Bill Clinton prior to Gore, ad infinitum. Hillary can't do this now because she is too busy demonstrating that she is a tough "broad" for the more patriarchal right-wing voters in the US.