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

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Hey, Bernie, Leave Them Kids Alone

Click here to access article by Paul Street from CounterPunch. 

Street analyses the results of the latest quadrennial election ritual where the Democratic party apparatchiks provide a "progressive" candidate to act as a sheepdog tho lure real progressives back into to party to support the real candidate backed by Empire interests. In doing so he provides his views on the various actors in this spectacle: young naive progressives, older progressives, and the Democratic party's fake progressive apparatchiks. But in the end, what is really needed is the construction of a genuine grassroots movement dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism and its rich supporters who are driving us off the cliffs of never-ending wars and climate destabilization.
The people’s and workers’ struggle needs a more serious and radical starting lineup and game plan. The 2015-16 squad went about as far as people can go playing by the reigning major league and party system rules. It was fairly impressive. They took some good swings up at the plate. But, well, guess what? It wasn’t even in the revolutionary ballpark. The ruling class sent them back to the bench with their bat in their hands, as usual.
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