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

Friday, May 13, 2016

Robert McChesney: Capitalism Is a Bad Fit for a Technological Revolution

Click here to access article in which Mark Karlin interviews McChesney regarding the current developments in computer technology and artificial intelligence. 
Our point is simple: Capitalism as we know it is a very bad fit for the technological revolution we are beginning to experience. We desperately need a new economy, one that is not capitalistic -- based on the mindless and endless pursuit of maximum profit -- or one where capitalism has been radically reformed, more than ever before in its history. It is the central political challenge of our times.
I take issue with the clause "one where capitalism has been radically reformed". This is an oxymoron. Capitalism as a system can only evolve in a certain direction much like organisms. The best analogies I know of are cancers and parasites where the disease eventually takes control of, and destroys, the host. Activists must absolutely forget about "reforming" the system.
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