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

Sunday, September 16, 2018

Articles I recommend for Sunday, September 16, 2018

Along with obsession over “ANTIFA,” the growth of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in the wake of Bernie Sanders’ failed Presidential run has garnished mass attention in the press, been demonized by the Right, and also embraced by some sections of the liberal class as the new shepherds of the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, the DSA has continued to explode in membership, hitting over 50,000 dues paying members in recent weeks. While some DSA backed politicians have become house hold names as the DNC aligned media smells blood in the water in the lead up to the midterms, DSA chapters have also become a fixture at protests and demonstrations, from fighting against the Alt-Right to supporting strikes.

But key questions remains, will the DSA be used, much as Bernie Sanders’ campaign was used, to activate key sections of millennials and the working poor, and prime them for elections?