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, July 15, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Wednesday, July 15, 2020

  • The Great American Firewall: On the Question of Censorship by Danny Haiphong from Black Agenda Report. (One proviso (def.): Freedom of speech is upheld if a person is not considered influential. I can get by with calling for revolution, pointing to a Deep State, criticizing imperial policies, etc. because I am not a major influencer. I write on a Google weblog to express such ideas, but I have received very little harassment except for one incident briefly described here. That way they can have their cake (can proclaim that there is freedom of speech) and eat their cake too--threatening with the loss of their careers anyone who is a major figure from espousing subversive views in any media.) 
  • The Future for China by Eric Zuesse from A bird's eye view of the Vineyard. My commentary follows:
Zuesse is a social democrat who loves FDR as an example of a US ruling class that held such promise. He has forgotten or overlooked the history before FDR came on the scene. Zuesse loved the capitalism as was practiced during FDR's administrations while ignoring the earlier history of the numerous massacres by private armies and public militias of union organizers, 12 hour days that workers were forced to work, the cheap child labor employed by capitalists to build their fortunes, the imperialist history of the US from 1898 onwards, the seizure of the control of our money by private banking interests (the Fed), the constant cycle of recessions or depressions since the second half of the 19th century, the history of slavery, Native American massacres, etc.
FDR inherited his wealth from an investor in the opium trade (also see yesterday's post "Protecting the American Opium Trade") who engaged in the drug trade that was forced on China. Old wealth shaped his personality to a large extent much as old wealth shaped John Kennedy and his progrssive politics. FDR and Kennedy had some sympathies for ordinary people and their problems. Both of them were never anti-capitalists--they grew up in families and friends who were steeped in old wealth. These two were the exceptions to a ruling class that has aggressively pursued power, and used power derived from their concentrated wealth to create their own Empire after WWII. John Kennedy was assassinated, and FDR was subjected to an attempted removal from office. Much more typical since WWII is the rise of the neo-fascist element in the ruling class who set the ambitious goal of constructing their own empire.
It appears that the commune structure first articulated by Hugo Chavez and implemented by millions of ordinary folks in Venezuela evolved into a powerful force that today has saved Venezuela from the imperialist ravages of the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire. Together with the people of China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Syria, etc. they are standing up to the Empire and surviving. Eventually this combination of forces can defeat the Empire. It will most likely be too late to save humans, but such people will serve to redeem their species marred by the hideous stain left by self-serving ruling classes during the last several thousand years.
As I recently explained in a major post why US activists cannot succeed in overcoming this ruling class:
The fundamental reason why US activists and revolutionary movements have not been effective, nor in the future will they be, is that they have been subject to a long and comprehensive process of capitalist propaganda and indoctrination. As a result, working people along with fake leaders are ignorant of American history and of the heinous effects of US actions on the rest of the world. They have been divided into mutually distrustful and hostile camps, brainwashed, obedient, distracted by vacuous entertainment, and unhealthy due to capitalist propaganda that would only allow them to be mere spectators in sports, and from a poor diet of cheap"fast foods" prepared for them by giant corporations. There is no reason to expect such people to lead or form an effective revolutionary movement. What we will see at most are pseudo movements and fake leaders who promise solutions to our many problems. We will probably need to look beyond the people of the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire to see genuine leaders and revolutionary movements.
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