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

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Socialists Get Newfound Attention as 'Red-Baiting' Draws Interest From Youth

from Common Dreams. When capitalists become defensive after wrecking the economy for working people, they cry "socialism" (their version of "wolf") at any attempts to curb their power. Few Americans have any idea what the word means after so many years of indoctrination in the merits of capitalism. Actually, it is a quite complicated word in that its advocates support a variety of ways toward the goal of social-economic justice. It's great to see the younger generation actually wanting to take a hard look at it. Most people of my generation in the US quite literally have mental spasms when they hear the word.