Surviving Capitalism (Not)

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, July 12, 2011

Thanks to Terry Everton and Dissident Voice where I found his cartoon.

This reminded me of a scene I witnessed just yesterday while shopping in a newly opened food market owned by a large corporation. I noticed a young woman working at an extremely fast pace arranging items on a shelf and exhibiting signs of fear. I recognized these signs immediately because I, too, have experienced that fear--the fear of losing one's job.