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

Monday, June 25, 2012

Losing strength? An alternative vision of Spain’s indignados

Click here to access article by Marta Sánchez from Reflections on a Revolution. 

In the past I have argued that the most progressive forces of the 99 Percent are likely to be found in the European countries most profoundly affected by the recent economic collapse. Thus, it is no surprise to me to find that activists in Spain are making very significant progress in building a grass-roots framework for a new society. This author provides us with an update of this transformation of the 15-M Movement in Spain from street demonstrations to neighborhood organizations that are the vital next step in the revolution. 
The 15-M movement has gone beyond protest: it has succeeded in altering the collective imagination and the political atmosphere at its very roots. It has generated a process of re-politicization of society. The agenda of actions has expanded and been radicalized: now we do not only occupy the squares, but we are taking back the public spaces in our own neighborhoods.