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 24, 2012

Vijay Prashad: Arab Spring Libyan Winter - Part I

Click here to access the source of this posting from Newsclick (India).

Prashad has recently written a book Arab Spring, Libyan Winter (published by AK Press) in which he goes into much more detail about his assessment of the critically important events in North Africa and the Middle East. In this interview he clearly demonstrates his knowledge on the subject by providing many more details, nuances, and penetrating analysis than have heretofore been reported.
Vijay Prashad discusses with Newsclick how the US and its allies have struck back against the mas movements that overthrew Ben Ali and Mubarak. This is what he terms as the Libyan Winter. He analyses the forces that the US and its allies are putting together and the danger to the region from these forces.