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, July 12, 2010

In the shadow of the dragon

from Asia Times Online. 

The author provides evidence that China's ruling class knows how to play the game of capitalism better than the West whose main focus seems to be on constructing obscure financial instruments to suck wealth out of working people and the environment. In any case, capitalism is a no-win game for working people and the planet if it is allowed to continue much longer.
While a rebalancing of the Chinese economy towards domestic consumption is increasingly evident, the Chinese are also aggressively focusing investments toward emerging markets. By securing precious natural resources, developing infrastructure and deepening trade relations with the developing world, the Chinese are lessening their economic dependence on the mature markets of the US and EU.
And they are starting to outsource production to cheaper labor countries in Asia!