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

Thursday, November 11, 2010

US declares financial war on world [10:54m video]

This is an interview with Michael Hudson on RT (Russia Today) in which he presents his perspective on how the US has used its world currency (resulting from WWII) to dominate economic relations with other countries. This arrangement, according to Hudson, has reached its limits and will soon come to an end--and he explains why. He sees the current G-20 summit in Korea as a turning point in the US hegemony of world economic affairs.