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, November 1, 2011

Occupy Demands: Let's Radicalize Our Analysis of Empire, Economics, Ecology

Click here to access article by Robert Jensen from Jadaliyya. 

This writer summarizes in this one piece so many themes that I have emphasized in my selection of articles, and my comments on those articles, over the past two years of this blog. His call to "radicalize our analysis..." is, I believe, a fundamental requirement of the Occupy Movement if it is to succeed; indeed, if we as a human race are going to succeed. Hopefully, the educative element in these numerous gatherings across the globe will fulfill this requirement. We concerned people must all support this effort more than anything we have ever supported before.
This is a time for action, but there also is a need for analysis. Rallying around a common concern about economic injustice is a beginning; understanding the structures and institutions of illegitimate authority is the next step. We need to recognize that the crises we face are not the result simply of greedy corporate executives or corrupt politicians, but rather of failed systems.