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, July 4, 2013

Global Power Project, Part 4: Banking on Influence with JPMorgan Chase

Click here to access article by Andrew Gavin Marshall from Occupy.com.

In this fourth installment the author focuses his penetrating intellect on the people ensconced in the powerful core financial institutions of the capitalist world, the small fraction of the one percent, to reveal where real power lies hidden from the eyes of the 99 Percent. He has devoted most attention on the biggest bank to illustrate the international nature of this ruling class.
Not only is JPMorgan Chase the biggest bank in the world with over $4 trillion in assets, but its power and influence extends far beyond financial matters. It is a major political force in the world, highly integrated within the network of global elites who make up the plutocratic ruling class. As the subject of study for the Global Power Project, I examined 55 people at JPMorgan Chase, including all members of the executive committee, the board of directors and the international advisory council.