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The Disaster of Utopian Engineering, by Chris Hedges

The ideology of neoliberalism, which makes no economic sense and requires a willful ignorance of social and economic history, is the latest iteration of utopian projects. It posits that human society achieves its apex when individual entrepreneurial actions are free from government constraints. By Chris Hedges  Truthdig  January 28, 2020

Mr. Fish / Truthdig

This column is drawn from notes…

The Deadly Rule of the Oligarchs by Chris Hedges

The longer we are ruled by oligarchs, the deadlier our predicament becomes, especially since the oligarchs refuse to address climate change, the greatest existential crisis to humankind. By Chris Hedges  Truthdig  February 11, 2018 Editor’s Note:  Hedges also says this about oligarchs: “Oligarchs are philistines. They are deaf, dumb and blind to great works of art, reveling in tawdry spectacles,…

Kristof: Why Trump and Sanders Resonate

America the Unfair? By Nicholas Kristof/ New York Times/ January 21, 2016 Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders don’t agree on much. Nor do the Black Lives Matter movement, the Occupy Wall Street protests and the armed ranchers who seized public lands in Oregon. But in the insurgent presidential campaigns and in social activism across the spectrum, a common thread is people angry at the way this…

A MIDWIFE’S TALE Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ←Character List

Martha Moore Ballard –  A Hallowell midwife and the protagonist ofA Midwife’s Tale. A reserved woman, Martha deeply values her own autonomy and avoids passing judgment on others. However, she is very firm in her own opinions and finds ways of making her displeasure known when she or someone she likes is slighted. Though Martha rarely says so explicity, her actions show that she loves her family…

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Robert Reich: Why Americans are screwed and Europeans are not

2014 Princeton study finds the U.S. is functionally an oligarchy. Data set 1981-2002

How the rich rule

It is hardly news that the rich have more political power than the poor, even in democratic countries where everyone gets a single vote in elections. But two political scientists, Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University, have recently produced some stark findings for the United States that have dramatic implications for the functioning of democracy – in…

New study finds ordinary Americans have no impact on public policy

Click pic to enlarge!

Photo by Michael A. Beck

Do you remember the Tea Party March on Washington of Sept. 12, 2009? At least a million marched, but nothing changed.

A new study confirms our frustration at making ourselves heard. We ordinary Americans have a near-zero impact on public policy, which instead is controlled and determined by monied élites.

Wynton Hall reports for Breitbart, Aug. 12,…