"They strutted up and down the avenue, throwing out their chests and bidding the world stand to one side. They were 100 percent American big businessmen who took back talk from nobody. Now they take a handout wherever they can get it. Billions will be ladled into the mouths of these very individualistic big businessmen who, five years ago, were yelling their heads off about 'No government interference with business.' Now, they have put both feet in the public treasury trough and are yelling their heads off for government funds." Could be today's headlines, right? Not quite. It's from the "Progressive" magazine in 1934. History is instructive. The current meltdown could be seized as an opportunity to fundamentally alter our economy rather than restoring the unsustainable status quo ante with a few cosmetic changes. We can choose. Money or Life?

David Korten
David Korten was an insider in the development establishment for several decades. He worked for the Ford Foundation and USAID and taught at Harvard University's Graduate School of Business. Having severed his ties to the past, today he is a leading voice for economic and social justice. He is co-founder and board chair of YES! magazine. He is the author of "When Corporations Rule the World" and "The Great Turning." His latest book is "Agenda for a New Economy."