Greatest Hits Archives — Page 6 of 160 — Alternative Radio

Orwell, Huxley & the New Authoritarianism
Henry Giroux
George Orwell and Aldous Huxley are two of the great figures of the 20th century. Their novels, 1984 and Brave New World focus on authoritarianism. Both draw grim pictures of totalitarian rule but in each book the dictatorship to effect control deploys different techniques. For Orwell it’s straight out force. His dark image is brutal […]
Community Rights
Paul Cienfuegos
Most citizens have political opinions. Many are involved in nonprofit community-based organizations. But the time-impaired average person remains politically disorganized and distracted. Collective political action nationally is often limited to mobilizing for wars and elections. Disengagement can seem the norm. Community organizers are bucking this trend. Local issues, be they environmental, fair wages, or municipalization […]
Against War
Howard Zinn
In a May 1976 column in the Boston Globe Howard Zinn wrote “Memorial Day should be a day for putting flowers on graves and planting trees. Also, for destroying the weapons of death that endanger us more than they protect us, that waste our resources and threaten our children and grandchildren.” Sadly his column in the Globe was discontinued soon […]
Radical Compassion
Vandana Shiva
There was much fanfare as the leaders of the U.S. and China, the world’s largest carbon polluters signed what was trumpeted as an “historic” deal cutting greenhouse gas emissions. But the Center for Science & Environment in India denounced the agreement as “self-serving” and “business as usual.” Much more urgent action is required to avoid […]
ISIS, the Kurds & Turkey
Noam Chomsky
ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, aka Islamic State, is now the latest threat to our security. Or so our leaders tell us and the media repeat. It has seized territory in Syria and Iraq. The U.S. has been meddling in the Middle East non-stop for decades. What has it produced? Wars, militias, […]
Root Causes of a Failed System
Chris Hedges
Neil Postman in his classic work Amusing Ourselves to Death nailed it when he wrote, “When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience, and their public business a […]
Consequences of Capitalism
Noam Chomsky
The consequences of capitalism during the pandemic have revealed glaring failures and monstrous brutalities. It’s a highly unstable economic system, careening from crisis to crisis. For a handful, it produces unparalleled levels of wealth. But for the many, if they even have a job, it’s a paycheck-to-paycheck existence. What are the priorities? The U.S. spends […]
Seeds & Freedom
Vandana Shiva
What’s in a seed? Life itself. Ten thousand years ago, Iraq, Egypt and India were the sites of the earliest sowing and harvesting of plants that had previously been gathered in the wild. It was a revolutionary development and made civilization possible. Since then humans have been able to grow food and feed themselves. Today, […]
Empire Abroad, Tyranny at Home
Chris Hedges
All imperial systems eventually collapse. Hubris and arrogance convince great powers the sun will never set on their dominions. Long wars kill and maim many people and deplete not just the treasury but also a nation’s moral authority. The U.S. is no different from a long line of hegemons who thought they would last forever. […]
Democracy
Michael Parenti
Discussions about democracy probably start in Athens about 2500 years ago. A truism is society is democratic to the extent that its citizens play a meaningful role in managing public affairs. Democracy is located within the capitalist economic system infamous for producing colossal inequality. There’s no level playing field, as great income and wealth translate […]
Local Governance
Paul Cienfuegos
Rights exercised by large corporations have never been stronger in the United States. They respond to distant policy initiatives, lawsuits, and latent threats to their bottom lines with lightning speed and a full court press. Their lobbyists vet new regulations and bills with legislators. They kill bills. They write bills. The more glaring examples of […]
How Hitler Happened
Benjamin Hett
The post-WW1 Weimar Republic in Germany was the height of European civilization. Its scientists and scholars led the world. Its Bauhaus architecture was the rage. Its arts featured such luminaries as Fritz Lang, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Thomas Mann. Yet, out of this modern democracy sprang Nazism, German fascism, and one of the most barbaric […]

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