Part II: Democracy Growing Up

“You too are merely approaching democracy. But you have one great advantage: You have been approaching democracy uninterruptedly for more than 200 years.”
--Vaclav Havel

Despite breathtaking change popping up all around us—from the overthrow of apartheid to the shock of 9/11—sometimes things still feel stuck.

Life is change, we know that. But it can be hard nonetheless to see that yes, as a people, we are stretching the fabric of rules and expectations that once fit us. And we are easing—inch by inch—into a newer, more fitting garment.

In Chapter Four, “Our Coat,” I look at four “measures” of the old—four assumptions that have come to define our economic and political life—and suggest how each is being altered, remade to fit new realities. We assume, for example, that a free market equals capitalism equals democracy when the meaning and shape of each of these organizing principles is actually in play, taking new forms to meet new challenges.

From there, in Chapter Five, “The Elephant,” I zero in on the knot at the center of our economic life—the corporation. Corporate power can feel huge and immovable. But even at this epicenter, more is in motion than meets the eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

America is lost in a gnarled thicket of bought politicos, corporate con men and media hucksters. But we're lucky: Lappé has drawn the map that will get us out alive. Read it and get going.
-Greg Palast
Author, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

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