Darrell G. Moen, Ph.D.

By James Petras

11/24/06 “Information Clearing House” — – Economic Empire building (EEB) is the driving force of the US economy and became more central over the past five years. More than ever before in US economic history, the principal US banks, oil companies, manufacturers, investment houses, pension and mutual funds all depend on exploiting overseas nations and peoples to secure high rates of profit. Increasingly the majority of banking and corporate profits accrue from overseas plunder.

As EEB becomes central to the viability of the entire US economy, competition with Europe and Asia for lucrative investment rates and economic resources intensifies. Because of heightened competition, and the crucial importance of overseas profits, corporate corruption has become a decisive factor in determining which imperial center’s MNCs and banks will capture lucrative profit-generating enterprises, resources and financial positions. (more…)

From Michael Albert and Znet

For those of you who feel that having a viable, worthy anticapitalist economic vision would help us answer questions about what we want as well as help us orient our activism — I need your help.

The vision that is seeking visibility is participatory economics, called parecon for short.

Parecon is getting growing international coverage, as it now begins to appear in different languages.

For example, international invitations to speak on parecon are well beyond my means to accommodate. In Sept. and Oct. I am going to Italy, Turkey, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Italy again, and probably England, and possibly also Norway and Finland…and the venues for these talks are diverse and the audiences large. Later there may be trips to South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Korea, and so on. Interviews with left and also even mainstream media occur, articles appear, reviews are published, etc.

In contrast, parecon’s visibility in the U.S. is rather minimal despite its having had a much longer tenure here. There are virtually no visible U.S. reviews, public discussions, talks, etc.

In other words, in many parts of the world those who administer movements, determine the content of periodicals, set up speaking events — and incredibly even those who hand out major awards — are propelling parecon into visibility. But in the U.S. those who administer movements, determine the content of periodicals, and set up speaking events are either doing nothing positive for parecon or are actively rejecting efforts for parecon to gain visibility.

So what’s the solution? (more…)

Why so much hunger? What can we do about it?

To answer these questions we must unlearn much of what we have been taught.

Only by freeing ourselves from the grip of widely held myths can we grasp the roots of hunger and see what we can do to end it.
(more…)

(From http://www.zmag.org/wspj/index.cfm)

I stand for peace and justice.

I stand for democracy and autonomy. I don’t think the U.S. or any other country should ignore the popular will and violate and weaken international law, seeking to bully and bribe votes in the Security Council.

I stand for internationalism. I oppose any nation spreading an ever expanding network of military bases around the world and producing an arsenal unparalleled in the world.

I stand for equity. I don’t think the U.S. or any other country should seek empire. I don’t think the U.S. ought to control Middle Eastern oil on behalf of U.S. corporations and as a wedge to gain political control over other countries.

I stand for freedom. I oppose brutal regimes in Iraq and elsewhere but I also oppose the new doctrine of “preventive war,” which guarantees permanent and very dangerous conflict, and is the reason why the U.S. is now regarded as the major threat to peace in much of the world. I stand for a democratic foreign policy that supports popular opposition to imperialism, dictatorship, and political fundamentalism in all its forms. (more…)