Is revolution coming to the U.S.?

[DonViejo]

They tend to come in waves, triggered by wars and anti-system protests. It can happen here

BY MICHAEL LIND

Will the third revolutionary wave hit the U.S. next? The revolutions in today’s world are getting ever closer to America.

Revolutions tend to occur in waves, triggered by the aftermath of wars, like the world wars, or by revolutions in leading countries, like the French Revolution and the revolutions of 1848. In the last generation, there have been four regional waves of revolution. With the end of the Cold War, communist regimes were swept from power from Eastern Europe to Central Asia, surviving only in a few countries including China, North Korea and Cuba. Unable to justify themselves with the pretense of fighting communism, military dictatorships were swept away in Latin America. Then the Arab Spring triggered a wave of populist if not necessarily democratic revolutions against autocracies in North Africa and the Middle East.

Are we seeing a new wave of revolutionary politics in the heartland of the industrial West? Although governments are not being violently overthrown in Europe, political systems are being destabilized by the rise of anti-system movements opposed to the major establishment parties. In Greece, the leftist Syriza party and the far-right Golden Dawn have sapped power from the political center. The most recent Italian election was dominated by anti-system candidates, including Silvio Berlusconi and the comedian Beppe Grillo.

Even closer to the U.S., anti-system movements are upending politics in Germany and Britain. In Germany, an anti-euro party, Alternative for Germany, has gained ground with voters. In Britain, an anti-EU party, the UK Independence Party, has stunned observers by doing well in local elections.

full article
http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/is_revolution_coming_to_the_u_s/

[AnotherMcIntosh]

1. It already has. We lost.

Openly-admitted war criminals go unpunished.

Banksters are unpunished and rewarded.

Police thugs engage in unnecessary violence to suppress peaceful public protests.

[demwing]

3. The revolution hasn't even begun yet

all we've had are non violent protests.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

4. Nope. It's over.

Even you are sitting at a keyboard.

It is foolish for anyone (not particularly you) to play the role of William Tell who was thrown in a dungeon after making a threat.

It's done. All that's left is the mopping up.

[demwing]

10. Not.Even.Started

No amount of "Nope" in the world can change that.

We had some protests, but that's all. There's been no beginning--how can there have been an end?

The only way we can be sure we've already lost is if we accept failure without effort.

Don't go down so easily...

[AnotherMcIntosh]

11. This is a rhetorical question. No answer is expected. -- Are you doing anything other than sitting

in front of a computer?

[demwing]

12. I'm guessing you mean specifically in regards to a revolution, correct?

I do all sorts of things besides sitting in front of a computer.

Why don't you ask the question you really want to ask?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

13. In the context of this string in which you said "The revolution hasn't even begun yet," yes.

Note for the NSA or any other agency reading this:

I do not endorse a revolution and I think that President Obama is doing a great job.

[demwing]

14. Statement of Fact - there has not yet been a revolution

Your question seems to indicate that you see my post as some sort of call for a violent revolution against the government, otherwise why the disclaimer to the NSA?

You ask what I'm doing besides sitting at the computer. Why?

I think you were waiting for me to answer, then readying yourself to take whatever I said and criticize it for not being enough, or maybe for being too much. So I had to think about how I responded. Here's my answer:

I am finishing an undergrad degree in business, after which I plan on pursuing a graduate degree in Business Ethics. My ultimate goal is to research and develop progressive alternatives to the current understanding of capitalism, driven by social responsibility rather than profitability.

I foresee a near future where countries will be overwhelmed by corporations. I don't think we will be able to avoid it. The best we can do is create alternatives to the standard brand of capitalism we see today. For democracy to survive, we need an economic system that embraces democratic values. Current corporate culture is autocratic and rejects democracy. I'd like to see a political unit built around the economic model of a co-op...pure democracy.

Our American democracy is actually a form of Republicanism, and is tied to and crippled by the aristocracy of for-profit capitalism. An economic democracy will not be subject to such challenges, but we have to establish a foothold quickly. That's the focus of my education. That's the revolution that I want.

What kind of revolution do you want?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

15. "why the disclaimer to the NSA?" -- humor

[cantbeserious]

2. The 1% Won - The Revolution Is Over

eom

[aristocles]

5. There will be no revolution in the U.S. so long as American Idol stays on the air n/t

[Newest Reality]

6. I thought we were supposed to

start thinking about which dynasty we want to be Serfs in and be ready for them to battle each other using us a cannon fodder as we run into their televised battle fields to fight in exchange for room and board.

Most of us are not even meaningful factors in the game anymore physically and, what is worse, mentally. It is odd to see people walking around with no idea at all about what their real condition is. That's not elitist nose thumbing because its really more out in the open and easy to find out.

The bliss of ignorance has made us folly for the "wise".

[Sunlei]

7. republicans troll for fodder for their 'for profit' prisons? fill them with those war criminals!!

The ones that squandered trillions of Americas Federal funds!

[Addison]

8. Things will have to get a LOT worse first

Either the poor will have to get drastically more poor, or our government will have to get drastically more repressive. The cost/benefit analysis just doesn't lean towards revolution for vast numbers of Americans right now.

Whether this is a good or bad thing is another story.

[creon]

9. No.

Not any time soon