The institutionalized imposition of power by one nation over the affairs of other nations, whether by political occupation and administration, by military occupation, or by economic or political influence of various forms.
A number of books and articles have appeared over the past few years raising the specter of societal collapse. The crises of climate disruption and hyper-inequality in an increasingly unstable U.S. and global economy are converging toward destabilization. These converging destabilizing forces will likely produce some form of radical change –like it or not. But … More State Secrecy: Collapse or Transformation
Power over Nature is an old cultural ideal in the Western world. It seemed largely achieved by the exploding rate of industrial invention in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This core western value continues unabated today. A major downside of the unprecedented successes of the industrial age is the growth of a deep institutionalized hubris. … More Imperious Imaginaries and the Necessities of Now
No power elite in the world is immune from becoming a perpetrator of the process of destruction of a population of Others. Unwarranted extreme power of corrupt officials is often enhanced by manipulation of the mass media to demonize an “out group” of Others. Information control and propaganda allow elites to control “public opinion” and … More Living in Fear of the Other: The Process of Destruction
When we think of “development,” it is usually about economic development of the so-called “developing nations,” that is, nations whose economies have not caught up with the “advanced” industrial nations of North America and Europe. Without question, the most advanced technology and its application to the full range of industrial processes, from extraction to product … More Two Kinds of Development
As I watched the Ukraine/Crimea crisis unfold, the corporate media rendition of the scenario emerged as if pulled from an old cold-war script. Of course, Putin, the Soviet KGB-style dictator, is an obvious “bad guy.” And Obama is following the neo-conservative script of his “advisers,” or is it handlers? But the struggle over Ukraine is … More Putin, Obama, and Carbon: Denial and Decline
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 