@CommonDreams (Common Dreams) posted a new topic, subject "Building a Progressive International". It read:

   ## Building a Progressive International
    
    Yanis Varoufakis
    
    ATHENS – Politics in the advanced economies of the West is in the throes of a political shakeup unseen since the 1930s. The Great Deflation now gripping both sides of the Atlantic is reviving political forces that had lain dormant since the end of World War II. Passion is returning to politics, but not in the manner many of us had hoped it would.
    
      * Back to full article

Then @Norcal (Bob Van Noy) said

    Thank you Yanis Varoufakis. This is probably the most profound public statement yet by someone who truly understands our contemporary predicament. I think it will be used to accurately describe this point in our democracy for years to come. Of course whether we can understand what he has to say and properly react; is the question. Clearly neither major political party gets it…

To which @LadyK (Kathryn Cooke) replied

    Thank you Mr. Varoufakis for your excellent analysis of our current reality. It is a treat to hear from you on this site.
    
    But while I agree fully with your analysis, I sure don't understand your solution. And I would like to - particularly with respect to how ordinary citizens can help bring it about. Our votes don't seem to mean anything at all these days.

To which @John_H replied

    If I may butt in… I don't think those votes ever did mean much. The world just had a more reasonable culture where people could remember previous horrors and how they came about. It seems that is largely forgotten. Clinton is way right of even the Republican norm and Trump sounds more like Hitler or Mussolini every day.  
    Unfortunately, as I have heard others point out, people no longer vote for anything they want: they are just voting to try to stop something they do not want. Trump would be nowhere if the culture had not gone so far down the pan already.  
    I think the problem is that people feel powerless. I have no idea what to do, but I would suggest what not to do is to give way to that feeling of powerlessness. There are people around you. We are all nothing but people around others. If everyone could convince just a few others that the current state really is madness, these tyrants would be unmasked!

Then @raydelcamino said

    If you keep doing what you have always been doing, you will keep getting what you have always been getting.
    
    Ditch red and blue and vote Green.

So @Kakistocrat replied

    Bernie's model IS the model, a centralized effort to bring in money for a progressive candidate, only the model I propose is for a centralized, massive version of Bernie's fundraising scheme not tied to a single candidate, devoted to provide enough money re-capture Washington from the rethugs and corporate democrats.

After which, @theoldgoat added

    Worth adding … translation by Frisbe of Bernanke in 2012  
    
    
    and Fiat Money

To which @natureboy (troy) replied

    A Progressive International is technologically possible.
    
    International direct online democracy, safe, secure, encrypted. A globalized, technologically advanced Swiss System of government.

So @Poet (Tim McCaulley) replied

    Uh oh–pie in the sky utopianism.

So @lucky9 replied

    Varoufakis is one of the best. I hope we get more articles on CD that help to explain the economics with external links, etc.

So @poiticscorner replied

    Solidarity Economy!

After which, @Crabpot added

    This is, obviously, the most appealing hope for our future. Almost to the point of feeling like a dream or fantasy. But dream we must before we can create a future of our own making instead of allowing ourselves to be cast into one of our oppressors' making. There appear to be plenty of clear and critical thinkers (like Mr. Varoufakis) around these days to provide direction, and more and more activist citizens of the earth to provide the momentum. Perhaps such a dream is not so far fetched after all.

@WiseOwl replied

    Please consider reading _And the Weak Suffer What They Must_ , Varoufakis' latest book. You will learn so much about the Eurozone, the Nixon Shock and so much more. It is very well done!

To which @LadyK (Kathryn Cooke) replied

    to delete

To which @chapdrum replied

    So eloquently stated. Thank you.

To which @Siouxrose1 (Susan Rose) replied

    Note the distinction used to define WE in this instance:
    
    “If we – progressive internationalists – won't answer that question, who will? Neither of the two political blocs now vying for power in the West even wants it to be posed.”
    
    Mr. Varoufakis. isn't talking about the whole of humanity designing a new progressive system that recognizes, respects, and regards the NATURAL world's assets and the best in human beings. He's talking about Progressive Internationalists using the influence each one has in his or her own region to effect positive changes.
    
    Some strategically placed human catalysts can get the fire going since the sparks are popping up all over.
    
    I've been saying that the next revolution will be global since the problems are global in scope as are today's slaveholders: the global corporations.
    
    It's Old Power that has held back new green technologies and the solutions that people already have. It's not that the answers don't exist, it's that human dinosaurs who have nothing but lots of money–stand in the way of genuine collective progress.
    
    But as more and more people around the world recognize that the old system has failed, it will be next-to-impossible to contain them.
    
    The third way is the ONY way out of the problem. In the U.S., currently, it's embodied in Jill Stein.

Then @MonkesTale (Greg Rendahl) said

    Simon Johnson:  
    “On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's campaign materials and the party platform point to a detailed plan to defend Dodd-Frank and to go further in terms of pressing the largest firms to become less complex and, if necessary, smaller. Banks must also fund themselves in a more stable fashion. If Clinton wins, she will draw strong support from Congressional Democrats – including her rival for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders, and his fellow senator, Elizabeth Warren – when she pushes in this direction.  
    …  
    At the heart of the House Republican strategy is a simple idea: all financial firms should be able to go bankrupt without damaging the rest of the economy and without the government becoming involved. That is fine as a campaign slogan. But there is a major problem with the logic.  
    …  
    The viability of the Republican bankruptcy proposal boils down to this: who will provide financing to a large complex financial institution – operating globally – while it is being restructured in bankruptcy? The private sector won't provide it. The courts themselves cannot borrow. If there is no financing, the scheme collapses – and we have another “Lehman moment,” or worse.”  
    …  
    Project Syndicate – 31 Jul 16
    
    ### The Republican Bankruptcy Illusion | by Simon Johnson
    
    There is now near unanimity that the United States' Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, enacted in 2010, did not end the problems associated with some banks being “too big to fail.” When it comes to proposed solutions, however, no such consensus...

After which, @MonkesTale (Greg Rendahl) added

    S, the Libertarian candidate is polling far higher than Stein. That should tell you something about the sad state of politics in the US.

So @Dede (Jeanne Shaw) replied

    " but the two combatants are accomplices, not foes, in perpetuating an endless loop of mutual reinforcement, with each side defined by – and mobilizing its supporters on the basis of – what it opposes."
    
    This fact is what keeps me centered and every time Trump makes another outrageous comment and my stomach turns, I remember this one fact. All the scare tactics are true of both candidates, like two sides of the same coin.  
    The revolution began years ago and has spread across the world like a breath of fresh air. We aren't in this alone, we have counterparts in every country fighting for what is good for all.  
    They won this round but it isn't over. Today we fight the fear and do what's right for the long run, refuse to play the game on their terms.  
    Jill Stein 2016

After which, @Dede (Jeanne Shaw) added

    To be effective in our daily lives I think the go Green idea is a good start. Boycott products from disreputable companies, by local and at local stores when ever possible. We have to quit feeding the beast which will mean sacrifices. Bank at a city or local bank. Buy from local farmers markets, talk to neighbors about going green.  
    To me, these are immediate things we can do. Press city governments to go green and vote Green.

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