My guess is that majority of the DailyKos readership doesn't regularly read the works of Chris Hedges. My guess is that only some of those who identify as "progressive" read him. The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist hasn't worked for a mainstream media outlet since he left the New York Times in 2005. His work isn't particularly accessible. His writings use terms like "neoliberalism" and "inverted totalitarianism" which requires at a bare minimum that the newbie reader at least Google a few terms. Hedges also identifies as a "Christian Socialist." If that doesn't turn off a true partisan, Hedges also worked as a speechwriter for Ralph Nader's 2000 Presidential campaign. Those who don't agree with his stances, should take the time and read his essays. They are thought provoking, well constructed and well written. Qualities with which open minded liberals should find stimulating.
On Sunday August 30th, Truthdig released his latest essay entitled, "The Great Unraveling."
Hedges begins his piece with this:
The ideological and physical hold of American imperial power, buttressed by the utopian ideology of neoliberalism and global capitalism, is unraveling. Most, including many of those at the heart of the American empire, recognize that every promise made by the proponents of neoliberalism is a lie. Global wealth, rather than being spread equitably, as neoliberal proponents promised, has been funneled upward into the hands of a rapacious, oligarchic elite, creating vast economic inequality. The working poor, whose unions and rights have been taken from them and whose wages have stagnated or declined over the past 40 years, have been thrust into chronic poverty and underemployment, making their lives one long, stress-ridden emergency. The middle class is evaporating. Cities that once manufactured products and offered factory jobs are boarded up-wastelands. Prisons are overflowing. Corporations have orchestrated the destruction of trade barriers, allowing them to stash $2.1 trillion in profits in overseas banks to avoid paying taxes. And the neoliberal order, despite its promise to build and spread democracy, has hollowed out democratic systems to turn them into corporate leviathans.
Within the rest of the piece, Hedges examines the appeal of Donald Trump, accelerating environmental destruction, The Christian Right and the Islamic State, the refugee problem from the Global South, economic inequality, and the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance. He even has an opinion on Bernie Sanders running as a Democrat. All in all, this essay by Hedges, focuses on many of the topics covered here at DailyKos. So take a few minutes to read and ponder the implications of Chris Hedges,
"The Great Unraveling."