“The Obama Administration Is At The Charity Of The Powers That Be:” Jonathan Schell

“The Obama administration exhibited its overall signature flaw in caricature: It is embedded with (let’s say this straight: in bed with) the powers that be. Well meaning, it begins by taking those powers –the commanding heights of society- as given, immovable. Then it starts to bargain. (On healthcare, it begins with Big Pharma, o finance with Wall Street, on war with the top generals –above all David Petrraeus.) Then when the administration is duly handed its half- or quarter-loaf – the stripped-down healthcare plan, the eviscerated financial regulations, the soft date for withdrawal from Afghanistan bought with the surge in troop levels- it’s at the charity of these powers.”

Jonathan Schell. The Revolutionary Moment. In The Nation, 21 February 2011