PHILIP REISS A s my title suggests, I present what most Americans don’t know and those who do know are reluctant to acknowledge. One percent of Americans have wealth exceeding that which seventy-five percent of other Americans have. This miniscule minority obviously possesses privileges the vast majority of Americans lack. This one percent has political … [Read more...] about The Privileged Minority and the Struggling Majority
Focus on Pages
The "Focus On" section provides in-depth information and opinion on many facets of sustainability. (Although these topics may appear quite distinct and separate, it’s important to remember that they are interconnected and interdependent in multiple ways — in general, the 4 basic principles of ecology apply to all complex systems.)
When you select a Focus On… topic, the system will select all the articles and posts in that category with the most recent pages at the top, just under a brief introduction to the topic. (Many articles appear in multiple categories.)
Background & detail information is organized into the main categories listed in the left sidebar.
Voices of the Valley
The Voices of the Valley category includes work by members of the Lehigh Valley community.
You can access Voices of the Valley essays that were published in the Alliance’s Sustainable Lehigh Valley booklet (listed by year published) or via the alphabetic list of authors, which also includes items published online and in Left Turn.
You can also search for individual essays (& other content) by category or tag.
Be Very Revolutionary
FRANCA ROIBAL FERNANDEZ I would like to invite everyone to think and reflect upon the intersectional ways in which so many of us are marginalized, and the ways we continue to fight to abolish the systems of oppression responsible for so much of the injustice that, while many have the privilege of assuming it is a new phenomenon or of having learned about this recently, it … [Read more...] about Be Very Revolutionary
A Few Comments on the Origins of Great Wealth
GARY OLSON F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “The rich are very different from you and me,” to which Ernest Hemingway replied, “Yes, they have more money.” Another retort might be a variation on the quote attributed to Honore de Balzac, “The secret behind every great fortune is a great theft.” There are 657 billionaires in the United States whose combined wealth grew more than $1.7 … [Read more...] about A Few Comments on the Origins of Great Wealth
We Must Fight the System, Not Each Other
ELAHEH FARMAND Once a year on our immigration anniversary, my mother and I reflect on our journey from Iran to the United States. In the past, we would celebrate the freedoms we were given in America, embrace the struggles we endured as immigrants to settle in a new home, and learn not only a new language, but also a new way of living, a new culture, a new dream. But if … [Read more...] about We Must Fight the System, Not Each Other
Class Conflict and the Amazon Union Drive in Alabama
TED MORGAN Karl Marx identified the central contradiction of capitalism as the antagonistic relationship between workers and their capitalist employers. As Michael Yates has put it, “the essence of this relationship is the exploitation of the workers, the extraction of a surplus by the employers from their labor, necessary to fuel the accumulation of capital in a milieu of … [Read more...] about Class Conflict and the Amazon Union Drive in Alabama
Palestine Can’t Breathe
FARAMARZ FARBOD Another cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians has been announced ending another round of violent assault on the latter. The settler colonial Jewish supremacist regime in Israel killed 275 Palestinians, 248 of them in the Gaza Strip, 26 in the West Bank and Jerusalem, one inside Israel, including 66 children in Gaza, and at least 6,200 others injured. … [Read more...] about Palestine Can’t Breathe
Notes from the Editor-Left Turn #9
As the current issue of Left Turn goes to press, we are witness to another round of Israeli violence against the Palestinians followed by another cease fire. There is a definite need to raise critical awareness of the Question of Palestine, Zionism and the US-backing for the apartheid state of Israel. Clearly, the most recent spectacular Israeli assault on the Palestinians … [Read more...] about Notes from the Editor-Left Turn #9
Do You Belong Here?
Miranda Davis Miranda is a Graphic Design/Illustration student at East Stroudsburg University. She describes her work as “a love letter to the black community and an acknowledgment of the trials found within and how the absolute comfort of the privileged majority prevents a seat at the table for minorities”. Return to spring 2021 Table of Contents … [Read more...] about Do You Belong Here?
Sustainability & Health Begin With Holistic Birth
Steve Hoog After years of working in the Holistic Health field and working on issues of sustainability, I have come to the conclusion that a key to the human race living in a sustainable relationship to earth is the ability to bond with the earth — to be in union with the earth, to comprehend others’ needs, and to intuitively understand how to facilitate getting those needs … [Read more...] about Sustainability & Health Begin With Holistic Birth
A Runaway Inequality Problem
One of the great unexamined questions of our times is why there is so much suffering, despair, misery and rage in the midst of unimaginable wealth. Naturally, pundits and politicians wish to avoid this question because an open public discussion of the widening wealth gap can impart critical insights into the nature and logic of the capitalist system they’ve worked so hard to … [Read more...] about A Runaway Inequality Problem