“Why men do not revolt”
by Chris Hedges

(excerpted from Common Dreams column 5/14/12)

In Robert E. Gamer’s book The Developing Nations is a chapter called “Why Men Do Not Revolt.” In it Gamer notes that although the oppressed often do revolt, the object of their hostility is misplaced. They vent their fury on a political puppet, someone who masks colonial power, a despised racial or ethnic group or an apostate within their own political class. The useless battles serve as an effective mask for what Gamer calls the “patron-client” networks that are responsible for the continuity of colonial oppression. Continue reading →