Frances Moore Lappé
Frances Moore Lappé is the author of nineteen books, beginning with the acclaimed Diet for a Small Planet. Most recently she is the co-author, with Adam Eichen, of the new book, Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want. Among her numerous previous books are EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think to Create the World We Want (Nation Books). She is co-founder of the Cambridge-based Small Planet Institute. Follow her on Twitter: @fmlappe
Articles by this author
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Views Wednesday, May 08, 2019 The Shocking Tale of Two Generations It’s easy to feel fatalistic, accepting as “just the way things are” an America in which the top one-tenth of 1 percent controls as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent, while roughly a fifth of American children live in poverty, and half of American infants are so poor they depend on public aid to... Read more |
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Views Friday, April 26, 2019 "I'm a Capitalist," Says Warren…But Why? My headline poses a question I struggle with. “Capitalism” refers to an economy driven by owners of private capital, typically with the aim of bringing the highest possible return to themselves, and I am sure that is not what Senator Elizabeth Warren stands for. Warren has made clear that what she... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, March 12, 2019 The Green New Deal Is Not a Choice Here’s my question for you. If your child were dying of a disease that only a costly drug could cure, would you not go to any lengths to get it? Of course, you would. And that’s exactly what we face today, as our children’s future is dying, not to mention a habitable planet for all. Inaction is not... Read more |
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Views Friday, March 01, 2019 On Democracy, Did Our Highest Court Ignore Its Strongest Argument? Americans may disagree about many things, but most of us come together in loathing the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United . We know it helped degrade our democracy as it opened the floodgates to independent, corporate campaign spending and enabled additional rulings that have led to Super PACs,... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, February 19, 2019 The People’s Publisher Who Changed My Life Forever It’s 1970. In my VW bug, I pull up in front of the Durant Hotel on the edge of the UC Berkeley campus and sit. I’m waiting for Betty Ballantine, and all I know is that she’s a big-time New York publisher. So, of course, I imagine her appearing in sleek suit, high heels, and full-on makeup. But soon... Read more |
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Views Saturday, February 02, 2019 Antidotes to Brutal Capitalism? Some Hidden in Plain Sight In our capitalist economy, business enterprise is controlled by capitalists, of course, and structured to bring highest return to shareholders. We’re all supposed to love this set-up because competition among companies gives us ever cooler products and always better deals. Right? But, wait a minute... Read more |
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Views Friday, January 04, 2019 What Could the French “Yellow Vests” Teach Us about Ourselves? Most coverage of the Yellow Vest movement in France—lasting seven weeks and drawing hundreds of thousands onto the streets—misses a key question, and one at the heart of our own nation’s journey. We’re told the diesel tax hike was the “last straw” for the rural, working poor unable to make ends... Read more |
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Views Tuesday, December 11, 2018 Courage Is Contagious No matter how many times we hear of one person’s act of conscience igniting sparks that light up the sky, too many of us hold tight to the notion that our own acts don’t mean much. Aren’t we the proverbial drops in the bucket, nice but never spectacular? Or, as it dawned on my daughter Anna and me... Read more |
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Views Monday, December 03, 2018 The Opposite of Evil Is No Longer Goodness My headline is provocative, so let me quickly explain, starting with a huge claim about what’s unique about our world in this moment. Then I ask, What, right now, is most required of our species? Our era has been dubbed the Anthropocene because for the first time we humans are making our mark on... Read more |
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Views Monday, November 19, 2018 What Is Courage? Tough, brave, fearless. Don’t these words capture what courage means? Maybe not. For me, courage is simply doing what I thought I could not do. It’s acting for what I care about most, not because I’m fearless but despite my fear…fear that my action isn’t enough, that I’ll be alone, or that it’s all... Read more |