Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt
Chris Hedges
At the end of his previous book, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, Chris Hedges was openly calling for rebellion: “There are no excuses left. Either you join the revolt or you stand on the wrong side of history.” Wages of Rebellion doesn’t miss a beat, announcing that “We live in a revolutionary moment.” What this means, in Hedges’s analysis, is that the corporate-fascist powers-that-be have lost any credibility, running the global economy into the ground while destroying the environment. As a result, the middle class have lost hope in the essential myth of progress, that they can better their own and their children’s lives. This makes an overthrow of the ruling class, and the capitalist system, necessary. Leading the revolt, however, will take a special kind of character. Revolt is ultimately an irrational act, a leap of faith, and the true rebel will only be someone possessed of “sublime madness.” But while the odds against the rebel are insurmountable, to keep on the present course is to be doomed. That said, the greatest danger may be that we are led into the wrong sort of rebellion. Revolutions have a way of going off the rails and heading in dangerous directions. Hedges is aware of the danger, but accepts the risk, believing that these are desperate times. If he’s right, then hope and fear hang in the balance.
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