Reflections on the Occupy Wall Street Movement

The Occupy Wall Street movement was long coming but is certainly a sharp departure from the usual protest: instead of a one-day demonstration, a 24/7 encampment; not a list of demands, but a stark statement about wealth concentration. This movement seeks not justice, within the prevailing system, but, albeit implicit, a massive redistribution of wealth. …

Given how extraordinarily successful it has been both in its own terms and in its capacity to grab the attention of the media, Occupy Wall Street has been  conveniently misunderstood by its supporters and detractors alike.  Recently,  Mayor Bloomberg  patronized it haughtily, saying “It’s fun and it’s cathartic — it’s, I don’t know, it’s entertaining…

Certain times require a spark: not merely to ignite action but to foster some sense of historical understanding. This is one of those moments and Occupy Wall Street struck the match. Frustrated over the seemingly intractable character of the financial crisis that began in 2007, and the inability of established political organizations to do anything…

The Occupation movement has been unfairly but predictably criticized in the mainstream media for having an ill-defined political agenda and no clear path to institutionalizing its struggle against long-standing abuses of corporate power in America. While all that gets sorted out in its free-wheeling “general assemblies around the country, Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has already…

Occupy Together and ‘mass left radicalism’: Great to see! By Bill Fletcher, Jr. Occupy Together did not come out of nowhere precisely because it was the result of a convergence of forces and factors without any of which it is highly unlikely that we would have seen the movement gain steam. Credit, however, must go…

Resistance always “comes out of nowhere” and smug establishments always are bewildered by it. Such was the case with the irresistible rise of the American civil rights movement, the May 1968 upheaval in France, and the breakup of the Soviet bloc. Just over a month ago it looked like mighty financial players would have it…

I have often remarked that Occupy Wall Street filled a hole in the American democracy. Even I, a skeptic of the intentions of many business institutions and a constant critic of current policies, didn’t quite realize there was so big a hole. I thought America’s true concerns were being diverted, even thwarted, by special interests,…

“Occupy Wall Street” has had tremendous effects even if they were all to pack up their tents and leave right now. It has refocussed the political agenda after years of contrived misdirection by the legislators and “official” commentators who depend on Wall Street for patronage. It has put looting and its consequent inequality firmly at…

The political movements of the left that I have participated in over many decades were almost always focused on or prioritized particular issues (wars, civil liberties, civil rights, poverty, collective bargaining, etc.) and/or particular subsections of the population (African-Americans, women, gay people, immigrants, etc.). The authorities almost always took advantage of that focus to separate…

It is increasingly evident that, in pivotal realms such as global economics and international affairs, the United States has lost its superiority – its capacity to lead. In fact, since the September 11 attacks, American democracy has been on a course of precipitous decline – a fact confirmed by two economically and morally draining foreign…