occupy the system read1

8/2/2019 Occupy the System Read1

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@narchyoccupy

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Occupy thsystem!

Essays byJeffrey St. Clair & Joshua FrankTeam Colors

Eric LaursenDeric Shannon

& the AK Press Collective

a project of the ak press tactical media squad


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Inographicscourtesyo@OccupyDesign|www.occupydesign.org


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Things are getting really weird around here.

Inhundredsocitiespeoplearendingtheirvoice.Andwearealllistening.Hastheinequalitygapjustbecometoointolerableespeciallytothose99%whosee

only a uture o mindless toil and crippling debt? Is the democratic system asweknowitbroken?Isittimetorepealcorporatepersonhoodascodiedintolaw?Aretaxingtherichanddismantlingportionsothenancialservicessectorenoughtohelprestoredignityinourlives?Ordowewanttheworks?

Itstimeslikethesethatputideastothetest.TeradicallyegalitarianveneerotheOccupymovementmakesusanarchistsabitgiddy.GeneralAssembliescoasttocoast,andnotavanguardpartyinsight.(Andonthe125 thAnniversaryotheHaymarketAair!)Strangersmeetasequals,workoncommongoals,andpursuetoughdiscussionsaboutissuesthatdistanceallowstoester.Itslikeanationalteach-in on capitalist economics, governance, class, and other vital topics notusuallyutteredinpolitesociety.Itsalsogrittyandrustratingattimes,butitalleelsREAL,doesntit?

Teresalotoserious,strategicdecisionstobemadeinthecomingweeksandmonths,andasmovementpublishers,it'sourjobtotryandprovidetheresourcesweneedtomakethosesortsodicultdecisions.Sowereachedouttoriendsar

andwideandassembledthereectionshere,andinthepamphletsthatwillsoonollowthisone.Firstup,aspiritedreminderromJereySt.ClairandJoshuaFrankonwhotheDemocratsareandwhythismovementcantgivethemaninch.Next,eamColorsremindsusthatwhiletheOccupymovementspopulistandmeteoricbeginnings are inspiring, theres a well-worn path it treads on. Eric LaursencomparesandcontrastsourmomentwiththelastgreateraomassmovementsintheUSthepost-Depression1930sandlaysoutacautionarytaleorthosedesperatesoulswhoconsiderturningtotheStateorsolutionsinthiscrisis.And

then we come to the issue ocapitalism. Some want to reorm capitalism andothers,likeus,arereadytoscrapit.DericShannoncritiquesthosewhointendtoremovethebadapplesbecausecapitalismworks,whilepresentingadeenseoaneconomicsgroundedromanarchisttheoryandpractice.

Tewritingsandrecommendedreadingsincludedinthispamphletexpandourintellectualhorizonsaswecollectivelypondertheateothiscountry'speopleandthoseoutsideitsborders.Letstalkaboutasel-managedsociety,unburdenedby

capitalismandnanciers.Perhapsyoudowanttheworks.AndAKPresswantsyoutohavethem.

AKPressOctober2011

Formorecommentaryandanalysisvisitrevolutionbythebook.akpress.org .


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Dont Protest, Resist: Occupy the System

Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank

Thereisanangerrunningrampantacrossthecountry.Someon

therightarecallingitclasswarare.Peopleareenraged.Jobsarescarce,therichcontinuetogetricherwhilethepoorcontinueto

struggletomakeendsmeet.Indeed, it shouldbeclassiedaseconomicwarare,Americansaresickandtiredobeingpushedaround.Itistimetoshoveback.

HermanCainisright.TeproblemresidesintheWhiteHouse.Herman

Cainiswrong.TeproblemresidesonWallStreet.Teyare,inact,thesameproblem:agoutisheconomicsystemthatenrichesthewealthyandimpoverisheseveryoneelse,asystemthatpillagesthenaturalworldandtramples on basic human liberties, a system that treats corporations aspeopleandpeopleascommodities.

Te victims o neoliberal economics are easy to spot. So too are theperpetrators and proteers o privatized markets. In many ways the

occupationssproutinguparoundthecountryremindusotheoutpouringooppositiontotheWOthatjammedupthestreetsoSeattleinthelate-1990s. Like that organic movement, the current protests are grassroots,andueled,notbyovertpoliticalmotivations,butbyasenseojustice.

LiketheBattleorSeattle,OccupyAmericaistakingplaceduringatimewhenaDemocratresidesintheWhiteHouse.Tereislittlequestionthat

PresidentClintonrecklesslypursuedareetradeagendathatendangeredtheAmericanworkorceandravagedtheenvironment.ButtodayPresidentObamasmotivationsareabitmorecavalier.Whilehespeaksojobcreationandjumpstartingthestrugglingeconomy,hesimultaneouslyensureshispalsonWallStreetthattheirpowerandprotswillremainintact.

PresidentClinton,likehispredecessor,islargelyresponsibleorthedireeconomicsituationwenowace.ItwasClintonandhisreasurySecretaryRobert Rubin that pushed or increased deregulation, which ended upshifingjobs,andentireindustries,overseas.

RubinevenpushedorClintonsdismantlingoGlass-Steagall,testiyingthatderegulating the bankingindustrywould begoodorcapitalgains,aswellasMainStreet.[Te]bankingindustryisundamentallydierent


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romwhatitwastwodecadesago,letalonein1933,RubintestiedbeoretheHouseCommitteeonBankingandFinancialServicesinMayo1995.

[Glass-Steagall could] conceivably impede saety and soundness by

limitingrevenuediversication,Rubinargued.

While the industry saw much deregulation over the years precedingClintontime, the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act o 1999, which eliminatedGlass-Steagall,extendedandratiedchangesthathadbeenenactedwithpreviouslegislation.Ultimately,therepealotheNewDealeraprotectionallowedcommerciallenderslikeRubinsCitigrouptounderwriteandtradeinstrumentslikemortgagebackedsecuritiesalongwithcollateralizeddebt

andestablishedstructuredinvestmentvehicles(SIVs),whichpurchasedthese securities. In short, as the lines were blurred among investmentbanks,commercialbanksandinsurancecompanies,whenoneindustryelllikemortgagelendersotherscouldtoo.

What Clinton began, President Bush only escalated with an extremecapitalist vigor. Alan Greenspan stayed as head o the Federal Reserve,

continuingtopressorwardwithhislibertarianagendaoderegulationanddamaging austerity measures. When Greenspan retired, Ben Bernanke,anotherWallStreetally,tooktheBankshelm,andwaskeptinplacebyPresidentObama.

Obamawastedlittletimebailingoutthegreed-inestednancialsector.When Obama took oce he in 2009 he nominated Rubin-trainedeconomist imothy Geithner, ormer president o the Federal Reserve

BankoNewYork,toserveasreasurySecretary.Geithner,ianything,isaninsideramonginsidersandWallStreetsmainmaninDC.

ItwascertainlynotthehopeandchangeObamasupportershadvotedor,especiallyinatimewhentheeconomywassueringandjobswerescarce.ObamasmodeststimulusprogramdidlittletosustainjobgrowthandwasnowherenearthescaleotheNewDealsrobustWorksProgress

Administration.Inshort,ObamahasbeenaneconomicdisasterorthemajorityoAmericans,sanstheWallStreetcrowdthatcontinuestoprotandisprotectedundertheguiseotoobigtoail.

DidyoureallyexpectsomethingdierentromthemanwhobeggedJoeLiebermantoserveashismentorinthesenate?


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Itsthisentrenched,systematicreusaltochallengethestatusquothatisdrivingtheanimosityandoutrageacrossthecountry.WallStreetisbeingupheld and indeed enabled by both the Democrats and Republicans,including, at the top o the stinking pile, President Obama and his

administration.

TeDemocratsareaprostheticparty,ahollowshellorthedetritusoNewDealliberalism,thatmaintainspopularallegiancethroughblindinertia.Forthepastthirtyyearsatleast,theDemocratshaveunctionedlessasapoliticalpartydrivenbyatangibleideologythanasalow-atranchiseoWallStreetanddeensecontractors.Fromwartoneoliberaleconomics,the new Democrats have pursued brutal policies, ofen inicted most

grievously at the partys most devoted constituents: Hispanics, blacks,laborandtheunemployed.

TeresaWilsonianqualitytoObama:trim,aloo,pedanticandshank-you-in-the-back dangerous. Obamahas neverwanted tobeseen socializingwiththepoororworkingclassstis.Hedoesntevenwanttheminhisorbit,exceptaspropsbehindhisteleprompter.Inhisrstthreeyearsin

oce,theclosestthepresidentcametosuchapedestrianparlaywashisamous beer summit with the Cambridge cop who manhandledHenryLouisGates.Cometothinkoit,thatmeetingwasatwoer,sinceitwasalsooneoObamasewcloseencounterswithavoiceromblackAmericaaswell.

MakingtheconnectionbetweenthecontinuedeconomicdisparitiesonMainStreetandthepoliciesthatuelthisdivideisparamounttobringing

aboutrealchange.Assuch,itstimetoOccupyWashingtonandmakethis,notonlyanelectoralissue,butalsoaveryrealthreattoourgovernmentsconsolidatedpower.

Obamasrsttermhasrevealedtheuttervacuityoourpoliticalsystemandtheprodigiouslevelocorruptioneatingawayatthesinewsotheempire. Democracy itsel is being degraded. From bank bailouts and

war to indemnication o corporate criminals and assassination ordersagainst American citizens, the most urgent matters o government arenowhatchedwithoutpublicdebateinthesecretchambersopower. TemajestichypocrisyotheDemocratsinatimeodeepeningeconomicandenvironmentalcrisishasinamedthespectrumooutragenowsweepingAmerica.Butwheredoesthemovementgoromhere?


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Te99%movementneedstoorsakeprotestorasustainedresistanceanddisruptionothestatusquo.Aferall,theobjectisntreormwerear,arbeyondthatbutradical,systemicchange.Itsstructureshouldremainenigmatic, diuse, proteantoo slippery to be captured and co-opted

byDemocratslookingtohijackitsmomentum.Inordertomaintainitsintegrityandpoliticalpower,the99%movementmustpubliclyshunanyperilousalliancewithDemocraticrontgroupssuchasMoveOnandtheSierraClub.ItshouldrejectthecoruscatedcantoauxlefistslikeBernieSandersandRachelMaddowandinsteadgiveull-voicetotheintrinsicrageotheoutsiders,thedisenranchisedanddestitute,thelefbehind, thenewAmericanpreterite.

It's time or the nation to begin to hear the spooky vibrations o ahome-grownandleaderlessmovementonthemarch, aswarmingmassodiscontentthatwillmakethenancialaristocratsandtheirlow-rentpoliticalgriferstrembleintheirsleep.

Letsrunthebastardsoutotown.

Itsnottoocooltoberidiculed Butyoubroughtthisuponyoursel Teworldistiredopaciers Wewantthetruthandnothingelse

Andwearesickandtiredohearingyoursong ellinghowyouaregonnachangerightromwrong Causeiyoureallywanttohearourviews

Youhaventdonenothing! StevieWonder,YouHaventDoneNothing

Joshua Frank and Jeffrey St. Clair are the co-editors ofRedStateRebels:alesoGrassrootsResistanceromtheHeartland (AK Press, 2008), and the forthcomingHopeless:BarackObamaandthePoliticsoIllusion (AK Press, April 2012).


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Lions After Slumber: Reflections on a Still-EmergingStruggle

Team Colors Collective

RiselikelionsaferslumberInunvanquishableNUMBER!Shakeyourchainstoearth,likedewWhichinsleephadallnonyou:YEAREMANYHEYAREFEW. PercyByssheShelley,TeMasqueoAnarchy:APoem

Morethanoncethosewhohavetheleastdeensesagainsttheviolenceothepowerulhavedaredtodeythatpower,daredtoconrontthatviolence,withtheirown.And,morethanonce,thosewiththemost meager resources to resist oppression have won somethingimportant,astheresultothatconrontation.Andineveryinstance,ithasneverbeenwhoistheleaderbutratherwhoarethepeople.It

hasneverbeenwhatistheorganizationbutwhatisthecrisis. JuneJordan,SomeoUsDidNODie

It is Shelleys anguish, written in the afermath o the massacre odemonstrators calling or reorms at Peterloo in 1819. It is Jordansamazement,reectingonthespontaneousriotsinMiamiuponArthur

McDuesdeathatthehandsopoliceocersin1980(aswith1968,RodneyKing,OscarGrant).Ten,asnow,thecommonersarerisingaferslumber

againstthechainsthatbondthem.OccupyMovementisincoherent,goestheof-repeated critique. A multitude oscreams against seemlyendlessinjustices, channeled into specic sites o intensity that overwhelm asmuchasinspire:thisisincoherenceatitsmostbrilliant,struggleatitsmostcreativeandopen.Itisthenascentstrugglethelionstretchingitsorminaull-bodiedyawn,testingitspower,scanningthehorizon.

Inthewakeoastill-emergingstruggle,weintheeamColorsCollectivewant to oer some context,questions, and critical points that we hopewillbeuseul.Butwedosooutotherecognitionthatthisstruggleisstill

veryyoung;thatitcontinuestodrawinmorevoicesandconversations,owhichoursisbutonesmalladdition;andthatthoseonthegroundareeelingbothexhilarationandexhaustion.Soweoerthesewordsinthespiritocareulreection,oconstantlistening,ohumility,ogentleness.


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ChrisCarlsson,inourbookUses of a Whirlwind,callsitradicalpatience:astrongsenseohistory,aslow-burningresistancethattakesmanyorms,anorientationtothelonghaulasmuchasthehere-and-nowoawakening.

After Slumber: Crisis and Resistance

Much has been made o how 2011 has oered up a perect storm oconditions or revolt: the untenable impositions o austerity and debt,the obvious allacy o change through electoral politics, crises alongmultiple dimensions. But the revolutions in Egypt and unisia, theindignantstrugglesinEurope,thestudentuprisingsinChile,andthenow-explodingoccupationsomajorcitiescannotbeexplainedthrough

perectconditions,norsolelyunderstoodasspontaneousstruggle.Teyhaveemergedoutoeverydayresistancesandrustrations,organizedina myriad o orms. We can return to this dynamic, i only because theoccupationsaresparkinginterestandconversationsinnewandstartlingplaces,owhichsel-identiedradicalsconstituteonlyasmallpart.

HereintheUS,wewoulddowelltodrawinhistoriesostrugglethatinorm

whatweseetoday:thedirectactionsoAIDSactivismandqueerorganizinginthe1980s,themovementsotheurbanhomeless,theunionsthatreusedco-optation, the inspiring work o environmental justice and ecologicaldeense organizing. Connecting with contemporary struggles ampliestheoccupiedmovement:theprisonershungerstrikesinCaliornia,winsresulting romdomesticworkerorganizing,struggles intheuniversities.Itsuseultorememberthatnoneothesestrugglesemergedully-ormed;they were messy rom the outset and continued to engage with the

messiness,shifingandre-makingthemselvesinthewakeoailuresanddiculties.Temessinessattheoccupationsites,otheOccupymovementinitsmultitudinousorms,isthusnocauseoralarm;whatmattersmoreishowitisengaged,throughradicalpatience,andreachingoutthroughconcentriccirclesoactivityandtoothernodesostruggle.

The Many, the Few: Towards a Critical Conversation

Wearethe99%ndsitsreectioninYearemany.Whiletheew,the1%,isagoodstartingpointorarticulatingthestarkinequitiesopowerandwealththroughouttheworld,theriskisinmakingittheendpointaswell.Tepeoplemakingupthis99%(andinitsopposing1%)arenot easy to describe, but exploring these complexities is central to themovementsongoingconversation.Aewthoughts.


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Te99%andthe1%arenotjustopposedbutrelatedwithinasocialsystem.Tecongurationsostateandcapitalarenotonlycrucialtomaintaininginequity,butalso deusingresistance.Te 99%inpracticeisdicult tocomprehend,asitisusedindierentways.Itisatonceanillustrationo

Marxsnotionoaclassinitsel

asackopotatoessittingdormantorstatisticianspecking.Inothers,itisusedtomeantheclassoritsel,theclassinstruggleare99%objectively,butyouareagainst99%whenyouabuseus,whenyouassaultus.Te99%includesnotonlythepolicethathavebeatenandrepressedthoseattheoccupationsitesandelsewhere,butalsoserviceprovidersthatarbitrarilydenyaccesstothemostbasiconeedsandassistance,parentswhopunish

gendernon-conorming children, psychiatrists who abuse patients, andprisonwardensandjudgeswhomaintainthesmoothunctioningothecriminaljusticesystem,amongstmanyotherunctionaries.

Terearenuancesamongthe99%suchasunwagedwork,whichreproducescommunityandsocialrelations(mostowhichisdonebywomen);orsocialwagessuchashealthcarebenets(notavailabletomanyundocumented

workersandprecariouslaborers)andtheuseopubliccommons(whichare rare in the suburbs, where the majority o the US population nowlives);orinthewagesowhitenessandotherbenetsalonglinesorace,gender,sexuality,andability.Tesedierencesarebroughttobearattheoccupationswherethesick,theimprisoned,theprecariouslyemployed,thesurvivorsotrauma,theundocumented,theelderly,andchildrenmaynotbeasactive.

Emergence: Sowing Radical Currents into Storms

Until recently, our collective was dialoguing with others around thequestionsoimpasse,oadistinctivestucknessthatseemedtopervademovementsintheUnitesStatessincetheendothealter-globalizationcycleoconrontationalprotestsadecadeago.Perhapsthestucknessislifing;in act, peoplemightbe more ready thanwe think, raring at the bit to

generatepowerulstormsoactivitythatre-maketheterrainoorganizing.

Whatdoesseemcertainisthatsomethinghastogive.Terearestrongpositionsthatcouldclose-oorganizingpotential:relentlessinsistenceonnonviolence,tothepointoreusingsel-deense;asettlingintopre-gurativeworld-makinginthespaceotheoccupation,attheexpenseonecessarypushes towards conrontation; a bend towards symbolic reclamation


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rather than more disruptive direct action that pushes occupation intonew territory. Tere appears to begreater emphasison media attentionand memes, and less on the relationships we have, the new ones werebuilding,howwearechangingthrough.Tereseemstobeastrongerocus

onthegeneralassemblies(whosepracticesoradicaldemocracyarestillmessy)andlessonpracticesolistening,sharingopersonalstories,harmreduction,andactivitiesthatcentersupportandcare.

A genuine opening-up o this struggle is already pushing back againstthese tendencies. Caucuses o women o color and queer olks arechangingtheconversationsontheground;throughtheirownresistances,the organizing is shifing. We encourage greater energy to these orms

oopening-up. Weve discussed inourpamphlet Winds from Belowthemanytoolsatourdisposal,suchasinquiry,encounter,anddialog;inthespaceotheoccupations,thesecantaketheormolocalorganizinginnearbyneighborhoods,churches,communitycenters,andstreetcorners;community dialogs and interventions; or meetings with organizers inotherhistoricandongoingstruggles.Teseactivitiescanndamoresolidgrounding beyond nancial instruments or electoral politicking: they

can return to the stories o our everyday lives, the commonalities thatresonateamongsteachotherperhapsthesecanormthebruntothegeneralassemblies,bothwithinandoutsideothespacesooccupation.Such organizing recognizes people where they are, rather than wherewe would like them to be; it creates and reproduces autonomous sel-activitythatsustainsus,butalsopushestowardsitsownlimits;itdrawsromtheresourcesandactivityononprots,academicinstitutions,andlongstanding community organizations,whileconsciouslyand radically

extendingbeyondtheconnesthatcomewiththem.

Likelionsaferslumber,weareemerging,inwaysthatshoutthepossibilityo new subjectivities and new worlds. Te struggle did not begin withOccupyWallStreet;norwillitendthere;andthroughoutitsradicallypatientarc,itwillcontinuetocoursethroughoureverydaylivesandresistances,ourpractices o careandsupport,ourreachestowards the limitsplaces

uponus.WeineamColorsareexcitedtobepartotheconversationsandcirculations;maytheyblossominunvanquishablenumber.

Team Colors is a geographically-dispersed militant research collective. Together, they are theeditors of the collection UsesoaWhirlwind:Movement,Movements,andContemporayRadicalSocialCurrentsintheUnitedStates (AK Press, 2010).


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Keeping the System Off Balance: Lessons forOccupy Wall Street from the Mass Movements ofthe Depression Era

Eric Laursen

Millions o working-class and middle-class unemployed, withlittleprospectoareturntotheirpreviousstandardoliving.Bigbusinessandhighnance engagedinashatteringround

oconsolidation,downsizing,andwage-cutting.Agovernmentapparatusunwilling tochallenge the economic orthodoxies demandingthat it do,essentially,nothingtointererewiththenaturalworkingsothesanctiedFreeMarket.

You could ll a mainrame with the similarities between the GreatDepressionothe1930sandtheGreatRecessionthatcommencedin200708.So,too,withthesightsandsoundsthatollowed.In1932,therewasthedramaticsightotheBonusArmy43,000WorldWarIveterans,theiramiliesandriends,downtotheirlastdimes,encampedontheNational

MallinWashington,petitioningCongresstograntthemabonuspaymentthatjustmighthelpkeepbodyandsoultogether.In2011,wehavenotoneBonusArmybuthundreds,allovertheworld,startingwiththeOccupyWallStreetactionthatbeganSeptember17.

But some things have changed. Te Bonus Army were brutally evictedromthecapitalononemorninginJulybytroopsledbythoseuturewarheroes,DouglasMacArthurandDwightEisenhower.Likewisethreatenedwith eviction, Occupy Wall Street supporters succeeded in jammingNewYorkCityMayorMichaelBloombergsphonelinesonOctober13,persuadingthatparticularWallStreetbillionairethatheddobettertoleavethemaloneorthetimebeing.TusdoestheStatereneitsmeansopersuasiontomeettherequirementsotheInternetAge.

Tedierencesbetweenthenandnowrundeeper.Teeconomicplight

oworkingpeoplewasarscarierin1932nosocialsaetynettospeakoandoneinouroutowork,comparedwithonein10in2011.ButiyouhappenedtobeaWallStreetbankeroracaptainoindustry,theresponseromthepeoplewhosesavingsyoulostorwhoyouwerebusilydroppingromthepayroll,wasjustasrightening.DockworkersinSanFranciscoand eamsters in Minneapolis sparked general strikes in 1934, whichinspiredahugeleaporwardortheAmericanlabormovement.Housing


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activistsinmajorcitieskepthomeownersandtenantsrombeingevictedbybanks.Consumersbandedtogetheragainstprice-gougingretailers.InArkansas,desperatelyhungrypeopleorcedRedCrossocialsatgunpointtogiveoutoodafertheHooveradministrationordereditwithheld.

Weve seen nothing o the sortyetrom either labor or the activistscomposingOccupyWallStreet,althoughsomeWisconsinunionsbrieydiscussed the idea o a general strike afer their Republican governorattackedpublicemployeescollectivebargainingrightslastyear.AnotherthingthatwasdierentaboutthemassresistancethattheGreatDepressioninspired,however,wasthedemandsthepeopleputorward.

Popular movements, looking or solutions that the politicians seemeduninterested in nding, got behind proposals that made Washingtonquiverinear.akeold-agerelie.

Terewasnosuchthingasretirementinthe1930s,andafertheDepressionhit,sometwo-thirdsopersonsoversixty-vewereunemployed.Millionsopeopleromallpartsothecountryorganizedbehindaseriesopopulist

plans that would provide a guaranteed income or the elderly, paid ordirectlybyraisingtaxesontherich.TeRooseveltadministration,greatlyconcerned,pushedthroughitsownplanorold-agepensions,whichin1935becametheSocialSecurityAct.Butwhereasthethreeleadingpopulistplansstartedromtheassumptionthatanadequateincomeinretirementwasahumanright,workersonlybecomeeligibleorSocialSecuritybypayingapayrolltax.Inotherwords,youhadtoproveyourworthinessbyworking.Andwhereasthepopulistswouldhaveredistributedincome

romrichtopoortopayorpensions,SocialSecuritynancedthemwithapayrolltaxthatellmoreheavilyonlow-incomeworkers.

Overthenextseveraldecades,theprogramwasmademoregenerousandmorewidelyavailable.ButsinceRonaldReaganselectionin1980,pressurehasmountedromtherighttodrasticallycurtailorevenphaseoutSocialSecurity.Justthissummer,ObamashockedDemocratsbyoeringamajor

reductioninthebenetormulainexchangeorhighertaxes.Fortunatelyorretirees,presentanduture,theRepublicanssaidno.

Te trajectory o Social Security says a lot about how the response totodays economic crisis diers rom yesterdaysand how the potentialsolutionsdieraswell.Asradicalasthethreepopulistpensionproposalsothe1930swereortheirtime,theirsupportersbelievedtheStatecouldbe


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trustedtoadministerandenorcetheirprovisions.Inacomplexindustrialsociety, working people needed a powerul ally against the owners ocapital.AnypoliticspracticedoutsidetheState,orwithoutregardorit,seemed,increasingly,tobeutile.

Our world today is very dierent. America is deindustrializing. Evenworkerswhooncehadcomortablejobsarebeingorcedbackintoamoreruthlesseconomicorderbytheownersocapital,incollaborationwithWashington lawmakers. Yet, in contrast to the mass movements o the1930s,OccupyWallStreethasissuednodemandsatall.Whynot?

Te2008WallStreetbailoutsweremerelythelatestinaseriesodisillusioning

events,stretchingbacktotheVietnamWarandWatergateandincludingthevariouslawsandtreatieserodingthestatusoU.S.workers,thathavegraduallyerodedAmericanssenseopersonalconnectionwiththeStateaswell.Activisminourtimetakessuchormsasthemassdirectactionsagainstcorporate-riendlyglobaltradedealsseveralyearsago,whichwereorganizedhorizontallyandindependentomainstreampoliticalpartiesor pressure groups. Occupy Wall Street ollows more or less the same

pattern,organizedbypeoplewholargelyhavenodesiretoparticipateintraditionalelectoralpolitics.

TepublicssouringattitudetowardtheStateevenpopsupontheright.Beoreitwasco-optedbytheRepublicanParty,theeaPartyuprisingthatbeganin2009wasatleastpartiallyinspiredbyamisplacedoutrageoverWashingtonsresponsetothenancialcrash.Scratcharight-wingpatriothardenoughandheorshegenerallystandsrevealedashavinglittleorno

respectleforgovernmentexcept,possibly,themilitary.Everybody,itseems,isatleastabitoananarchistnow.

TisturningawayromtheStateissomethingtobuildon.Soitmakesperect sense that Occupy Wall Street hasnt issued a set o demands,or two reasons.First, relatively ew activistsareunderthe illusion thatWashington,thoroughlyinthralltoWallStreetandtheRepublicanright,

will listen. Second, because however radical or groundbreaking theymightbe,themovementsdemandswouldonlyprovidegroundsoranalready scornul media and political establishment to pigeonhole it asbeingtheproxyoroneoranotherinterestgroup.Aslongasitdoesntissuedemands,OccupyWallStreetliketheEgyptianuprisinginahrirSquarekeepsitsoptionsopenandplacestheonusontheStatetoguesswhatthepeoplereallywant.


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Teimplicitthreat:iWashingtondoesntchangeitsways,itwill loseitslastshredopoliticallegitimacy.Atthatpoint,allbetsareo.Perhapswellnallyseethecrackdownbyaright-wingmilitarygovernmentthatsomeoushavelongeared,inourdarkestmoments.PerhapstheDemocratic

PartycanagainndaRooseveltianguretorelegitimizethesystem.Or,perhaps,thewaywillbeclearedorsolutionsthatmovebeyondtheState.Ithatstohappen,thevariouspartsoOccupyWallStreetmustworktopushdecision-makingdowntothemostbasiclevels:neighborhoodsimprovisingresponsestooreclosuresandurbandecline,communitiesocolorseekingtodisentanglethemselvesromtheexploitativeeconomicarrangementstheyvehadtoendure,activistsseekingtokeepbasicpublicservicesrombeingscuttled,workersseekingtorestartorreplaceindustriesthathave

beendownsizedandoshored.

Te uture is unwritten, o course, and Occupy Wall Street shouldntget into the business o composing it ahead o time. Its disappointing,then,toseethatsomemembershavebeenpushingaplanoactionthatwouldculminateintheormationoathirdpartytoruncandidatesinthe 2014 electionseectively, oering the movements services to the

eort to relegitimize the system, at the certain cost o the movementsown legitimacy. Its also too bad that some think the movement needsanExecutiveCommitteetoguideitssteps.Itsnotthe1930sanymore.Tewayorwardisnttosavethesystem,ortomimicit,buttokeepitobalanceorgood.

Eric Laursen is an independent scholar and journalist, and the author of the forthcominghePeople'sPension:heStruggletoDeendSocialSecuritySinceReagan (AK Press,

April 2012).


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What Do We Mean By Works? Anarchist Economicsand the Occupy X Movement

Deric Shannon

Iyouhavealotomoney,Ieelbadoryouson.Igot99problems,beingrichaintone. AdynamicFBduo

T

heres a lot o olks taking to the streets (and a Park) in thecapitolocapitalrightnowWallStreetandallovertheworldin response. Te general sentiment seems to be that olks are

ed up with a tiny elite controlling the lives o the rest o usnow onan unprecedented scale. Tis is made possible, in part, by a system oeconomicsandgovernmentdesignedtoenrichaewolksattheexpenseothemajorityous.Tatis,thesocialsystemswevecollectivelybuilt,andthatwecollectivelymaintainandreproduce,alloworthisstateoaairs.

Anarchists, however, typically suggest that structural inequalities o

all kinds are unnecessary impediments to human reedom and socialorganization.Teseinequalitiesandhierarchiesexistonaninstitutionallevelweliveunderinstitutionssuchascapitalismandthestatethatdivvyup access to power andresources based on anynumber o actors, butcentralizecontrolinthehandsoelites.Andtheseinequalitiesshowupin,indeedcreatemucho,oureverydaylives.

Mostousspendourlivesworkingorsomeoneelseeitherdirectlyor

indirectly.Someoushavebosseswhereweworktoenrichaewownersandhavetorentourselvesoutorawageorsalarysowecanhaveaccesstothethingseveryoneneedsinordertolivedecentanddigniedlives.Someouscanaordaewgadgetsontopothat,butitdoesntchangethenatureothesocialrelationship.Someworkinco-opsandhaveabitmoresay-sointheworkplace,buttheyrestillslavestocapitalandthepressuresolivinginamarketeconomy.Stillothersworkbehindthescenesandare

(typically,thoughnotalways)wageless,helpingtoreproducethosesocialrelations.Imtalkinghereochild-rearing,housekeeping,emotionalcare,andothertasksthatallowaworkorcetoexistandwithoutwhichoursocialworldwouldsimplynotunction.Yetothersareonthedole/welare/socialassistancemanyaredesperatelytryingtondworkandaewothersareavoidingwork(because,letsbehonesthere,worksucks).


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And these problems intersect with other hierarchies and structuralinequalities. Tat is, our economic system and our work lives are alsointimately tied together with sexism; creating and maintaining a socialworld designed or the able bodied; racism and colonialism; strictly

policed and conning notions o sexuality and gender; and so on. Wealsoexperiencethesehierarchiesinoureverydaylivesandtheyareelt,asindividuals,invastlydierentwaysdependingontheconstellationsoidentitythatwevebeenassigned,historicalandculturalcontext,etc.

Again, anarchists typically reject these things as necessary or humansocial organization. Rather, humans would ourish in a world withoutstructuredinequalities,suchasthosethatariseromracism,capitalism,

thestate,sexism,heteronormativity,andsoon.

ospeaktosomeotheimmediateconcernsotheOccupymovement,wherecrisis,austerity,andpovertyareprimemotivatingactors,anarchismoerssomealternatives.Sincewearetheoneswhoreproducethisworldinoureverydaylives,wearealsocapableoreusingtodosoanymore.Andwecouldorganizeoursocialworldinvastlydierentways.Wecouldcreate

aworldthatisntdesignedorwork,boredom,andbanalityexploitation,oppression,andcontrol.Rather,wecouldmakeaworldpredicatedonouractive participation increatingour lives, rather thanthat contentbeingdecidedorusbyatiny,elitegroup.

Ironically,oneothenear-constantcriticismsothesesortsoideasgoessomethinglikethis:

Tatkindosystemwouldneverworkbecauseohumannature.Werejustwiredtobegreedy.Itsevolution,survivalothettest,andallthat.

Terearetwocomponentsothese(sometimesexasperating)arguments.Tehumannaturepartshouldbeairlyeasytodispensewith.Clearlyhumans are capable o all sorts o behaviors. I we were wired to be

greedy,therewouldntbehumanmomentsocompassion,cooperation,andmutualaid(somethingoneamousanarchist,PeterKropotkin,wroteabitaboutinhisstudiesoevolutionarytheory).However,whenweliveunderinstitutionsoundedontheaccumulationowealthothingswe tend to make judgments about human nature that reect thoseinstitutions.Whatmightwesayabouthumannatureinasocietyoundedoncooperationinsteadosurvival-o-the-ttest;mutualaidinsteadoan


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ethicocompetition;theorganicneedsanddesiresopeopleinsteadotheproductionosomuchuselessshitthatweareconditionedtowantbyamulti-billiondollaradvertisingindustry?Wewouldlikelyhaveanentirelydierentviewohumannatureandthewaysweorganizetomeetour

desireswouldntresemblethesicksocietywehaveinheritedandcurrently(allowourselvesto)livein.

But the other component really troubles me. When people raise theseobjections,whatdotheymeanbyasystemthatworks?Canwereallysay that the state and capitalismthe institutions that largely organizeoureconomicliework?Beorethiscrisisevenstarted,80%otheworldspopulationlivedonlessthantendollarsaday(thisisevidence

thatormostotheworld,capitalismisalwaysacrisis).1Isthatasystemthat works? We produce enough ood to eed everyone in the world.Yet,oneinsevenpeoplearoundtheworldgohungry.2Isthatasystemthatworks?Tiscrisisincapitalismcertainlyisntneweitherindeed,capitalismispronetoperiodiccriseswherepeoplearethrownintothekindsosocialturmoilwereseeingtheworldoverregularly.Tiscrisisisntanewdevelopment,itsapartohowcapitalismunctions.Isthatasystem

thatworks?Isasystemwhere somepeopleownoursummerhomes,twentycars,hometheatres,havemaids,cooks,andcoterieswhileentirecountrieslargelyliveinpovertyasystemthatisworking?Aretwoworldwarsthatkilledmorepeopleinthemthaneverywareveroughtinhumanhistoryuptothatmomentcombinedreectiveoasystemthatworks?Is the commodicationthe thingicationo the entire non-humanworld,thedestructionolandbases,theregularextinctionoentirespecies,decreasingbiodiversity,globalwarmingallowhicharepartandparcelo

aneconomicsystempredicatedonconstantgrowthisthisasystemthatworks?Isaworldwhereoppressionisasocialnormthatmixestogetherwitheconomicexploitationonethatworks?Justhowbrainwashedhasthehumanpopulationbecomethatsomanyousbelieveweneedtheseunequal,unethical,horricinstitutionalarrangementsinordertogetby?Whenmassmediaownershipisnearlyentirelyconcentratedinthehandsoaewwealthycorporations,whencapitalismsbestriendthestate

setsthecurriculumstandardsorourcompulsoryeducation(settingthestageortheboredomandbanalityoalieoworkormostous)isitanywonderweveswallowedtheselies?

Teoccupierstheworldoverknowthatsomethingiswrongandneedsxed.Teyknowthatthesesystemsweliveunderarenteternalandmustchange.Butnotallchangesareequal.Andiwewantthemtobelasting,


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wemightwanttostartvaluingtheaccumulationoreedominsteadocommodities.Wemightlookatoursocialsystemsandrealizethattheydontwork.Wecanconsciouslycreatealternativesthroughmassreusals.And, importantly, this extends ar beyond economics into all spheres

o liechallenging the very separations that make social dominationpossible.

Tis,Ibelieve,isattheheartotheanarchistproject.Wemightadvanceaneconomicsthatlooksnothinglikethewaythedisciplineiscurrentlyorganizeddemolishingthemythsocapitalisminsteadopeddlingthemas the priests o the dominant market religion.And we might advanceaormosocialorganizationthatdoesntresembleaneconomyinthe

conventionalsenseotheterm,butallowsortheconsciouscreationooureverydaylivesinsteadothecompulsorylaborweretoldisnecessaryorasystemthatworks,butobviouslydoesnt.

Notes1Seehttp://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-acts-and-stats2Seehttp://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-acts-and-stats

Deric Shannon is co-editor ofContemporaryAnarchistStudies:AnIntroductoryReaderoAnarchismintheAcademy(Routledge, 2009) and co-editor of the forthcomingheAccumulationoFreedom:AnarchistWritingsonAnarchistEconomics (AK Press,

January 2012).


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