occupy wall street- the popular revolt in north america

8/3/2019 Occupy Wall Street- The Popular Revolt in North America

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OccupyWallStreet ThePopularRevoltin

NorthAmerica

AViewfromCanada

DonCurrie,EditorFocusOnSocialism,ChairCPS

MemberoftheEditorialBoardofNorthStarCompass

www.northstarcompass.org

October22,2011

www.FocusOnSocialism.ca
http://www.northstarcompass.org/http://www.northstarcompass.org/


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EditorsNote: the following is thearticlewritten for theNovember 2011 issueofNorthStar

Compass WOC

OnOctober15th2011tensofthousandsofCanadianandUScitizensjoinedinsolidaritywith

hundredsofthousandsaroundtheworldtodenouncefinancecapitalistimpoverishmentof

thepeople. ThestreetdemonstrationsinNorthAmericawereinspiredbytheOccupyWall

Street(OWS)movement intheUSA. TheOWSmovement isanothermanifestationofthe

breakwithimperialistpropagandaandideologybygrowingnumbersofyouth,workers,the

unemployed,unionmilitantsandthoseforcedtoliveinpovertyinCanadaandtheUSA. The

popularmovement intheheartlandof imperialism isan importantadvance inthepolitical

processthat

leads

the

laboring

masses

from

denunciation

of

capitalism

to

awareness

of

the

needtooverthrowit.

The challengepresented to communistsofCanada and theUSAby thispopular revolt is

neither to trivialize nor to exaggerate it, but to strive to arm itwith the class struggle

program,strategyandtacticsthatcanleadittowardsworkingclasspowerandsocialism.

TheConservativeFictionandCanadianReality

An internationalist duty has fallenwith particular urgency to Canadian communists. The

rightwing

Conservative

Government

of

Prime

Minister

Steven

Harper

and

Finance

Minister

JimFlahertypresentCanadatotheworldasanexampleofthesuccessofstatemonopoly

capitalism (imperialism) to manage the consequences of the 2008 global capitalist

depression. InparticularFinanceMinisterFlahertyandCanadianBankofCanadaGovernor

Mark Carney boast at the IMF and the G20 that the Canadian banking system, due to

Canadianregulatorybanking laws,savedCanadiansfromthekindoffinancialruin inflicted

onthepeopleoftheUSAandEuropebythesubprimeinducedfinancialcollapseoftheUS

bankingsystem. CPSexposedthatcharadeattheoutsetofthecurrentglobalcrisis.1

ThemajorityofCanadiansknow that suchcorporateboastsareuntrue. The 2008global

capitalistdepressionfell justasheavilyonCanadianworkers,thepoorandurbanandrural

middleclassesaselsewhere inthecapitalistworld. The1.7millionCanadiansoutofwork,

millionsmore that lost savingsandprivate retirementpension funds,and themajorityof

1Hhttp://www.focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=229

www.FocusOnSocialism.ca OccupyWallStreetThePopularRevoltinNorthAmericaaViewfromCanada Page2of11


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wageandsalaryearnershavinglesspurchasingpowerandlowerlivingstandardstodaythan

priorto2008rejectthegovernmentline.

Abankrecoveryforbiginvestorsandpreferredshareholdersisajobandincomedisasterfor

theworking class. The impactof the recession continues to fallmost heavily on young

families.2

TheFormofBankBailoutinCanada

InacarefullyresearchedarticleinJanuary20093ProfessorEmeritusMichelChossudovskyof

Global Research exposed the Harper governments $74 billion purchase of government

insured bank mortgages taken off bank ledgers and transferred to a government

corporation,the

Canada

Mortgage

and

Housing

Corporation

(CMHC).

CMHC

was

once

used

toassistCanadianstopurchasehomes. NowCMHCisburdenedwithbankdebt. Withsuch

generousgovernmentbackingofcoursetheGovernoroftheBankofCanadacanboastat

theG20 thatCanadasbanksare stable,on thebacksof theCanadian taxpayers. At the

sametimeurgentlyneededlowcosthousingforwageearnersisunavailableandrealestate

pricesremainhigh.

Canadianbankprofitsresultingfromgovernment largessearenotsharedwiththepeople.

Quitethecontrary! PrimeMinisterHarperafterprovidingthebankswitha$74billionslush

fundfurtherloweredtaxesonbanksandcorporationstoamongthelowestinthecapitalist

world.4Coddling

the

banks

is

accompanied

with

imposing

economic

austerity

on

the

people

viapublicsectorlayoffsandwagefreeze.5 AstheCanadianbanksandcorporationsrackup

recordprofits6duringadepression, theConservativegovernmentpromotesprivatization

andunderfundsstatefundedpublichealthcareandimposesfeesforawidevarietyofsocial

programs.7

Thecombinationofplacing$74billionatthedisposalofthebanks,loweringcorporatetaxes

and increasingarms spending toanall timehistoricalhigh, theConservativegovernment

2Hhttp://earlylearning.ubc.ca/blog/2011/oct/18/raisingfamilyharderretiringeasier/3Hhttp://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=120074Hftp://ftp.competitivealternatives.com/2010_compalt_report_tax_en.pdfH(Notetoreaders:SeePage24ofthis

report)5Hhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/06/20/pol clementcuts.html6Hhttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/reportonbusiness/robmagazine/top1000/2011rankingsofcanadastop

1000publiccompaniesbyprofit/article2071184/7Hhttp://medicare.ca/


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incurred a $40 billion budget deficit.8 To reduce the budget deficit the Conservative

Government plans large scale public sector worker layoffs, wage freeze and reduced

pensionbenefits.

At

the

same

time

the

conservative

government

asserts

the

strikes

it

provokesharm economic recovery and ismoving to enact legislation to alter the Labour

Code tobypassParliamentandplacethepowertobanstrikes in theexecutivebranchof

government.9

FarmersIncomesAlsoUnderAttack

The attack on organized labour has been extended to farmers, as the Conservative

governmentenactslegislationtoprivatizetheCanadianWheatBoardandothersingledesk

marketingagencieswhichhaveprovidedCanadianfarmerswithalevelofpricestabilityfor

theirproducts.

The

demise

of

the

Canadian

Wheat

Board

will

benefit

corporate

farming

at

theexpenseofsmallandmediumfarmersnowforcedtomarketproductsthroughprivate

corporategrainmarketers. Competition among farmers to accessprivatemarketerswill

lower prices to farmers and increase profit margins for agricultural commodity market

speculators. A reduction in the share of small and medium grain producers in the

internationalgrainmarketwillnowoccur.10,11

StateMonopolyCapitalism(Imperialism)the21stCenturyRealityforCanada

Whathasbeensaidthusfar isbutasmall indicationofatrendtoamoreopendictatorial

rule by finance capital over the economy and the political life of Canada. That is not

surprising. The evolution of Canada from a socalled liberal democracy to a rightwing

aggressiveG7NATO imperialist state isnotwellunderstoodoutsideof the country. The

mythofCanadaassomesortofenlighteneddemocracywithanaboveclasscivilsocietyis

farremovedfromthetruth.

Canada isaG7NATOstate integrated intotheglobalsystemofstatemonopolycapitalism,

imperialism. 12 Al l G7NATO states are governed by the most deceitfully reactionary

militaristicantiworkingclassregimesontheplanet. TheG7NATOstates, ledbytheUSA,

8Hhttp://www.budget.gc.ca/2011/glance apercu/briefbrefeng.html9Hhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/10/air canadastrikethreat.html10Hhttp://friendsofcwb.ca/

11Hhttp://www.nfu.ca/cwb.html

12Hhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworldfactbook/geos/ca.html


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accountfor50.42%ofglobalGDPabout$31.688trillion13andspendmoreonmilitarismthan

allof the remainingcountriesoftheworldcombined.14 TheG7NATOstatesarethemain

sourceof

global

economic

instability

and

imperialist

war.

Without

exception

the

imperial

governmentsofallG7NATOstatesactonbehalfoftheprofitinterestsoffinancecapitalist

oligarchiesthatcontroltheeconomiesofthesecountriesandmostoftheglobaleconomy.

ImperialEntitlementandtheStruggleforPeaceandSocialism

The rulingelitesof theG7NATOstateshavesparednoeffort toattempt toconvince the

approximately 500million Europeans of the EU, 34million Canadians and 312millionUS

citizens constituting approximately 10% of the 7 billion global populations that EUNorth

Americanprosperityisanimperialentitlementtouseallofthelabourandresourcesofthe

world.The

USA

is

the

largest

per

capita

consumer

of

energy15

in

the

world.

This imperial entitlement assert G7NATO propagandists, is dependent on continued

majoritysupportforNATOwarsofregimechange,conquest ,andwealthappropriationof

other peoples labour and other peoples resources such as is underway in Libya. The

capitalistpress is fullof speculationabout investmentopportunities for foreign investors

waiting to plunder Libyas oil resources on the ruins of NATO aggression.16 Canadian

financecapitalispoisedtoparticipateintheplunder.17,18

TherulingelitesoftheG7NATOstatesasserttheyareentitledtotheentirewealthofthe

planetand

justified

to

use

all

means

including

if

necessary,

destroying

whole

civilizations

that impede theirglobaldestiny. Theonlysovereignty these rulingelites recognize is the

sovereigntyofprivatefinancecapital.

The ruling elitesof theG7NATO states assert that assigning thebulkof statewealth to

militarybudgetsisjustifiedtodefendthepreferredstatusofwesternsocieties. Theaimof

the highly centralized, privately owned and controlled club of financial oligarchies is to

convincethelaboringmassesthatglobalwesternsupremacyistheonlyinternationalorder

thatcanbeconceivedofandworthyofperpetuation.

13Source2010IMFReports.GDPUSA$14.5T(%23.09)Japan$5.46T(%8.68)Germany$3.286T(%5.22)France

$2.56T(%4.07)UK$2.25T(%3.58)Italy$2.055T(%3.27)Canada$1.577T(%2.51)14Hhttp://www.globalissues.org/article/75/worldmilitaryspending

15Hhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/business/datablog/2010/aug/03/uschinaenergyconsumptiondata

16Hhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/22/us libyainvestmentidUSTRE77L4NG20110822

17Hhttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/bairdbringsbigbusinessonhistriptolibya/article2198001/

18Hhttp://www.focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=635


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therealenemiesofglobalpeaceandhumanprogress. OWShashelpedtoclarifythelinesof

classstruggleinNorthAmerica.

Amovement isarising,havingasoneof itsmotivatingfactors,asearchforanewtypeof

political economic system to replace predatory capitalism. This awakening has been

simmeringintheworkingclassmovementsofthepeoplesincetheadventtwodecadesago

of neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus. Following the counterrevolutionary

overthrowofSovietSocialism that rolledbackdecadesof socialgains inboth the former

socialist states and the advanced capitalist states, international finance capital was

emboldenedtorecapitalizetheformersocialiststates,seizethelabourandresourcesofits

peoplesandimposedneoliberalismeverywhere. Ithasntturnedoutthatway.

Communistsand

the

Occupy

Wall

Street

Movement

TheOccupyWallStreetMovement isnot surprising togenuineMarxistsandCommunists

anddedicated revolutionaries. Marxismhasstudiedanddrawnconclusions from the fact

thatabruptchangesintheglobalcapitalisteconomyhastheeffectofcausingallclassesto

move intomotion and compel them to reassess theirworld view. Such a situation can

include the creation of prerevolutionary conditions. The rejection of neoliberalism,

confined in the beginning to left progressives, has now broken intomainstream public

discussion, affecting all forms of class politics, theory, ideology, political action, labour,

peace

and

electoral

struggles

on

all

continents.

ThatiswhytheOccupyWallStreet(OWS)movementeruptinginamasswayinsidetheUSA

today and spilling over into Canada is of such importance for ending NATO wars and

weakeningimperialism. TheOWSmovementisthecontinuationinNorthAmericaofsimilar

struggles,albeitindifferentforms,thathavebeenunderway intheEUsincetheeconomic

depressionof2008.

TheOWSmovementhasitsownfeaturesandthatisnotsurprising. HoweverwhatOWShas

in common with similar movements in Europe and South America and Asia is what is

significant.Because

state

monopoly

capitalism

(imperialism)

is

a

global

system,

all

of

the

strugglesofthe laboringmassesofalloftheG7EUNATOstateswithoutexceptionhavea

commonantimonopolycharacterandincreasinglyanticapitalistcharacter.


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SocialDemocracyandOWS

Even

the

class

collaborationist

role

of

social

democratic

leadership

of

organized

labour

in

CanadaandtheUSAhasnotpreventedtheriseofmilitantandindependentmassactionsof

theworkingpeople. Infactitisnotanexaggerationtosaythatsocialdemocracyhasbeen

compelled by the rapid rise ofOWS tomask its role as class conciliator and give verbal

supporttothemovement.

TheOWSmovementisonlypartlyaspontaneousmovement. Therolethatorganizedlabour

hasplayedintheWisconsineventsintheUSAisasignificantfactorinmotivatingOWSand

accountsfor itsdistinctanticorporateprolabourcontent.20 Similarly inCanada,strikesby

steelworkers,nickelminers,health andeducational sectorworkers,airlinesworkershave

giventhe

OWS

movement

a

pro

labour

content.

RightWingSocialDemocracyExposed

Theformsofmasspopularresistanceto imperialistwarandcapitalistdepression inG7EU

NATOstatesareasvariedasthecountrieswithinwhichtheydevelop. Thefightback isat

many levels, reflectingdiffering levelsofcapitalisteconomicdevelopmentandbalanceof

classforces. Whatslogansarisefromthesemovementsreflectthepoliticalexperienceand

strengthoforganizationsof theworkingclassand itsallies, inparticular thestrengthand

influenceofparticipatingcommunistparties.

Thepopularrevoltunderway inEuropeagainst IMFEUausterity,reaching itshighestform

ofmilitantresistanceinGreecewheretheCommunist PartyofGreece(KKE)playsaleading

rolewithintheGreekworkingclass,hasnowreachedtheUSAand isunfolding inCanada,

albeitatamuchlowerlevel.

The resistanceoftheworkingpeopleofCanadaandtheUSAto the2008depressionwas

alwayspresentbutmutedandconstrainedbytheroleofrightwingsocialdemocracythat

successfullychanneledpotentialmassprotesttoparliamentaryelectoralpolitics.

UnlikeGreece

where

the

communist

led

PAME

unions

have

adopted

class

struggle

strategiesof theWorldFederationofTradeUnions (WFTU)21 inNorthAmericaorganized

labour, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and in theUSA theAFLCIO is led by social

20Hhttp://www.peoplesworld.org/labortakesfightagainsttherightintothecourts/

21Hhttp://www.wftucentral.org/?language=en


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reformiststhatadheretothe InternationalFederationofTradeUnions(IFTU)doctrinesof

classcollaboration.

InCanadatheCanadianLabourCongressprovidessupporttotheNewDemocraticParty,a

socialdemocraticpartythatsincethelastfederalelectionnowholdsthepositionofofficial

opposition in the Canadian Parliament. In theUSA theAFLCIOprovides support to the

DemocraticPartyandwasanimportantfactorintheelectionofPresidentBarakObama.

TheOWSmovementbecauseof its relativepolitical independenceand rapidspontaneous

spreadtomanymajorcitiesoftheUSAhascausedalarmintherulingclassoftheUSAand

callsfor itscontrolrangefromtheextremerightwingdemandstosuppress itbyforceto

socialreformistschemestodeflectitintoareserveofsupportforthereelectionofObama

in2014.

Theexternalandinternalreactionaryforcesattemptingtodestroythemovementeitherby

state intervention or spreadingmass confusion by petty bourgeois radicals, confront an

overwhelming reality; theworsening state of theUS economywhich shows no signs of

abating.

MilitarismandtheDeepeningCrisis

Compounding the debt crisis for capitalist governments in both theUSA and Canada is

militaryspending

that

has

reached

astronomical

proportions.

The

US

government

squanders40%of theentire federalbudgetonmilitaryspending. NATOdemands that its

memberstatescontribute2%ofGDPtofundfuturepredatorywarsonpoorcountries.

Thesystemofstatemonopolycapitalism inallG7EUNATOstates is inthegripsageneral

crisisof itssystemandanacutecyclicalcrisis, the latteryet tobottomout. Thereareno

signsofaglobal recovery. ThegeneralconsensusamongMarxisteconomists is that the

global system is slipping into a second phase of the 2008 collapse. Such a two stage

depressionhappenedoncebeforeduring the 1930sGreatDepressionwhen in 1938after

almosttenyearsofpainfullyslowcapitalistrecoveryandmassiveworkingclassresistance,

theeconomytookanotherdivethatwasonlyhaltedbytheadventofWW2.

SocialismisontheAgenda

Theexperienceofhundredsofmillionsvictimizedbycapitalistdepressionandconfronted

withstateviolence iscausingan intense ideologicalreappraisalofthecapitalistsystem, its


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future and the need for a new type of governance to replace it. Socialism, contrary to

revisionisttheorists,isbackonthehistoricalagendaofclassstrugglepolitics.

What isnew intodaysstruggles isthattheyarisewhentheexampleofrealsocialismas it

wasconstructedintheSovietUnionandthesocialistsystemofstatesisstillverymuchalive

in thecollectivememoryof themasses. Unlike 1917and theascendancy topowerof the

working class inRussia,when therewas no historical precedent for socialism, today the

achievementsofrealsocialismbecomesanimportantpoliticalfactorincurrentstruggles.

TheYouthAreCreatingaNewMassMedia

The privately owned and controlledmassmedia,with the advent of socialmedia in the

handsof

savvy

young

people,

is

failing

to

completely

control

the

message

that

capitalism

is

a

system forall,demandingsupportofall. Thesloganoftheworkingclass thatwedidnt

create thecrisisandwe refuse tobe itsvictims isanexpressionof thedeterminationof

millionstoengageinindependentmasspoliticalactionthatrejectsthetutelageofcapitalist

parties.

Theexperienceofhundredsofmillionsnowable tobypass imperialistpropagandistshas

createdconditionsforrapidlyclosingthegapbetweentherisingspontaneousstrugglesof

theworkingclassanditsallies,andtheneedforacomprehensiverevolutionarytheoryand

programofmassstruggle.

This is the challenge confronting all of the Communist Parties of the world at the

InternationalMeeting of Communist andWorkers Parties at their upcomingmeeting in

AthensGreeceDecember911,2011.22

Communistsassumeresponsibilityforthewholerevolutionaryprocessunderwayinourown

countriesandinternationally.Weseekwhatisnewinrisingstruggleswithonlyonepurpose

inmind,tomakesocialismthecauseofallworkersandalloftheantiimperialistforces.

LeninsAdvice

InrereadingLeninIcameacrossthisadvicefullyapplicabletoourtime.ItisfromVolume22

page356ofhiscollectedworksintheessay,TheDiscussiononSelfDeterminationSummed

Up

22Hhttp://www.solidnet.org/


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Leninwrites:

ThesocialistRevolutioninEuropecannotbeanythingotherthananoutburstofmass

struggleonthepartofallandsundryoppressedanddiscontentedelements. Inevitably,

sectionsofthepettybourgeoisieandofthebackwardworkerswillparticipate in it

without such participation, mass struggle is impossible, without it no revolution is

possibleandjustasinevitablywilltheybringintothemovementtheirprejudices,their

reactionary fantasies, their weaknesses and errors. But objectively they will attack

capital,and the classconsciousvanguardof the revolution, theadvancedproletariat,

expressing this objective truth of variegated and discordant, motley and outwardly

fragmented,massstruggle,willbeabletouniteanddirectit,capturepower,seizethe

banks, expropriate the trusts which all hate (though for different reasons), and

introduce other dictatorial measures which in their totality will amount to the

overthrowofthebourgeoisieandthevictoryofsocialism,which,however,willbyno

meansimmediatelypurgeitselfofpettybourgeoisslag.

How well Lenin summed up mass struggles in his time, and how applicable are his

observationsfortodaysstruggles.

occupy wall street- the popular revolt in north america

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