11/16/11
The Occupy protesters imagine that they stand in a great tradition of American radicalism, willing to stand up to the man and risk arrest in order to achieve their goals. The most obvious case of such a mass movement would be the anti-war protests of the 1960s. They started small and grew and grew until they became mainstream and actually affected a dramatic policy change. The U.S. military pulled out of Vietnam, implicitly conceding defeat and mourning the long history of calamity.
But consider the gigantic differences. The Vietnam protest movement had a clear goal. It wanted to end the war. It had a clear enemy: the politicians and bureaucrats who wanted the war to last forever. It had a clear message: this war is wrong. It had an intense motivation: the protesters were terrified of being drafted to kill and be killed. This is what standing up to power is all about.
So far as anyone can tell, the Occupy movement has none of this clarity. Ten thousand articles have been written on these people and there is still no consensus concerning what the issue really is. The goals of the movement are posted here and there, but not everyone among the protesters agrees with them. The motivation is just as amorphous and varied: unemployment, sinking job prospects, sinking incomes, blowback from the bailouts, the desire to slum around in a decadent sort of way, and the destructive urge to trample down the pea-patch of life itself.
Worse, from my point of view, is that the movement isn’t really standing up to power. It is standing in for power to urge that the state take on more responsibilities and control people’s lives even more than it does already. They imagine that they are demanding human rights, but the main agenda as listed in public websites amounts to a list of ways for the government to violate human rights, or at least intrude aggressively upon them.
Raising the minimum wage, for example, amounts to a limitation on the rights of workers to negotiate their own employment contracts. The minimum wage says: you have no right to offer less for your services than the state gives you permission to offer. Thus, the minimum wage not only promotes unemployment; it restrains the human right to associate on any terms of a person’s choosing.
Likewise, the demand to nationalize health interferes with the rights of doctors and patients to negotiate their own contracts. The demand for tariffs interferes with the rights of people to peacefully trade with anyone from around the world, and effectively entrenches the nation-state as the only permitted geographic range of economic associations.
The imposition of new taxes takes people’s property. This is property acquired through their own labor which is then forcibly taken by the state to use for political purposes. This demand is a prescription for further impoverishment.
The push for refunding domestic infrastructure denies private entrepreneurs the opportunity to use their resources and talents to rebuild on a for-profit basis and in a manner that that can actually be maintained. There is a reason that state infrastructure always seems to be crumbling: it is built by the state with all the inherent economic irrationality of most state projects.
The real problem with the OWS movement is its political naiveté. The protestors imagine that by attacking free enterprise and the capitalist system they are upholding the rights of the common man. The exact opposite is true. The only real alternative to free enterprise is an economy owned and administered by society’s most ruthless and cruel elements, who always seems to gravitate toward statist means.
If OWS is successful, it will wake up to a world that is lorded over by federal bureaucrats and jack-booted enforcement thugs. The entire world will be run like the Post Office, the TSA, the IRS, and the Customs Bureau. This has nothing to do with freedom and nothing to do with human rights.
For this reason, the OWS protest is not really a threat to the establishment. So far, its message has been that the state needs to be truer to itself, that the worst aspects of both the Democratic and Republican platforms need to be implemented with a vengeance. This is a movement the state can come to love. Indeed, the White House has drawn closer and closer to this movement, saying that Obama “will continue to acknowledge the frustration that he himself shares.”
Again, the contrast with the Vietnam protests of the 1960s cannot be starker. The White Houses hated these people. The politicians of both parties were terrified of what “people power” meant in those days.
If we had the equivalent movement as it relates to economics today, it would be calling for an end to the Fed, privatization of education, privatization of health care, the right to global free trade, an end to state robbery of persons and their businesses, and a right to keep what you own. In short, a truly radical protest movement would be calling for a consistent and authentic capitalism as a corollary to the peace agenda in international politics.
Now that would be radical.
Regards,
Jeffrey Tucker,
for The Daily Reckoning
Jeffrey Tucker
Jeffrey Tucker is the publisher and executive editor of Laissez-Faire Books, and the author of Bourbon for Breakfast: Living Outside the Statist Quo and It's a Jetsons World: Private Miracles and Public Crimes, among thousands of articles.
The Daily Reckoning is your premier source for making sense of the news Washington and Wall Street generate. Each business day, The Daily Reckoning calls on its stable of world-class writers and thinkers to show you how to get ahead.
Start your 100% FREE subscription to The Daily Reckoning today and you’ll get a free research report, “How to Survive the Fall of Social Security.” Simply enter your email address below to get your free report and join over 495,000 worldwide Daily Reckoning subscribers!
We Respect Your Privacy and We will
Never Share or Sell Your Email Address
Jeffrey,
I pretty much came to the same conclusion as yourself early on regarding the aim of the OWS protesters.
Their answer to big government interfering in the economy and big business in colusion with big government is to have an even bigger government.
Subconsiously they recognize something is wrong with the system but they drag out failed Marxist and Fascist principles as a means to correct everything.
Jeffrey, Well stated. That’s the problem of government education. The majority of the OWS crowd know that something is profoundly wrong but have “drunk the kool-aid” presented as progressive ideas of statism for so long that are unable to clearly define the problem as well of how it needs to be addressed. Even now, you have leaders of the OWS like Kevin Zeese who think that the problem of bloated government sponsored rationed healthcare that is not available to all americans is…. wait for it…. MORE GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE!?!
we do have an equivalent movement today, it’s called the tea party led by the republicans, a lousy article
The OWS folks generally smell better, and so far they aren’t spitting on returning vets.
I think most of you are missing the point and I think it’s because you are judging this movement based on your own preconceived filters of what it should be and also based on the usual lazy corporate owned media bias. You don’t get it! Something new is happening here.
And please spare us the crap. Fascism is not what they are aspiring to, fascism is what they are pointing out we are guilty of. The Corporations in cahoots with a government supposedly elected by the people for the people. We don’t want bigger government, we want the money out of govt and we want the govt regulators to do their jobs instead of colluding with the very industries they are supposed to regulate. The revolving door policies must stop.
It’s not that complicated and I realize that your ADD brains can’t deal with a miriad of problems to fix but that’s too bad. That’s the mess we’re in. If you don’t like it, you are probably part of the problem. Like it or not, the 2nd american revolution has started. Thomas Paine would be proud of us. The question is, will we get it right this time and how long can we keep the forces of greed and corruption at bay this time around. This is exciting!
When the police beat up people camping in the financial district, I’m on the side of the campers.
The division of wealth in today’s West is too lopsided. It has change, and I no longer much care how.
if we have to kill the whole damned economy for a generation in order to make things more fair, that’s unfortunate but oh well that’s just the way it goes.
We are dumb. The corps have the money to buy the regulators. So the regulators get our tax dollars and corp. payoffs. Ain’t life grand! is what the regulator will say and……thank you OWS for keeping both my paychecks coming! Great solution for the regulators anyway.
Eric, meet Isaac.
Eric…regulating every minute detail of life and total state control IS fascism.
I have not heard any of their hundreds of self described “spokesmen” say anything other that the generic marxist/fascist tripe.
In the begining there were a few libertarian types in the OWS crowd and I had hope for the protest, but they seem to have disapeared.
The author of this article must have selective memory. There was a lot more being protested in the late 60s than just the war. We were in the midst of a civil rights revolution, ending segregation, and making discrimination illegal. There was the kidnapping of Patti Hearst. Malcom X and the Nation of Islam, and the women’s liberation movement.
As for myself I am going to be patient and hear these young folks out, before I pass judgment on them. If they all turn out to be a bunch of blubbering idiots, then we have only ourselves to blame.
Eric says: “We want the money out of government.” My response is HAHAHAHAHAHA! Boy oh Boy! We are toast! haha..and just how do you expect to support and run our bloated monstrosity of a government? With poker chips? hahahah
The OWS people are lead covertly for the most part by Communists, the rest are the useful idiots, naive as you say. There are less of them than there are the 1%, so really they are the .99%.
Mr. Tucker seems to be a mouthpiece for the financial establishment. I don’t think he is so dim that he actually has failed to understand what OWS is about.
OWS does lack focus, but at it’s heart is the demand that Government do its job in relation to the financial robber-barons. They are the ones who bought the Republican administration that got into two wars on credit and deregulated the banking sector. Unregulated banks make money for a few people but they do not promote the general National good. This was true in the 1800′s, the 1900′s and it is still true today. Ironically, OWS is a true conservative movement; undo the Reagan Revolution and start taking serious Eisenhower’s warning about the military industrial complex.
Title of the article: “OWC?” Did the Occupy movement get a new acronym or is this a typo?
Awake said, “Unregulated banks make money for a few people but they do not promote the general National good.”
Why do you think it is a bank’s job to “promote the general National good?” A bank’s (or any business) job is to maximize profits for owners/shareholders, provided they do nothing illegal. If they have done something illegal, then the laws need to be enforced against them…period. If they are wise and prudent and make a fortune for 20 people, they have done exactly what they’re supposed to do.
Check your job descriptions again: only the US government has as part of its description “promote the general welfare.” There’s a country called Cuba where companies are all about ‘promoting the general, National good.’ If you want to visit them sometime let us know how that’s working out.
Can we trade the OWS folks for the Cubans? They would like to get out of socialism and OWS wants to get into it. Ya see, they don’t want Cuba. They have already bankrupted that country. No, they need a wealthy target since those other socialist countries cannot pay for all their demands. They would never dare stand-up to Castro. He would simply shoot them when they began protesting for things he couldn’t deliver.
Hi Jeffery,
I am declaring OWS to be the new SALVADOR DALI.
http://www.buildfreedom.com/news/archive.php?id=4117
What I like about what the individuals who have made themselves present at these ‘occupy camps’ is that they have started a conversation outside the corporate media structure.
In spirit, like, say, ‘libertarians with blogs’ and teapartiers, but, with some different demands — as you have noted and critiqued.
I like how those of ‘occupy’ are ‘keeping you honest’ in your arguments. And, I respect you for putting out your critique.
Clint Richardson — one man with a blog — is making some excellent critiques too.
http://realitybloger.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/how-i-would-heal-the-united-states/
Let’s keep the discussion going.
Thanks.
Greg
Spoken like a true capitalist, Jeffrey! Screw that minimum wage. Just pay the workers in scrip and make them shop at the company store and live in the company’s tenements. If a worker loses an arm, just push him onto the street and tell him to find a private doctor to sew it back on. We certainly can’t pass the hat for the unlucky one. He should have bought insurance with money he didn’t have. Right?
That’s unbridled capitalism, Jeffrey, borne out by our own history. We tried it and it sucked for everyone except for Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt.
Now the 99% are working for the banksters, who got $160 billion in bonuses this year for wrecking the economy.
THIS IS WRONG, AND WE PROTEST IT.
WE ARE THE 99%.
Occupy is an open source protest. That means it doesn’t have a specific message.
It is a container for may groups/motivations/passions held together by simplest of ideas: it is possible to permanently occupy of places of power.
Anyone that tells you it needs to have a specific policy agenda is a) not an expert and b) still living in the 20th Century.
~John Robb
author of Brave New War: The Next Stage of Terrorism and the End of Globalization
http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/
“So why do you rob banks?” “Cause that’s where the money is.” Does anyone really think that with trillions of dollars flowing thru D.C. every year that it won’t attrack criminals? And that doesn’t even count the untold trillions that have been counterfeited by the feds. And these fools/tools want more money/power transferred to the feds. Really?
As I remember the Anti-war protests really were anti-draft. Protests ended the same time the draft ended (early 1973)but before the war ended(1975). I’d bet we would have plenty of 1960s style protests today if the draft was brought back.
If OWS is a true conservative movement,
then what is it they wish to conserve?
“So far as anyone can tell, the Occupy movement has none of this clarity. Ten thousand articles have been written on these people and there is still no consensus concerning what the issue really is.” With luck there will not be a clear plan. All true evolution has no clear plan. Perhaps we will be lucky to escape the clever agendas of those that wish to direct the change to fit their own ideas as the author has put forward and comparisons to something else entirely and maybe something really good for everyone will develop on its own.
If this article represents the Daily Reckonings position on the Occupy movement (they have no coherent position, other than more big government) not only are you out of touch with one of the greatest economically derived movements of all time, but are in for a big suprise when this movement explodes in reponse to the collapse of our economic system.
I have not followed OWS intensely, but every time the message I got was “Get the money out of our government!” If you haven’t gotten this, you’re in denial & part of the problem! The ppl we elected are bought & paid for by who has the most money – Wall Street corporations! Our votes mean nothing (now even elections will be bought); our laws to protect us mean nothing; we mean nothing because we don’t have the $ to sway our elected officials like they do! It is socialism for the wealthy! There are many examples & repurcussions of it: EPA & SEC violations unpunished & yet repeated, white collar/stock market laws broken & unpunished, bail-outs w/ no strings attached, corporate campaign donations now allowed (private donations should not even be allowed), lobbying, refusal to get insurance out of healthcare & other aspects of ppl’s lives, temporary tax cuts for the wealthy extended again & again, NAFTA, subsidies to huge industries not in need, attempts to weaken unions. All this deregulation & freedom for corporates & the wealthy have resulted in reduced work hours, less pay & benefits for average ppl while corporations grew larger and charged higher prices. Don’t play dumb & pretend you don’t “get” the point of OWS!!!
News for Erik: We do not want businesses here that do not promote “good for our nation.” The shareholder stock market scene was much more regulated following WWII (which improved our economy & brought us out of the depression). Now, many regulations have bn lifted; those that have not are violated often with little & no punishment. Big banks & other corporations are doing MANY illegal things! Apparently you don’t read much! Last time I visited, Cuba was doing well, virtually no extreme poverty like u see here. Many other socialized nations are doing much better than us in many ways too. Its time for Christians & Patriots to put their $ where their mouths are by caring more for their U.S. neighbors!
My father, a WWII vet, successful entrepreneur, understood the harms & danger of a “free” unregulated market. He refused to attend industry association meetings where others were “holding hands” to set prices, making plans to merge & monopolize. He never got greedy; he financed those who couldn’t pay (free of interest charges). He wasn’t rich but saved enough to live a comfortable life before & after retirement. He raised a big family & had alot of friends; he felt good about doing good things for others. His business grew because of it. If you have no interest in doing good for your nation or neighbors, then you shouldn’t have the privilege of doing business here!
@ Erik
“A bank’s (or any business) job is to maximize profits for owners/shareholders, provided they do nothing illegal.” That’s the point Erik. You wouldn’t want a firm making explosive to be unregulated and allowed to sell to any ten-year-old on the street in pursuit of maximum profits. History shows us that well regulated financial structures promote prosperity. Unregulated or poorly regulated financial institutions bring about boom-bust cycles. Since the first civilizations, it has been the government’s job to provide a stable currency. In modern (complicated) times this includes may forms of financial structures. It’s the governments job to regulate them. Your bringing up Cuba is a straw-man argument.
OWS is conservative in the sense that it wants to go back to a point where government acted responsibly. It is not a new or radical idea, and it certainly has nothing to do with Communism.
BTW, I don’t agree that Cuba “is doing well”. Maybe not so bad as many in the U.S. think, but I don’t believe I would want to live there. I am living in what was “Communist East Germany” and am of the opinion that if Germans couldn’t make “Democratic Socialism” work, no one can. Again, the Government doing it’s job on Wall Street isn’t about Socialism or Communism.
Awake:
History shows that the extremely well regulated DDR economy was decidedly un-prosperous and environmentally filthy, yet had a stable currency and all the comforts one desired, save for travel beyond the borders. Fire up that smoky Trabi, mate!
“…OWS is conservative in the sense that it wants to go back to a point where government acted responsibly….”
The golden indefinite past. In other words, OWS (as if you spoke for all of them) has no idea, other than being mad that George Soros has more stuff and more influence.
@Got It-
it sounds like your dad did very well in a “free” and unregulated market, by setting his own prices, giving his customers credit as he felt, and running his business as he liked.
A regulated one would have the minimum prices, guaranteed profits, and monopolistic practices that your dad despised at those industry meetings.
Scott, what part of “could not make it work” didn’t you understand? And, your “other words” are only in your own head… and dumb.
I think OWS, no matter what percentage of the people involved in it understand this, is helping us move beyond capitalism toward a society based on voluntarism instead of trade. That’s how the camps are run: no bosses, no quid pro quo.
Perhaps I should clarify: OWS is helping us move beyond both capitalism and statism.
I was a protester during the Vietnam war and damn proud of it. It is a shame that the Tea Party movement and the OWS crowd can’t combine forces and fight a common enemy , the Anti Christ that is embedded in the halls of Congress.The “public servants” of both political parties are bought and paid for Whores, they sold out for 30 Silver Shekels. As a united group, the Tea Party and the OWS should set up an agenda as to what their agreed upon priorities are and work toward their destruction. The too big to fail Banksters , corrupt Wall Street who gambled with investors money and bankrupted the nation , the Federal Reserve,the Military Industrial Complex,
the Lobbyists and then weed out the corrupt politicians . As long as we only have a choice of 2 political parties
there is no hope for this country. They are quite happy taking turns at power. We absolutely need at least 3 or 4 additional political parties in order to have a real choice. Stop all foreign aid for 5 years , bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan and from the 130 countries that we have troops stationed in, close our borders to illegals, criminals, drug dealers and potential Terrorists. I am sure there is a lot that we can agree on . Let’s not be petty. United we stand , divided we fall.
Remember Silence Gives Consent
What a load of nonsense. Because OWS seems to have “no focus,” the writer proposes that it adopt goals which directly contradict the stated goals of the movement: to stop the widening gap between rich & poor, to contain and abolish the power of money in politics, to turn our attention to rebuilding infrastructure and making people healthier, to stop squandering money on useless wars, and a hundred other worthy goals. The writer wants OWS to simply surrender its ideals and varied democratic streams to the 1% who control prosperity and politics in this country. The whole idea of OWS is to wake people up, to show them the facts, to activate them to produce their own solution, which neither government, business, nor this writer has a clue about solving.