Occupy movement

Analysis and Comment (12)

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In the wake of the GFC and the Occupy protests, critics have not shied away from voicing their anger at Wall Street. Flickr\Matthew Knott

Making the case for Wall Street

By Timothy Spangler, University of California, Los Angeles

The first thing that strikes you when you re-read the “Declaration” issued in autumn 2011 by the Occupy protesters assembled in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan is how little of it actually relates…
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With stable jobs in short supply, what does the future hold for Australia’s young workers? AAP

The precariat is recruiting: youth, please apply

By Veronica Sheen, Monash University

The term “precariat” conveys the idea that the old working class, the proletariat, has transmuted into a new social class where work and life are characterised by precariousness and risk. While the old…
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According to the organisers of Occupy’s Rolling Jubilee, 77.5% of American households are in debt. AAP

The bitter necessity of debt relief

By Ben Gook, University of Melbourne

Debt, it seems, is an idea with currency. Cities, states, nations and individuals are indebted, with creditors at the door, demanding repayment. This year, the US Federal Reserve even had David Graeber…
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Burdened by expectation: Barack Obama prepares to leave the White House aboard Marine One last weekend. EPA/Michael Reynolds

Obama or Romney? The choice of the 1%

By John Passant

On November 6, US voters will make a choice between two very different candidates with very different visions, policies and approaches. Well, that is the official version, at least. The reality is rather…
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Indoctrination is one of the key forces at play in any society. flickr/lets.book

You have been indoctrinated (oh yes you have)

By Scott Burchill, Deakin University

Despite its association with totalitarian societies of the left and right, indoctrination is also a common feature of societies that describe themselves as free: those where the coercive powers of the…
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Occupy protestors have a right to protest; police powers to move them on from public spaces should be questioned. RynChristophe/Youtube

Moving right along: what powers do police have to ‘move-on’ protestors?

By James Farrell, Deakin University

When police removed a young woman’s “tent dress” this week at the Occupy Melbourne encampment, it was yet another controversial interaction between protesters and authorities. As shown in the Occupy movement…
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Mass social movements, like the one in East Germany in 1989-91, don’t usually start out with clear goals. AAP

You think Occupy is incoherent? It takes time to change history

By Ben Gook, University of Melbourne

Those who call for the Occupy movement to have a coherent set of demands at its birth ignore the history of social and protest movements. Often, the coherence to the programs of protest movements is only…

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