GGY3048 Jamie McCollum

The Occupy Movement Purpose

In 2011, a wave of revolutions spread across the Middle East and North Africa which led to the fall of several dictatorial regimes. During this Arab Spring one of the most striking tactics were those adopted in Cairo, Egypt where tens of thousands of people reclaimed a public square and set up camp in the centre of the city, refusing to move until their demands were met. Following the example set by the protestors in Cairo, tens of thousands of Spanish protestors (the Indignados) set up camps in public squares across the country, in protest against the austerity measures being implemented by their

government. It was against this backdrop that a blog post appeared on the anti-consumerist website Adbusters urging people to flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street1. On 17th September, up to one thousand activists heeded their call and moved to occupy Wall Street hoping to have their own Tahrir moment. Although the local police department ensured that the activists did not reach their

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The Occupy Movement

intended destination, the activists set up camp at nearby Zuccotti Park and the Occupy movement was born. Two months later, the movement had gone global with media reports suggesting that Occupy camps had appeared in 951 cities in 82 countries.2 The rapid spread of the movement surprised, and even unsettled, some

commentators who were keen to understand the purpose of the protests and what the Occupiers hoped to achieve. However, the Occupy movement did not issue a set of demands as such but put out a call for solidarity to other likeminded individuals to [e]xercise [their] right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face.3 This led many to criticise the movement for not presenting a clear list of demands, including former president of the USA, Bill Clinton, who stated that those involved with the Occupy movement need to be for something specific and not just against something (cited in iek 2011). However, others have suggested that the movement should not issue any demands to policy makers (Graeber 2011, iek 2011, Langman 2012). Furthermore, 2 David Graeber, an

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The Occupy Movement

anthropologist involved with Occupy Wall Street has argued that the Occupy movement is primarily about creating autonomous spaces operating on the anarchist principles of mutual-aid and self-organisation and should not recognise the legitimacy of existing political

institutions (2011: 2). Similarly, it has been argued that the Occupy movement is predominantly moral social movement seeking the country to change its moral focus (Lakoff 2011). Therefore, in this view the purpose of the Occupy movement should be to create a Gramscian passive revolution i.e. a revolution based on morals and ideas rather than any direct physical confrontation with the hegemonic power (1971). As Langman states, the conditions of our times require not new policies, but hope, new visions and a resurrection of utopian thinking (2012: 163). Although, the aims of the movement have yet to be formally codified and communicated to the wider public, some voices from within the movement have been more specific. In an article published online, activists Arun Gupta and Michelle Fawcett have stated that [a]nyone 3

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The Occupy Movement

who thinks this movement doesnt have a clear agenda has not been paying attention: it is foremost against the concentration of power and wealth. (2012: 3).

Furthermore, in their initial statement, Occupy activists in London declared; [T]he current system is unsustainable. It is undemocratic and unjust. We need alternatives; this is where we work towards themwe want structural change towards authentic global equality4. This shows that those involved in the Occupy movement are not simply also

protesting against the financial sector; that they

calling for structural change. This has been noted by Hardt & Negri, who have argued that this new constituent process, should be viewed as a protest against the

inadequacies of the current political system, rather than simply a protest against corporate greed (2011:1).

Methods
As stated above, the Occupy movement is not organised on a global level, however, broadly speaking, each camp adopts similar methods or repertoires of contention (Tilly 1995). These include non-violent 4 protest, organised

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The Occupy Movement

demonstrations, picketing and distribution of political flyers. In addition, activists have been occupying homes which have been repossessed by the banks. Whilst this tactic is most prevalent in the USA, activists in Ireland have also been protesting against repossessions by actively preventing county sheriffs from entering

properties to evict residents after repossession orders had been granted. Typically, commentators have described these forms of protest as civil disobedience. However, Bernard Harcourt has suggested that the Occupy

movement is representative of a new paradigm of political resistance and that we should consider the methods used by the Occupiers as forms of political disobedience. He argues that [c]ivil disobedience

accepted the legitimacy of political institutions, but resisted the moral authority of resulting laws. Political disobedience, by contrast, resists the very way in which we are governed (Harcourt 2012). Similarly, Graeber argues that the Occupy movement should not be

characterised as a protest i.e. an appeal to the authorities to act differently but rather the tactics of the 5

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The Occupy Movement

movement should be considered direct action which he describes as acting as if one is already free (Graeber 2011). Although, it is important to note that whilst Graebers distinction between protest and direct action is useful to understand the different dynamics involved in contemporary social movements, Occupy is a diverse movement and many involved are indeed hoping that their actions will convince the authorities to act

differently. However, arguably the most significant method adopted by the Occupy movement is its symbolic claiming or occupation of public spaces. Although activists in New York and London were prevented from setting up camp at their chosen locations -Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange respectivelyboth sites were chosen

strategically to highlight the source of the financial crisis (and the source of much of the activists grievance). In this way, the Occupy movement has put the issue of space at the core of its agenda by reassert[ing] the power of the tactic to camp and identify[ing] the geography of

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The Occupy Movement

capitalism (Pickerill & Krinsky 2012: 280). It is also significant that the majority of occupations are occurring in cities across the world rather than in rural areas, as Sassen has argued: the contested city is where the civic is made (2011:575). Similarly, David Harvey has noted that the main tactic of the Occupy movement is to take a public spaceclose to where many of the levers of power are centred. He argues that the camps are convert[ing] public space into a political commonsfor open discussion and debate (2011). However, this creation of autonomous spaces, or communities of resistance, not only makes the movement obvious to those in positions of power and to the wider public, but also allows the activists to become visible to each other. By sharing space and creating ties of solidarity enables the activists to alter the character of their powerlessness (Sassen 2011: 574).

Organisation
Although Occupy encampments have appeared in various cities across the world and activists from various camps communicate and exchange ideas with each other on 7

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The Occupy Movement

online forums the movement is not organised on a global scale. However, this should not be viewed as a failure to organise on the movements part but rather it must be seen as conscious decision to organise in this way. As stated on OccupyWall Street.org [Occupy] is a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors [sic], genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all

have in common is that we are the 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. In addition, David Graeber argues that Occupy activists have quite deliberately tried to create a de-centralised movement with no formal leadership structure to ensure that the movement cannot be co-opted or coerced (2011). However, although the movement is not coordinated at a global scale the various camps use the same slogans (e.g. We are the 99%) and discourse to foster a sense of solidarity.

Furthermore, one of the defining characteristics of the movement is the way each camp is organised at a local level. All camps have adopted the same consensus-based 8

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The Occupy Movement

model for making decisions; however, there is some variation in how this model is adapted in various locations (see Razsa & Kurnik, 2012; Uitermark & Nicholls 2012). The General Assembly (GA) is the primary forum where issues are discussed and any decisions taken must be agreed to by everyone present. Whilst there are no leaders of the Occupy movement facilitators are in charge during the GAs and it is their job to ensure that everyone is heard. In addition, at the larger camps a system of hand signals has developed which allows participants to make their views known without

interrupting the speaker. Everyone present has a right to block any proposal, however, this does not mean an issue is dropped once it has been blocked but rather it creates an opportunity to amend the proposal until it is acceptable to all participants. Whilst they may seem like an unwieldy way to organise, Graeber argues that it matters less how a final decision is reached providing everyone was able to play a part in helping to shape and reshape it (2012: 23).

GGY3048 Jamie McCollum

The Occupy Movement Effectiveness

In the months following the initial occupation of Zucotti Park, the Occupy movement was described as the most important thing in the world right now (Klein 2011), an extremely exciting development ( Chomsky 2011: 24) and Immanuel Wallerstein suggested that Occupy was the most important political happening in the United States since the uprisings in 1968 (2011). But now, more than one year later has the movement lived up to its early promise? The fact that the Occupy movement has no clear demands or even short-term objectives makes it

extremely difficult to answer this question. However, with media reports claiming that Occupy movement is as good as dead5 and others hailing the fantastic success of

Occupy Wall Street (Wallerstein 2011), it is fair to suggest that real answer lies somewhere between these two

opinions. If you view the Occupy movement as an attempt to make those in power mend their wicked ways then it would be easy to side with those commentators believe that Occupy failed to achieve its goals. However, I believe

10

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The Occupy Movement

that the reports of its death are greatly exaggerated. The movement has created a space that has allow thousands of people to articulate their anger at both the greed of the corporate and financial sectors but also at the failure of representative politics, many of whom have never been involved in radical political movements before. Therefore, I agree with iek when he claims that Occupy has rediscover[ed] the radical imagination (2011), which in my view can only be a positive development. Furthermore, Chomsky has argued that the Occupy movement has helped to rebuild class solidarity and communities of mutual support6, which is necessary if those involved in with Occupy are seeking to unite the 99% against the 1%. Moreover, the consensus-based decision making model utilised by the movement has allowed activists to

experiment with this new form of prefigurative politics, this is crucial as it allows people to envision how the institutions of a new society could operate (Graeber 2011: 3). In addition, many activists involved with the movement that this form of participatory democracy has enabled them to feel empowered that their actions can make a 11

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difference and that their opinions are valid, which supports Sassens claim that the current wave of protests is allowing many people to alter how they percieve their powerlessness (2011: 574). Moreover, Chomsky has claimed that [t]he Occupy movements have been a remarkable success, theyve changed the national

discourse. They have introduced into public view crucial concerns that had been hidden (2012). This is reflected in the fact that during the 2nd Presidential Debate, President Obama paraphrased the Occupy movements rallying call (We are the 99%) to attack his rival Mitt Romney7. Similarly, in the UK, leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband has argued that the systems not working for the 99%8 which is clear indication that Occupys message is resonating with many people. So whilst it may be easy to dismiss the Occupy movement as a failure, it is important to remember that the movement has only existed for little over a year and already it has caught the attention of those in power. In fact just recently a senior official at the Bank of England has admitted that Occupy's voice had been loud and persuasive and that policymakers have 12

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listened9. So although, several of the camps have been served eviction notices and others have been forcibly removed, perhaps the Occupy movement is making an impact after all.

References
Chomsky, N. (2012). Occupy. London: Penguin Books. Graeber, D. (2011) Occupy Wall Streets anarchist roots. Published online at Aljazeera.com. Accessed on 10/06/12 at: www.aljazeera.com /indepth/opinion/2011/11 (2012) Enacting the Impossible: Making Decisions By Consensus) In Van Gelder, S. (ed.) This changes everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% movement. San Francisco :Berrett-Koehler Publishing. Gramsci, Antonio (1971). Selections from prison notebooks. London: Lawrence and Wishart. Gupta, A. & Fawcett, M. (2012) Inside the Occupy Movement. Published on The Progressive. Accessed online on 01/11/12 at: http://www.progressive.org/inside_occupy_movem ent.html Harcourt, B.E. (2012) Occupy Wall Streets Political Disobedience. Accessed online on 13/11/12 at:

13

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opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/ 10/13/occupy-wall-streets-political-disobedience/ Hardt, M. & Negri, A. (2011) The Fight for real democracy at the heart of Occupy Wall Street. Published online at Foreign affairs.com Accessed online on 01/06/12 at: www.foreignaffairs.com/ariticles/136399 Harvey, D. (2011) The Party of Wall Street Meets its Nemesis. Accessed online on 03/10/12 at: www.versobooks.com/blogs/777-david-harvey-theparty-of-wall-street-meets-its-nemesis Klein, N. (2011) Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important in the World Now. Published in The Nation on 6th October 2011. Accessed online on 03/07/12 at: www.naomiklein.org/articles/2011/10/occupy-wallstreet-most-important-thing-world-now Langman, L. (2012) Occupy: A new new social movement. Accessed online on 03/06/12 at: www.identidadcolectiva.es/pdf/From%20Social% 20to%20Political_Conference %20Proceedings(1).pdf#page=15 Pickerill, J. & Krinsky, J. (2012) Why Does Occupy Matter? Social Movement Studies : Journal of Social, Cultural and Political Protest, 11: 3-4, pp. 279287. Razsa, M & Kurnik, A. (2012) The Occupy Movement in Zizek's hometown: Direct democracy and the politics of becoming. American Ethnologist 39(2) pp. 238- 258. Sassen S (2011) The Global Street: Making the Political. In Globalizations. Vol. 8 (5) Accessed online on 28/06/2012 at: www.dx.doi.org / 10.1080/14747731.2011.622458 14

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Tilly, C. (1995). Popular Contention in Great Britain, 17581834. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Uitermark, J. and W. Nicholls (2012) How local networks shape a global movement. Comparing Occupy in Amsterdam and Los Angeles. Social Movement Studies : Journal of Social, Cultural and Political Protest, 11: 3-4, pp. 295-301. Wallerstein, I. (2011)The Fantastic Success of Occupy Wall Street. Accessed online on 28/06/12 at: http://www.iwallerstein.com/fantastic-successoccupy-wall-street/ iek, S. (2011). Occupy first. Demands come later. Published in The Guardian. Accessed online on 27/09/12 at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/o ct/26/ occupy-protesters-bill-clinton.

Notes

15

http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-

blog/occupywallstreet.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/oct/17/occupyprotests-world-list-map#data
2

http://occupywallst.org/forum/first-official-release-from-occupy-wallstreet/
3

Initial statement, in full, can be found at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/17/occupy-londonstock-exchange-occupylsx

4

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-ostroy/the-failure-of-occupywal_b_1558787.html
5

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/14/chomsky_occupy_wall_stre et _ has_created
6

http://useconomy.about.com/od/2012-Campaign/p/Second-2012Presidential-Debate-Summary.htm
7

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2011/nov/17/ed-miliband99-percent-speech-video
8

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/29/bank-of-englandoccupy-movement
9