Abstract

Note: Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has been the first large-scale, ideologically diverse and spreading protests since the 1970s in the US. On September 17, 2012, protesters assembled near the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate the first anniversary of OWS. In the meantime, marches and rallies were held in more than 30 cities worldwide. Demonstrators protested social injustice ignited by insatiable corporate greed of banks and financial institutions like Wall Street and the protesters are still angry over issues such as that their homes are underwater, that the economy is in disarray due to the ineffective supervision of the American government. To view OWS in a clearer and deeper sense, Xinning Zhang interviewed Prof. James Craven at Clark College, Vancouver.On Developments of the OWS over the Past One YearXinning Zhang: Dear Prof. James Craven, thanks for your responses to my questions on the first anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. As we see it, since it began on September 17, 2011, OWS has been viewed as an anti-capitalist protest; or as a broad-front and leftist protest, targeting the likes of the American Tea Party. Parallels are sometimes given with other movements in terms of demonstrations organized by mostly young people, with advanced social networking technology, to show their dissatisfaction on a wide range of issues such as those raised in the so-called Arab Spring demonstrations or in the protests against high unemployment in Madrid. Participants typically range from the unemployed, college students, babysitters, nurses, bus drivers, to general employees, etc. Political paradigms range from liberals, middle-of-the-roaders, socialists and some types of conservatives, to anarchists and libertarians. How can we understand the various claims, paradigms as well as forms and levels of participation of the diverse protesters?James Craven: First of all I still see no evidence of a real Movement-yet- only a Moment; or, perhaps, several Moments, linked mostly by a common label across the country, with some demonstrations on symbolic dates mostly of significance to commemorate previous actions and/or that have mostly been conferred as significant by the mainstream media [MSM]. And I do not see strong parallels yet between the OWS Movement and the Arab Spring demonstrations or demonstrators on several levels. I do not believe that many of those in OWS could or would be capable of facing the levels of violence and state repression that those in the Arab Spring demonstrations have faced. In places like Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and other places the level of state violence and repression are far beyond anything the typical OWS protester has ever faced.Many of the Arab Spring demonstrations are focused against regimes that were installed, supported, protected by US imperialism; regimes that, by the way, were once trusted to act as destinations for accused terrorists under Extraordinary Rendition by the CIA. They were chosen for outsourcing torture forbidden by US law while also being targeted in some cases for [as alleged regimes (e.g., Libya and Syria) that routinely carry out torture they were sent prisoners by the US government (USG) to do what the USG claimed was a reason for wanting regime change-torture]. Yet many of those involved in regime change among the Arab Spring protesters and insurgents are still begging the same forces of U.S. imperialism for support, appealing to American-style democracy and human rights that were behind installing and/or protecting and collaborating with the very regimes they want to change. And the demonstrators involved in the Arab Spring demonstrations, among whom Al Qaeda elements are surfacing and taking control, are not pro-democracy, pluralists, or whatever; many are not expressing anti-capitalist or even anti-imperialist sentiments or demands so much as for simple regime change and reform to some system as yet unspecified in any detail. …

Highlights

  • Note: Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has been the first large-scale, ideologically diverse and spreading protests since the 1970s in the US

  • Demonstrators protested social injustice ignited by insatiable corporate greed of banks and financial institutions like Wall Street and the protesters are still angry over issues such as that their homes are underwater, that the economy is in disarray due to the ineffective supervision of the American government

  • James Craven, thanks for your responses to my questions on the first anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. Since it began on September 17, 2011, OWS has been viewed as an anti-capitalist protest; or as a broad-front and leftist protest, targeting the likes of the American Tea Party

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Summary

James Craven and Xinning Zhang

Note: Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has been the first large-scale, ideologically diverse and spreading protests since the 1970s in the US. On September 17, 2012, protesters assembled near the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate the first anniversary of OWS. Marches and rallies were held in more than 30 cities worldwide. Demonstrators protested social injustice ignited by insatiable corporate greed of banks and financial institutions like Wall Street and the protesters are still angry over issues such as that their homes are underwater, that the economy is in disarray due to the ineffective supervision of the American government. To view OWS in a clearer and deeper sense, Xinning Zhang interviewed Prof.

On Developments of the OWS over the Past One Year
Central Contradictions of Capitalism
Findings
Development and Direction of the Movement
Full Text
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