I have now reached the point where I may indicate briefly what to me constitutes the essence of the crisis in our time. It concerns the relationship of the individual to society. The individual has become more conscious than ever of his dependence upon society. But he does not experience this dependence as a positive asset, as an organic tie, as a protective force, but rather as a threat to his natural rights, or even to his economic existence. Moreover, his position in society is such that the egotistical drives of his make-up are constantly being accentuated, while his social drives, which are by nature weaker, progressively deteriorate. All human beings, whatever their position in society, are suffering from this process of deterioration. Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived of the naive, simple and unsophisticated enjoyment of life. Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society.” – Albert Einstein, 1949 A Mutually Responsible Economy? In essence, we already know what a mutually responsible economy looks like. It is the economy that exists within the family. In the family, each person operates according to need and merit. There is the mother, father, children, and the extended family. Each operates according to a particular role: The baby, the mother, the father, grandparent, etc. These roles then are further broken down. The baby is, “helpless,” “precious,” “in need of protection.” The father is perhaps the “bread winner,” the mother, “the caregiver,” etc. To contemplate what form an economy based on mutually responsibility would look like, where...
The Beginning Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Boston, Occupy LA, Occupy New Jersey, occupy… Where did it come from, this notion that for so many became the wind of change? It lifted the hopes and desires of thousands of people and blew them toward Liberty Plaza that for three months became home to a new society – the Wall Street society. Whatever it was that triggered this movement, it was fast and powerful, and grew to be a unique, historic phenomenon that America had hardly seen before. It was as if some invisible force was tugging at people’s hearts, pulling them into the whirlpool of the events instilled by their aspirations for social justice, security, and ultimate freedom, the freedom to simply be. What was this force and is it still present? Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is a protest movement which began on September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park (located in New York City’s Wall Street financial district), it was initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters. The protests were against social and economic inequality, high unemployment, greed, corruption, and the undue influence of corporations—particularly from the financial services sector—on government. The protesters’ slogan We are the 99% refers to the growing income and wealth inequality in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. The protests in New York City have sparked similar protests around the world. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, “Occupy Wall Street”) The movement was inspired by the Egyptian Tahrir Square uprising and the Spanish acampadas. The protesters vowed not only to end the “monied corruption” of the country but to also stand...
