Pundits broadly criticize the Occupy Wall Street movement for its lack of coherent messaging. These observers do not understand digital startups, which are designed to reinvent themselves or "pivot" quickly in order to meet the needs of their users. Pivot or die is the mantra of the startup venture. The startup is always in perpetual "beta" -- a work in progress with a readily mutable business plan.
In order to build a modern, sustainable social movement, the Occupy Wall Street movement must function like an innovative startup venture and learn to pivot, to distribute control and to evolve substantively, while sustaining its core theme. And, contrary to its framing by the mainstream media, there is an underlying theme at the heart of this multi-issued Venn diagram of the Occupy Wall Street Movement -- government must answer to its citizens not its corporations.
The substantive issues of concern to the Occupy Wall Street subgroups -- from the environment to health care to race relations to economic justice -- are, at best, secondary and should evolve according to the consensus of the people. Like an online platform built for public discourse, the content of the forum is not as important as building the functional platform. Occupy Wall Street is providing a platform -- a user-friendly forum -- in which we may engage in civic discourse, and develop the processes and policies that might govern a modern democracy. The content and substantive issues are transitory, but the platform and process reform issues are sustainable.
As far as I can see, Occupy Wall Street is creating a functional, distributed platform upon which we all might answer the most daunting, intractable questions of our times, and I've participated in virtually every American-born political or social movement since I was born -- first as a "red diaper baby" on my parents' backs during the civil rights protests of the '60s, as a young environmentalist and peace activist in grade school, as an anti-apartheid, South Africa divesture activist in college, as a Lawyers' Guild mass defender during the Presidential Convention protests of the 90s and '00s, as a member of the Obama tech policy committee in 2008 (during which time we pioneered the use of social media to build a national, user-generated, grassroots campaign), and now as a tech law professor amidst the first digitally-powered, grassroots civic movement.
We are witnessing the birth of a new, sustainable, non-hierarchical, pivotable movement, run by a new generation, with digital tools, capabilities, processes and flexibilities that the analog world -- and its old, corporate and political, guard -- cannot yet process. The digital generation, coming of age with the PC and the Internet, understands how to harness digital technology, the Internet, and information flow to make government answerable to the people. They have already harnessed these tools to transform every other industry, service, system and community ... except civics. They, however, have seen their contemporary counterparts in the Middle East harness these tools for even more dramatic civic transformation.
We've seen the Internet and digital natives flatten hierarchies, empower participants, disintermediate existing industry structures and processes. All they've had to do is pose the question "What if" to any industry, service or issue before them. The old guard's response has been "Yeah, but ...." The digital generation's response is always "Why not?" These digital natives have already transformed media, television, film, music, and telephony. Civics will not be exempt.
We, however, have seen the degeneration of noble causes co-opted and compromised by egos and entrenched interests reframing the message to wage tangential battles at the expense of the root mission. We saw it most recently with the Tea Party movement, which arguably started as an assault on what members of the Tea Party viewed as government's warped economic priorities and now has been largely co-opted by "coherent" special interests like the Christian Right.
Substantive issues aside, there is much that would unite the root mission of the Tea Party with that of Occupy Wall Street and their overlapping goal -- to create a modern, functional democracy, answerable to the citizens. If we allow the digital natives to build the platform for civic engagement, then we, the people from across the political spectrum, may populate that platform with our ideas and let the power of the online collaborative marketplace digest, synthesize, evaluate and prioritize the merits of our individual and collective ideas.
I stand in awe of what the digital startups have done to every industry. I stand in awe as these digital pioneers turn their attention and powers to politics and civic engagement. With that "What if" and "Why not" attitude, they then disrupt and transform and, ultimately, make whatever they touch more functional and responsive to users. The "What If" Generation (or the "Why Not Generation" if you prefer) has the tools and the vision to reimagine our democracy, and to give us the platform to make government more responsive to its people.
Follow Jonathan Askin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaskin
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when the powers that be resort to violence they have already lost the war - they might have won the battle but they lost the hearts and minds of the people, its only a matter of time... the occupy movement and the movements around the world know they can't lose because they are fighting for their lives and the powers that be represents a failed system of top down system of management built on distrust and cronyism, the apparatchik sunk the US of R and cronyism is sinking the US of A where big biz is king, government is queen and media and religion are the mistress - food for thought
Yes sir, as clear as day there and people need to unify in this message :(
Okay here it is…. The Super Committee is going to come up with a plan shortly. Now, lets say there are 100 items on the Super Committee’s list. As each item on the list is agreed to unanimously by 100% of the democrats and republicans, that one item goes into the WE Party Committee (www.weparty.info). The WE Party only looks at what we do have in common and has nothing to do with what WE don’t have in common.
This WE Party Committee is about moving forward with 100% collective consciousness on what we do have in commom and collectively works on ways we can move forward together. The WE Party Mentor is an online volunteer (www.wepartymentor.info) that helps and inspires others online in a variety of ways. The WE Party Mentors (www.wepartymentors.info) often have WE PARTIES (www.weparties.info) to help and inspire others.
In regard to Occupy Wall Street, the WE Party can help here too! Using the same Pass It Forward Philosophy (www.pifphilosophy.info), we can work item for item and one by one create WE Party Committee’s to help us move forward.
So how to you stop this merry-go-round of corruption. Use the power of the people and their votes to throw everyone who caters to the corporations out on the street; its time they look for the jobs that are not there!
Vote in adults (not like the infants we have now) who are willing to do what is right for the 99% (I have a feeling the 1% will still be OK).
Less than 1/2 of Americans actually vote...which means there are easily enough votes to force Congress to listen to us. What they don't want you to know or figure out, is that MOST of us have more in common than we think. Yes, we have 10-20% that we don't agree on...so put those non-economic issues aside and vote on "kitchen table issues" such as affordable health care, education, housing, keeping social security and other basic human needs.
And..Hit em' where it hurts. Take your MONEY out of the larger corporate banks and move it into the local credit unions...that will shake them up!!! And support OWS in any way you can...
http://www.nycga.net/how-to-help/ PASS IT ON...support OWS!
Our best wishes and prayers are with the movement.
OWS is not confined to a generation it just happens to encompass the views that are largely shared among Generation Y'ers and those from older generations that were ahead of their time in terms of thinking.
We don't mind you getting rich. We just don't think you should be able to cheat to do it.
And yes regulation is a part of the required actions but other things are as well such as investing money in basic US infrastructure that has been ignored for decades. Its so pathetic that we can build schools, roads, bridges, and hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan without even considering the cost but when it comes to building something in the US that is considered a waste of money.
If we redefine profit, folks that want to be competitive can do so, but on sustainable terms. Several folks have come up with realistic descriptions of what a Caring and Compassionate Economy would look like. I recommend Riane Eisler's The Real Wealth of Nations as a good read.
You are attempting to claim OWS as the first post-modern revolution: no definition, no clarity, no leaders, no agreement, no goals, no shared principles - just a flood of energy and idealism and emotion.
The problem with that idea is that nothing defined, clear or REAL will - or can - come from it. That may delight the post-modernists but it is essentially worthless and pointless after the first few euphoric weeks.
The analogy with start-ups is certainly trendy and clever, but in fact utterly inapplicable as this is being played out on world stage and it is absolutely necessary to attract the majority. This chance is already lost, because all of that vague emotionalism and togetherness is playing as 1968 without Viet Nam or a goal. And they are making life miserable for anyone who dares to get in their way and challenge them.
The recent news from London and the disgusting treatment of St. Paul's is just another hit for the worldwide 'movement'. Now even Christianity is the enemy - and while the malicious anti-religious angle is the very latest in left-wing cleverness, the majority find it repulsive.
Start-ups may be a mess when they start but if there is no product then the start-up implodes, and all of that good feeling and energy has to go somewhere else.
Wanting more without earning it isn't a sustainable theme without the willingness to work for it.
The OWS is doomed by their own unwillingness to innovate and work.
The Federal Constitution of 1788 did not mention corporations.
The most damaging is the 2010 Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
What I do not understand is a corporation can be partially or even, fully owned by a foreigner, a foreign corporation or even, another country and give, by the “Citizens United” ruling unlimited funds and undue, unjustified and excessively influence on our local, state and national elections.
And by extrapolation, legislation, taxation and governance.
- "TK"
There are definite goals, demands and it is far from simply hype.
But I can see YOU believe the hype YOU'VE been sold!