<nettime> no more bubble gum?

[allan siegel <allan@allansiegel.info>]

Mike Davis' excitement is warranted but his argument strays wide of  
the mark and is finally contradictory. Which Occupy the World  
Movement is he referring to? And, whose "anger remains on Gandhian  
low heat." If movements in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Rome etc... are  
part of this OWM they have never quite seemed to be on 'low heat' -  
far from it. While there may be a certain form of universality that  
crosses borders, electronically and otherwise, and fuels outrage  
there are quite different, and important characteristics that  
distinguish one movement from another. To conflate them seems to  
mimic the rhetoric and reductionism of MSM.

Further, as Davis states, to:

"(i.e. reclaim the Commons). The veteran Bronx activist-historian
Mark Naison has proposed a bold plan for converting the derelict
and abandoned spaces of New York into survival resources (gardens,
campsites, playgrounds) for the unsheltered and unemployed."

Yes, this is precisely the kind of micro strategy that repositions  
people's lives at the most fundamental level (Naison's strategy is in  
fact working in various cities throughout the world).

but then Davis goes on to say that, "The great issue is not raising  
taxes on the rich or achieving a better regulation of banks.
It?s economic democracy: the right of ordinary people to make
macro-decisions about social investment, interest rates, capital
flows, job creation, and global warming. If the debate isn?t about
economic power, it?s irrelevant."

If you don't understand 'economic power' pack your bags because this  
movement is not for you - what simplistic rubbish; we're used to one  
dimensional slogans and platitudes coming from 'ruling elites' -  
along with their self-perpetuating solutions to major social problems  
(which are not just financial) - so, when a progressive/leftist  
starts reducing things to 'great issues' there is a serious problem  
of analysis and vision.


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