Please follow the Link below:
http://www.cynicaltimes.org/articles/former-diplomat-sees-seeds-of-participatory-democracy-in-ows/
This week in class we talked about Global Inequalities and Privilege. The wealthy in America only make up a small percentage of the nations wealthy. The government has more say in our wealth than we have of ourselves. Just like Mrs. Brown in the Jamaica article, although it was for her to make ends meet, she was prideful in making sure that something was done about the wealth of her country.
“There is nothing certain about the future, save that it is our actions that will create it and that others are already exploiting our inaction. It is no longer sufficient to appeal to government to put things right; a corrupted system will not reform itself.”
World poverty is something that cannot be solved in one night. It does not mean that we cannot do anything about it. As Americans we tend to forget the privileges we have over other countries. But less we forget the poverty in America we cannot solve the world problem.
Casey, could you please clarify what you are asking in this prompt? I'm afraid I don't quite understand.
ReplyDeleteI also would like a bit more explanation on what we need to respond to in order to make a more in depth post later.
ReplyDeleteFor now, I will say that I agree with the author of this article in that Occupy Wall Street represents a group that, like I mentioned in a previous post about classism in America, realized the dangers and problems with capitalism and are calling for a different, more equitable system. When I commented a few weeks back about how to rid our society of the structural violence associated with poverty and its connection to capitalism, it was challenged with the idea that (my paraphrase here:) because this is America and we are capitalist, things will always be economically unfair. I counter that belief using the article Casey posted as evidence of people who, like myself, believe that the United States and capitalism don't have to go hand in hand. We've read and acknowledged that domestically and globally, the way our economy works is by creating separation of wealth, exploiting the poor, providing privileges to the wealthiest tier and disadvantages those in the lowest classes. Occupy protesters don't believe this is the only way for our government and economy to function, and neither do I. By calling for change with their actions, the Occupy-ers are at least doing something more than talking about change. They recognize it and are demanding that we change the way the system works. Until more citizens do the same, we can't rely on our politicians to make the change for us.
I will just comment on the article in general. I agree with many of the arguments of both the author and the occupy movement. I think that the policies that have been enacted by our government, especially since the era of Reagan-omics and the 'trickle down' theory, have been benefiting the wealthy and elite. America is an interesting example because we are taught to think that lobbying against government policy and tax cuts for the wealthy corporations is 'anti-american'. Some how by merely questioning why it is that the wealthiest in the country pay an extremely lower percentage in taxes than I do as a struggling college student, labels me as someone asking for a hand-out? I am not and have never asked for a handout, I am talking about equality. If anything the top one percent is receiving a handout now. I agree with Sarah that the United States and capitalism do not necessarily go hand in hand. The United States (while I believe will always be based on capitalism) would benefit from better education, universal healthcare, and a tax system that benefits all Americans not just those with access to dirty politicians and their campaign funds. One thing that I do not agree with is when the author of the article calls for more participatory democracy as the way to more equal and fair governance. I think that the United States' founding fathers were smart when they came up with the decision to have a representative government. I think that often the majority can be repressive. In California the Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal to outlaw gay marriage. When put up to a referendum the citizens of California voted 51-49 that gay marriage should be outlawed. It has since been overturned by the federal court. But it shows that if the checks and balances were not in place the marginalized groups would be further repressed by the majority. I do not think that this is the best way. I think that the policies of Washington do need to change. I believe that the Occupy movement has the right idea. Normal Americans do hold power when we come together. As voters it doesn't matter how many dollars a corporation has given a candidate if we do not vote for that candidate. There needs to be tax reform with a progressive payroll tax that will give all Americans the benefits of globalization. There needs to be reform in tax cuts so that businesses that take their jobs, etc over seas will no longer receive tax breaks. There needs to be better protection for workers, and the education system needs to be fixed. We are falling behind in comparison to other developed countries and the income gap and education gap are a majority of the problem.
ReplyDelete@ Bre Just Follow the other peoples comments they are in the direction I was trying to go in. Im sorry for the prompt I was really not myself last week mentally so please forgive me for that.
ReplyDeleteLike Sarah and Carly, I also agree with the author of this article. I like how they describe the wealthy in relation to our global economy's broken system: "the one percent who benefit from this disorder." This distinction puts a focus on the poorer people of America, just as Casey pointed out. Also, it is nice to see that people are willing to actually sleep on the streets and go without showers in order to stand up for what they believe in. In a way, they are a large-scale American version of Ms. Beulah Brown, doing everything they can in order to make ends meet and change things for the better (for themselves and for future generations) (Harrison). The activism of the OWS-ers also displays that as privilege becomes more apparent in our society, we should do more to recognize and change it. We should be eliminating the "luxury of obliviousness" by examining how our government and finances are affecting not only our economy, but those of other countries as well (Schwalbe 603). First, however, (and as Casey points out), we must fix our own capitalist society, and by starting small (local), the author suggests that we can take back what we have lost: control.
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