The Revolution Has Begun!!

In a chaotic, fractal, self-organizing, scale -less  and emerging manner, bearing all the characteristic of a complex entity, it is evident that : The Revolution Has Begun!! 

 

It emerged in Liberty Square (AKA Zuccotti Park) in New  York City on 17 September, 2011 and bore the name “Occupy Wall Street.:” The Occupy movement is now not only in the U.S., but has manifested itself in Canada,  Europe, Mexico and South America. as indicated by a recent map posted by the Guardian on 18 October 2011, (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/oct/18/occupy-protests-map-world .)  

What led up to this moment that has sparked the imagination of the world and is giving some glimmer of hope?  It was not overnight.  It had been building up for at least thirty years.  During this period of time,   the middle class was steadily being eroded; high productivity of workers was not shared by corporate entities, but went into the funds of financial institutions which lent the money back to the workers—essentially making most of the those in the developed world ‘economic slaves’ to the plutocracy;  manufacturing was being relocated to China and other developing countries making most of the developed world consumer economies; natural resources (including petroleum products) were being increasingly exploited; the environment was being further degraded; the rich became obscenely wealthy;  and democracy became to be dominated by a plutocracy composed of multi-national corporations and the “economic nobility (the 1%. )  All these actions which did not serve the majority of the world’s citizens, but brought about a financial collapse in 2008.  The impact of the actions of the plutocracy became evident to the global population.  There were warning signs and experts noted the eventual collapse, but the global economy and their citizens were both riding on the crest of unsustainable credit (deluding themselves that this would continue) that eventually and predictably broke down.  Because of the crisis, the world discovered that “the Emperor has no clothes” meaning that the global population had been blinded to the control that had been increasingly exerted by the global plutocracy over the majority.  Now, that the blinders are off, many people are wondering: What now? 

Meanwhile, the plutocracy, reacting to this crisis, is spinning into chaos unable to manage this crisis through normal means.  They are creating more debt and forcing austerity on the masses (not on the ‘economic nobility’ or the multinational which are getting richer) as solutions.  In the meantime, unemployment is increasing or stagnant, under-employment is increasing, foreclosures are increasing, more people are without health insurance and the majority are increasly seeing their incomes shrink. The  media (controlled by the plutocracy) is: treating this movement and the growing disenchantment with the plutocracy by not or minimally reporting the growing agitation or tainting it as dominated by radicals and malcontents, by  focusing on the Republican primaries whose candidates firmly and naively believe that high taxes, and government regulations including energy regulations are the problem, and by distracting the public by obsession with the gossip of celebrities (also part  of the One Percent), ‘human interest stories’ and crime.  (This Roman Empire used the same strategy. When the society was breaking down the games in the Coliseum became more violent and extravagant. ) 

The picture is becoming clear as to their reaction to the Occupy Movement. As all plutocracies have reacted in the past, the repression has now begun. On Tuesday morning of 15 November 2011,, Liberty Square was cleared by the NYPD for safety and sanitation reasons. Those that protested were arrested. They will be allowed back into the park,  but can not put up tents.  Other evictions are pending in other cities associated  with the Occupy Movement (see the Huffington Post of 15 November 2011:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/zuccotti-park-cleared-occupy-wall-street_n_1094313.html  .) This is a clear sign that the plutocracy is rearing up its head and will further inflict harm on those who oppose them.  The next phase of this movement is still developing, but it is unlikely that such repression will cause its demise, but will help it to grow.  The battle lines are being drawn, similar to the Civil Rights Movement, but this time it is global.

Soon, the public will have a new distraction.   The ‘saber rattling’ has begun over the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran. This was very apparent during the most recent Republican candidate debate held on 12 November 2011 when asked about a possible war with Iran over their acquisition of nuclear weapons. One can be certain that the Neo-Conservations , their associates such as the Koch brothers the military-industrial complex and the Israeli lobby were in the background encouraging and ‘feeding them their lines.”   (Also, this is a tried and true method by plutocracies throughout history-- when you are being attacked at home, create an enemy and start a war.  This is exactly what is happening in Iran and now the U.S. is now mirroring their stance. ) A war with Iran will fully collapse the political and economic systems of the U.S. and Europe by creating more debt. The U.S. and the globe will sink into a deep recession with enormous consequences to the political, social and economic chaos which may have disastrous consequences.  

Unfortunately, all these have events are mirrored  in other revolutions, such as the French, Russian, American and Chinese revolutions. However, on the other hand, there are recent examples of peaceful transitions in Egypt and Tunisia.   Earlier models would be the Velvet Revolution in former Czechoslovakia, the Solidarity Movement in Poland, the South African transition led by Nelson Mandela and the Indian War of Independence led by Mahatma Gandhi.   We have also been witnessed to peaceful movements such as the protests of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo in Argentina, the civil rights movement in the U.S. and The Occupy Movement has been adamantly stressing non-violence. The plutocracy knows how to deal with violence, but do not know how to deal adequately with peaceful protest and will consume itself trying.  Again, the outcome of this situation is unknown and could become violent. There are already indications that protestors will be the victims of the police forces around the world.  This will only change when the police lay down their arms and join the protestors. At this moment, it will become apparent that the movement is in full-swing and will not stop until there is a dramatic shift in how democracy and the global economic environment is structured.

This is an exciting time to be living and experiencing a truly global revolution.  The message is simple: The One Percent has ‘occupied’ the Ninety-Nine Percent.   Although this is a simple message, the underlying environment is complex and fraught with questions.  As stated in my beginning statement, the Occupy Movement has all the characteristics of a complex entity…particularly of a fractal.  The rules of the fractal have been established in the Occupy Movement and have started to manifest itself in the society at large around the world.  As with any fractal, it grows and is scale-less feed by the iteration of its initial rules.  It also has taken on the characteristic of a networked fractal which is constantly changing due to feedback.  What will be the result of this emerging fractal is uncertain at this time.  Will a set of demands be made?  Will leaders emerge?  Will there be new political parties formed?   These and other questions still lie waiting to be answered.  One thing is certain, the answers will not come from the existing global leaders or organization such as the G-20, WTO, UN, European Union or any think tanks.

If this blog is about urbanization and particularly concerning the complexity of urban relationships, why am I discussing the Occupy Movement?  It is because that I believe that the Occupy Movement will have an effect on urban living, structure and governance.  How will  urbanism will change globally due to this up swell of public dissatisfaction with the plutocracy?  In future blogs. I will explore how income disparity, employment, sustainability, democracy and governance can be handled given the precepts that are being established by the growing Occupy Movement.