Here's what the "Occupy" movement should do...
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 8:08 pm
Well, the recent actions in New York, LA and other cities have pretty much ended the physical manifestation of the "Occupy" movement. I suspect we'll hear from people who claim to speak for them, and see calls to action in the name of "Occupy" (like "moveon"), but their 15 minutes are effectively over.
And all that fuss without accomplishing a single golldarn thing.
Now, I'm no "Occupier", but here's what they should have done (and could do). Granted, it would take some form of consensus and organization, but if they can get over their aversion to anything resembling an organization, it could work.
First, they would have to focus on a few key characteristics of banks, corporations, educational institutions, politicians etc. that they find most objectionable. Then, they could "certify" the entities that meet these criteria. Then, people who choose to support the movement can support banks, corporations, colleges and politicians that are "OWS Certified".
As people chose to support "OWS Certified" entities, this would provide an ironically free-market solution to the problems they have identified. They could even have certification levels, so low-rated businesses, colleges and politicians could be avoided (or preferred by anti-OWS'ers).
If they could actually create such a program, I suspect it could work really well. Until it combusted a few years later in a flurry of corruption, scandal and hypocrisy, leaving an empty shell to be co-opted by the labor unions and environmentalist movement.
And all that fuss without accomplishing a single golldarn thing.
Now, I'm no "Occupier", but here's what they should have done (and could do). Granted, it would take some form of consensus and organization, but if they can get over their aversion to anything resembling an organization, it could work.
First, they would have to focus on a few key characteristics of banks, corporations, educational institutions, politicians etc. that they find most objectionable. Then, they could "certify" the entities that meet these criteria. Then, people who choose to support the movement can support banks, corporations, colleges and politicians that are "OWS Certified".
As people chose to support "OWS Certified" entities, this would provide an ironically free-market solution to the problems they have identified. They could even have certification levels, so low-rated businesses, colleges and politicians could be avoided (or preferred by anti-OWS'ers).
If they could actually create such a program, I suspect it could work really well. Until it combusted a few years later in a flurry of corruption, scandal and hypocrisy, leaving an empty shell to be co-opted by the labor unions and environmentalist movement.