Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Globalization of Protest
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/stiglitz144/English
2011-11-04
The Globalization of Protest
Joseph E. Stiglitz
NEW YORK – The protest movement that began in Tunisia in January, subsequently spreading to Egypt, and then to Spain, has now become global, with the protests engulfing Wall Street and cities across America. Globalization and modern technology now enables social movements to transcend borders as rapidly as ideas can. And social protest has found fertile ground everywhere: a sense that the "system" has failed, and the conviction that even in a democracy, the electoral process will not set things right – at least not without strong pressure from the street.
In May, I went to the site of the Tunisian protests; in July, I talked to Spain's indignados; from there, I went to meet the young Egyptian revolutionaries in Cairo's Tahrir Square; and, a few weeks ago, I talked with Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York. There is a common theme, expressed by the OWS movement in a simple phrase: "We are the 99%."
That slogan echoes the title of an article that I recently published, entitled "Of the 1%, for the 1%, and by the 1%," describing the enormous increase in inequality in the United States: 1% of the population controls more than 40% of the wealth and receives more than 20% of the income. And those in this rarefied stratum often are rewarded so richly not because they have contributed more to society – bonuses and bailouts neatly gutted that justification for inequality – but because they are, to put it bluntly, successful (and sometimes corrupt) rent-seekers.
This is not to deny that some of the 1% have contributed a great deal. Indeed, the social benefits of many real innovations (as opposed to the novel financial "products" that ended up unleashing havoc on the world economy) typically far exceed what their innovators receive.
But, around the world, political influence and anti-competitive practices (often sustained through politics) have been central to the increase in economic inequality. And tax systems in which a billionaire like Warren Buffett pays less tax (as a percentage of his income) than his secretary, or in which speculators, who helped to bring down the global economy, are taxed at lower rates than those who work for their income, have reinforced the trend.
Research in recent years has shown how important and ingrained notions of fairness are. Spain's protesters, and those in other countries, are right to be indignant: here is a system in which the bankers got bailed out, while those whom they preyed upon have been left to fend for themselves. Worse, the bankers are now back at their desks, earning bonuses that amount to more than most workers hope to earn in a lifetime, while young people who studied hard and played by the rules see no prospects for fulfilling employment.
The rise in inequality is the product of a vicious spiral: the rich rent-seekers use their wealth to shape legislation in order to protect and increase their wealth – and their influence. The US Supreme Court, in its notorious Citizens United decision, has given corporations free rein to use their money to influence the direction of politics. But, while the wealthy can use their money to amplify their views, back on the street, police wouldn't allow me to address the OWS protesters through a megaphone.
The contrast between overregulated democracy and unregulated bankers did not go unnoticed. But the protesters are ingenious: they echoed what I said through the crowd, so that all could hear. And, to avoid interrupting the "dialogue" by clapping, they used forceful hand signals to express their agreement.
They are right that something is wrong about our "system." Around the world, we have underutilized resources – people who want to work, machines that lie idle, buildings that are empty – and huge unmet needs: fighting poverty, promoting development, and retrofitting the economy for global warming, to name just a few. In America, after more than seven million home foreclosures in recent years, we have empty homes and homeless people.
The protesters have been criticized for not having an agenda. But this misses the point of protest movements. They are an expression of frustration with the electoral process. They are an alarm.
The anti-globalization protests in Seattle in 1999, at what was supposed to be the inauguration of a new round of trade talks, called attention to the failures of globalization and the international institutions and agreements that govern it. When the press looked into the protesters' allegations, they found that there was more than a grain of truth in them. The trade negotiations that followed were different – at least in principle, they were supposed to be a development round, to make up for some of the deficiencies highlighted by protesters – and the International Monetary Fund subsequently undertook significant reforms.
So, too, in the US, the civil-rights protesters of the 1960's called attention to pervasive institutionalized racism in American society. That legacy has not yet been overcome, but the election of President Barack Obama shows how far those protests moved America.
On one level, today's protesters are asking for little: a chance to use their skills, the right to decent work at decent pay, a fairer economy and society. Their hope is evolutionary, not revolutionary. But, on another level, they are asking for a great deal: a democracy where people, not dollars, matter, and a market economy that delivers on what it is supposed to do.
The two are related: as we have seen, unfettered markets lead to economic and political crises. Markets work the way they should only when they operate within a framework of appropriate government regulations; and that framework can be erected only in a democracy that reflects the general interest – not the interests of the 1%. The best government that money can buy is no longer good enough.
Joseph E. Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University, a Nobel laureate in economics, and the author of Freefall: Free Markets and the Sinking of the Global Economy.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2011.
www.project-syndicate.org
For a podcast of this commentary in English, please use this link:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/projectsyndicate/stiglitz144.mp3
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Followers
Blog Archive
-
▼
2011
(8499)
-
▼
November
(1134)
- रीटेल एफ डी आई से कारोबार पर विदेशी पूंजी काबिज और...
- ‘MINDCONTROL’ AND ELECTRONIC WEAPONS - VICTIMS' OR...
- Welcome to the world of corporate psychopaths
- Financial 'vultures' poised to swoop on Africa thr...
- MEDVEDEV: RUSSIA SERVES NOTICE November 28, 2011 B...
- Nepal Updates
- Statement Condemning Repression Against Anti POSCO...
- he GOP’s Middle Class Tax Increase
- F-22s Gobble Up More Billions
- Adivasi Bounded Labour Killed,No Justice yet.-Than...
- US war against Pakistan?
- PIL to Register FIR Against Mukesh Ambani, RIL
- The lawsuit that could end the gangster rule of We...
- Throw These Cooking Oils in the Trash
- Retail FDI: The Calculations and Compulsions..
- Manual scavengers poster -READ
- Irula Tribe women sexualy abused by Police - Tiruk...
- Sr. Valsa case with the National Commission for Women
- Oh The aggressors! Oh The killers of the Innocent ...
- MY AUSTRIA VISIT AND PROJECT OF HOPE Asghar Ali En...
- Fwd: BAMCEF & RMS 28TH N.C. 24TH TO 28TH DEC 2011,...
- Fwd: [OrissaConcerns] Statement on the Repression ...
- Fwd: declare aadhaar illegal, pleads suit - bangal...
- Fwd: [bangla-vision] FD News and an important action
- Fwd: हस्तक्षेप.कॉम चल अन्ना घर आपने रेन भई यह देश…
- Fwd: Tom Burghardt: Target Iran - Washington's Cou...
- Fwd: Kanimozhee bhee Kaanee ho Gayee!
- Fwd: Truth behind the appeal to Hindus - One secon...
- Fwd: (Desiyatra)-- Sharad slap unites Indian polit...
- Fwd: Today's Exclusives - Controversial stock oper...
- In Tamil Nadu’s southern districts, prisoners are ...
- Fishy Friends By Nigar Ataulla
- Rapid Haramikaran Of India - Growth Rate Food 2%, ...
- Dalit labourer dies, nephew alleges he was beaten
- Water politics in the Jordan River basin
- Dr. Bhupen Hazarika honoured in London - 1999
- declare aadhaar illegal, pleads suit - bangalore, ...
- DGP Mr. BR Lall – Crusader Against ‘Black Money’ N...
- The glimpses of Post FDI in retail
- Anand Sharma writes to parties clarifying FDI stance
- The Miqati Government in Lebanon – Continued Subju...
- Miami-protest spokesman led 'Nuke Israel' rally
- Why not open debate on Holocaust?+Capitalism under...
- Discussion on Karnataka Guarantee of Services to C...
- Statue of Liberty – an Egyptian Peasant Lady?
- Moroccan opposition warns of silent majority
- De Jager talks tough as he heads to Berlin for tal...
- Debt Crisis Belgium under the tutelage of Brussels?
- Eurobond talk should not be 'taboo', Monti tells V...
- Will Global Financial Demolition Lead To New World...
- Would uranium sales to India breach a key Labor tr...
- Fwd: [Occupy Kolkata] i know casteism in india is ...
- Fwd: [Marxistindia] CPI(M) Supports Traders Call f...
- Fwd: Julie Lévesque: Protest in Syria: Media Lies ...
- Fwd: [Occupy Delhi] IN 1886-94, DURING THE SANTHAL...
- Fwd: [Occupy Delhi] PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC STUDENT...
- Bangladesh: International anti-imperialism conference
- 5,000,000 North East Indian Migrations Expected in...
- Prosecutor: Reagan, Bush not criminally liable
- LIVING IN GERMANY
- Occupy Everywhere: Michael Moore, Naomi Klein on N...
- The People's Surveillance State
- Washington's $8 Billion Shadow
- Where Does Occupy Wall Street Go From Here? ...a p...
- Israel's technology or its politics that the minis...
- Targeted Individual due for execution unless we dr...
- FDI in Retail for 99% Indians – Vendors, Farmers, ...
- HUNDREDS RALLY IN MUZAFFARABAD AGAINST MFN STATUS ...
- KSA: Thousands in Eastern Province Chant Death to ...
- LIBYA: Thousands accused of Gaddafi links held by ...
- RSS A pure religion- LIKE SIKHS/Jaina/ BUDHA/= wit...
- Dead Man Talking: More Fake Encounters in Gujarat
- 21st Greatest Sikh Traitor Parkash Chand Badal ina...
- Up to 25 Pak soldiers dead in NATO chopper attack
- Abhay Sahu, leader of anti-POSCO movement arrested
- login immediately Meshram saheb speaking
- Nuclear emergency in Japan: lessons for India
- DRUM- Desis Rising Up & Moving
- World's Largest and Longest Invisible War
- Regards to PIL- Chinese expert praises Indian courts-
- Non-discrimination and Equality in India Contestin...
- Akal Takht, SGPC condemn slapping of Sharad Pawar
- Urbanization key to speedy growth: RBI governor
- Egypt's economy slumps under weight of unrest
- FDI decision taken to help Rahul's foreign friends...
- Kishenji's body identified by niece
- aviation crisis News Stories
- KISHENJI SPECIAL Calcutta Corner Why is Mamata Ban...
- Bring the spice back The men have left the Sunderb...
- Maoists allege fake encounter PRONAB MONDAL
- Blunted: Maoist peril & CPM slur - CM scores twin ...
- Hunt for Suchitra yields purse NARESH JANA
- State to fly Kishan’s body home if identified by n...
- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111126/jsp/frontpag...
- Egg on the face of fake Tagore champions - All 20 ...
- State steps up border vigil Police escort for fore...
- Kishan wily, govt wilier Parivartan and penetratio...
- Reforms Drive is in Topmost Gear Now in Absence of...
- Fog effect: 28 trains to remain cancelled for two ...
- ISHRAT JAHAN: MURDER IN COLD BLOOD Ram Puniyani
-
▼
November
(1134)
No comments:
Post a Comment