Marx and the Occupy Wall Street Movement

Marx and the Occupy Wall Street Movement

DescriptionBackground. Marx and Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto not just to describe the rise of capitalism and the power of the bourgeoisie, but also to rally the working class behind a revolutionary program. Over a century later, after the end of the Cold War and the demise of most Communist regimes, Marx’s diagnosis of capitalism’s failures and his vision of Communism’s promise seemed like a dangerous fantasy. Yet today, even as capitalism undergoes global expansion, new groups of critics engage in resistance. One recent example is the Occupy Wall Streetmovement, which spread from the United States in 2011 to many other parts of the world. One of their famous slogansis: “We kick the ass of the ruling class.”
Purpose. The main purpose of this assignment is to help you evaluate the contemporary relevance of Marxist theory by applying it to a contemporary social movement. This will also help you understand the particulars of his claims in greater detail.
Assignment. Write a Manifesto of the Occupy Movement by adapting and updating the main ideas in the Communist Manifesto. If you wish, you may also mimic Marx’s passionate rhetorical style. Once again, I am interested in how well you can present these ideas from the movements’ point of view, notnecessarily your own. In your Manifesto, address the following:
• Assessment: How does contemporary capitalism compare to 19th century capitalism? Has it developed new strengths? Who controls it now, and how?
• Diagnosis: What’s wrong with contemporary capitalism? What social problems are associated with it? Who suffers from it?
• Advocacy: What specific reforms are necessary? What should (and will) your “ideal” society look like?
• Comparison: How does your “ideal” society compare to Marx’s original vision of socialism and/or communism? Are any of Marx’s reforms incompatible with your own?
Resources. In addition to reading the original Manifesto, you should do some research about Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy Movement. The Movement itself is very decentralized, by definition, which means there is no central place on the internet to find them – different Occupy groups have different sites. Nonetheless, there areplenty of new articles about them in major outlets, such as The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, etc. Be sure to properly citeall your sourcesin the text of your essayand list them in a bibliography.
Length: 4-5 pages (typed, 12-point font maximum, double-spaced, proofread/spellchecked)
Citations: in-text citations (author, page #); bibliography (author, date, title, source, link).