A lot of people have criticised the Occupy movement, both in Cork and around the world, for its lack of a clear programme of demands. We say that the primary achievement of the movement so far has been to open up a new political space for debate on the massive issues facing us all. And the lack of demands are not by accident – as Charles Eisenstein explains below, ‘No Demand is Big Enough’.
“Occupy Wall Street has been criticised for its lack of clear demands, but how do we issue demands, when what we really want is nothing less than the more beautiful world our hearts tell us is possible? No demand is big enough. We could make lists of demands for new public policies: tax the wealthy, raise the minimum wage, protect the environment, end the wars, regulate the banks. While we know these are positive steps, they aren’t quite what motivated people to occupy Wall Street. What needs attention is something deeper: the power structures, ideologies, and institutions that prevented these steps from being taken years ago; indeed, that made these steps even necessary. Our leaders are beholden to impersonal forces, such as that of money, that compel them to do what no sane human being would choose. Disconnected from the actual effects of their policies, they live in a world of insincerity and pretense. It is time to bring a countervailing force to bear, and not just a force but a call. Our message is, “Stop pretending. You know what to do. Start doing it.”
We are creating room where people can talk about inequality without being tied down to any specific ideology or solution – this idea of democracy is at the heart of what we are working towards. Our first steps have been to create a participatory democratic space for discussion and debate on the problems that affect our lives. First among these is our lack of economic and political control over so many of the decisions that affect us. A change of government has brought little change in policy. By taking these steps, we are building a movement which says this must not be so, that making a mark to choose your leaders once every five years isn’t nearly enough to be called democracy. This space is something different, where decision making is open to all, and this openness has allowed the movement space to grow. We have seen it do this all over the world, and we can do the same here!
General Assembly meetings are every day at 1pm and 6pm at Occupy Cork on the South Mall.
Join the debate!