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Occupy: Towards a Consequential Politics

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Occupy: Towards a Consequential Politics OCCUPY: TOWARDS A CONSEQUENTIAL POLITICS by JENNA R. AMIRAULT Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Sociology) Acadia University Fall Convocation 2012 © by JENNA R. AMIRAULT, 2012 This thesis by JENNA R. AMIRAULT was defended successfully in an oral examination on August 10, 2012. The examining committee for the thesis was: ________________________ Dr. Susan Boddie, Chair ________________________ Dr. Terry Gibbs, External Reader ________________________ Dr. James Brittain, Internal Reader ________________________ Dr. Jim Sacouman, Supervisor _________________________ Dr. Tony Thomson, Acting Head This thesis is accepted in its present form by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Master of Arts (Sociology). …………………………………………. ii This thesis by JENNA R. AMIRAULT was defended successfully in an oral examination on July 10. The examining committee for the thesis was: Dr. Susan Boddie, Chair Dr. Terry Gibbs, External Reader Dr. James Brittain, Internal Reader Dr. Jim Sacouman, Supervisor Dr. Tony Thomson, Acting Head This thesis is accepted in its present form by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Master of Arts (Sociology). I, JENNA R. AMIRAULT, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I, however, retain the copyright in my thesis. ______________________________ Author ______________________________ Supervisor ______________________________ Date iii CONTENTS CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................ iv ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... v ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 6 The Failure of Reformism ............................................................................................ 6 The New Left and Anti-Globalization Movement ....................................................... 9 Return to Marxism ..................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 3: METHOD AND KEY CONCEPTS ........................................................... 18 Methods .......................................................................................................................... 18 Occupy Origins ............................................................................................................... 21 Occupy Nova Scotia ....................................................................................................... 23 Occupy Wolfville ........................................................................................................... 24 Key Concepts.................................................................................................................. 27 CHAPTER 4: REFORMISM AND PREFIGURATIVE POLITICS WITHIN OCCUPY 32 Prefigurative Politics ...................................................................................................... 35 Consensus Making and Anti-Authoritarian Activism .................................................... 37 Women’s Experiences within the Occupy Movement ................................................... 39 Anti-ideology and Demands ........................................................................................... 42 The Role of Party Leadership, Demands, Ideology and Class ....................................... 43 CHAPTER 5: EDUCATION THROUGH PRAXIS ......................................................... 47 The Power of the 99 Discourse ...................................................................................... 47 Workers and Occupiers .................................................................................................. 51 A Lesson in State Repression ......................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ........................................................................................... 57 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 61 iv ABSTRACT This research uses the Occupy Movement in Canada and the United States as a springboard to discuss contemporary political struggle in the minority world. Drawing on the experiences of past social movements and the current struggle by Occupy activists, the research discusses the limitations of reformist, non-hierarchical, and prefigurative strategies within contemporary movements and asks how those who are exploited within capitalism can consciously and collectively push contemporary struggle in an anti- capitalist direction. Drawing on the writings of Marx, Engels and Lenin, the work examines how understandings of practice, the state and class politics continue to be central to the social justice agenda. v ABBREVIATIONS CLC Canadian Labour Congress FTAA Free Trade Area of the Americas GA General Assembly G20 Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governers IMF International Monetary Fund LGBTQ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer MWC Montreal Women’s Caucus ONS Occupy Nova Scotia OW Occupy Wolfville OWS Occupy Wall Street PAR Participatory Action Research TAZ Temporary Autonomous Zone vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people to thank for their valuable insights and contributions to this thesis. I would like to give a giant thank-you to Jim Sacouman whose ideas and insights were essential to the development of this thesis. Thank you to Jim Brittain for your insights and for keeping debate and critical thinking alive in the classroom. I am incredibly grateful to Karen Turner who all Sociology students owe a considerable debt. Thank you to Mervyn Horgan and Tony Thomson for their valuable insights. A big thank you to Justin, Shayna, Ryan, Rebekah, Duane, Emma, Lisanne, Joel, Chantelle, Eva and to Occupy activists. vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 2011 sparked hope and fire in the hearts of many people across the world. For activists, change was both necessary and possible; many refused to sit idly as their families and lives were torn apart by economic and political policies that did not represent their interests. It is this necessity and possibility for change that Sacouman (1999:1) argues are “the co-mothers of human, social creativity” and it was this condition that allowed people to imagine an alternative world where education, healthcare, adequate nutrition, housing and human needs would be provided for. In Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, Greece, Chile, the United States and Canada, to name a few, the political atmosphere began to show signs of change. In Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali stepped down after mass protests arose calling for an end to unemployment, corruption and food price inflation after street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi set himself afire after years of humiliation, harassment and abuse from police officers who made it impossible for him to maintain a livelihood for him and his family (Al Jazeera Jan 20, 2011). In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak after nearly 30 years of rule was forced to step down after mass protests and demonstrations (Al Jazeera Feb 11, 2011). In Spain, the Spanish Indignado Movement saw protests and occupations of public spaces in objection to political corruption and economic hardship (Al Jazeera May 13, 2012). In Greece, protesters took to the streets in protest of heavy austerity measures and unemployment (Al Jazeera June 30, 2011). In Chile, thousands of students mobilized to denounce a failed profit driven education system (Al Jazeera Oct 6, 2011). These demonstrations and protests1, among others, have inspired Canadian and 1 Particularly, protests in Egypt, Spain and Greece (Zill 2012). 1 US activists to organize against economic and social injustice in their own countries. As Zach Zill (2012) points out, “these new movements have emerged as a direct consequence of the global economic downturn, which has darkened the futures of many millions of young people”. He argues, In the span of one short year, all existing political assumptions have been turned on their heads. Previously unassailable dictators have fallen, “hopelessly conservative” Americans have occupied public spaces in hundreds of cities and towns across the United States, and “apathetic” youth “bought off” by cell phones and social media have turned these new technologies into weapons against the system. In country after country, these movements have burst through the restraints of the existing order, calling into question a political and economic setup that has catered only to the rich and the banks at the expense of everyone else. (Zill 2012) In both Canada and the US, widespread opposition to austerity, foreclosure, and unaddressed environmental, social, and economic problems have led many to rally and demonstrate. Most noticeable in
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