Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

David Rolfe Graeber the 52 year old American anthropologist, anarchist, and involved in social and political activism. Graeber has been featured in an article by John Kampfner in the Japan Times titled ‘The story of the Occupy movements by one of the leaders’. Kampfner states “I’m torn. I can’t work out whether the Occupy movements were responsible for their own demise; and I can’t work out whether I’ve had enough of reading tomes about the brave new world of revolutionary consensus-building. The case for the defense of the spirit of 2011 should be overwhelming. Groups of activists around the world came together, determinedly but also nonviolently, not just to protest at the criminality of the banks and their backers, but also to put into practice another way. So why did it dissipate? David Graeber was a leading light in the Occupy Wall Street movement. An activist, anarchist and anthropologist (note his useful alliteration), he writes vividly about his experiences. He captures the joys and fears of a movement that believed it was on the cusp of achieving something special. Beyond the default complaints of police brutality and media narrow-mindedness, he struggles, however, to explain why in the end so little was achieved. His observations engender rage and smiles in equal measure. The tie that bound the activists in Zuccotti Park, night after night, was pizza. Local delivery firms thrived, as people from far and wide phoned in orders for pizza to go directly to the camp. …Graeber’s unwillingness to set out credible economic and political alternatives is curious. He confines his analysis to process, arguing that many problems would be solved if the manner of political engagement changed. He goes to great length to explain how democracy by consensus or collective problem-solving works, describing this as “something vaguely like jury duty, except noncompulsory, with some way of screening obsessives, cranks and hollow-earthers, but nonetheless allowing an equal chance of participation in great decisions to all who actually do wish to participate.”

Inspired by John Kampfner, The Japan Times ow.ly/laSvB Image source David Graeber ow.ly/laSlg

George Joshua Richard Monbiot the 50 year old British writer known for his environmental and political activism. Initially trained in Zoology, Monibiot joined the BBC Natural History Unit as a radio producer, making natural history and environmental programmes, before working as a current affairs producer and presenter. Working independently as an investigative journalist his activities led to his being made persona non grata in seven countries and being sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in Indonesia. Monibiot has published an article in The Guardian titled ‘If you think we’re done with neoliberalism, think again’, claiming the global application of a fraudulent economic theory brought the west to its knees, yet for those in power, it offers riches. Monbiot states “How they must bleed for us. In 2012, the world’s 100 richest people became $241 billion richer. They are now worth $1.9 trillion: just a little less than the entire output of the United Kingdom. This is not the result of chance. The rise in the fortunes of the super-rich is the direct result of policies. Here are a few: the reduction of tax rates and tax enforcement; governments’ refusal to recoup a decent share of revenues from minerals and land; the privatisation of public assets and the creation of a toll-booth economy; wage liberalisation and the destruction of collective bargaining. The policies that made the global monarchs so rich are the policies squeezing everyone else. This is not what the theory predicted. …The remarkable growth in the rich nations during the 50s, 60s and 70s was made possible by the destruction of the wealth and power of the elite, as a result of the 1930s depression and the second world war. Their embarrassment gave the other 99% an unprecedented chance to demand redistribution, state spending and social security, all of which stimulated demand. Neoliberalism was an attempt to turn back these reforms. Lavishly funded by millionaires, its advocates were amazingly successful – politically. Economically they flopped.”

Inspired by George Monbiot, The Guardian ow.ly/hfJpW Image source Slim Virgin ow.ly/hfJmS