Some would say that this is exactly how capitalism is supposed to lead and that we're in the late stages now. It optimizes and creates new products/markets until it eats itself.
If these protests continue to build, I can see them as really creating an anti-consumerism sentimentality that could lead to an entire new form of public commons. The whole OWS movement is based upon sharing information and resources and even if it doesn't "scale" well, this is how a lot of kids that grew up on the internet think. More so, the recent financial crisis made a lot of people realize that their stuff doesn't define them and that there's more to life, like creating things. They're angry because they're sick of getting fucked over, that they want to be able to afford health care and raise a family in a nice home, not that they want to someday be able to buy a yacht and a bunch of jewelry.
The fact that the movement is organized and growing without a clear set of demands makes me think that (hopefully) we're leading to a new collectivism that still allows for individual expression. In my town I've experienced a lot of people from varying viewpoints to discussing the big issues and being respectful about it like never before.
Honestly, the more this grows the more excited I become for the future of this country and world.
If these protests continue to build, I can see them as really creating an anti-consumerism sentimentality that could lead to an entire new form of public commons. The whole OWS movement is based upon sharing information and resources and even if it doesn't "scale" well, this is how a lot of kids that grew up on the internet think. More so, the recent financial crisis made a lot of people realize that their stuff doesn't define them and that there's more to life, like creating things. They're angry because they're sick of getting fucked over, that they want to be able to afford health care and raise a family in a nice home, not that they want to someday be able to buy a yacht and a bunch of jewelry.
The fact that the movement is organized and growing without a clear set of demands makes me think that (hopefully) we're leading to a new collectivism that still allows for individual expression. In my town I've experienced a lot of people from varying viewpoints to discussing the big issues and being respectful about it like never before.
Honestly, the more this grows the more excited I become for the future of this country and world.