Masses on the stages of democracy: Democratic promises and dangers in self-dramatizations of masses

Thesis Eleven ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 072551362110569
Author(s):  
Christiane Mossin
Keyword(s):  
Structural Features ◽  
The Political ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Black Lives Matter

The political significance of masses is more obvious than ever. The aim of this article is to develop a conceptualization capable of capturing the dangerous (totalitarian) as well as promising (potentially emancipatory) aspects of masses. It argues that, intricately, the dangers and fruitful potentials of masses are born out of the same fundamental structural features. We may differentiate analytically between different kinds of masses, but all masses contain elements of ambiguity. The mass conceptualization developed builds on a critical, deconstructing interpretation of selected Bataille texts centering on ontological features of individuality and collectivity. Especially, Bataille’s concepts of ‘myth’ and ‘sacrifice’ are accentuated and critically transformed. Contemporary examples of masses – right-wing anti-establishment movements, Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter – are presented and reflected through the prism of sacrifice, with the aim of highlighting the multifaceted and complex nature of the dynamics of masses.

scholarly journals The Alternative to Occupy: Radical Politics Between Protest and Parliament

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emil Husted ◽  
Allan Dreyer Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Infinite Chain ◽  
The Political ◽  
Radical Politics ◽  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Conceptual Distinction ◽  
Radical Movements

In this paper, we compare the political anatomy of two distinct enactments of (leftist) radical politics: Occupy Wall Street and The Alternative, a recently elected political party in Denmark. Departing from Ernesto Laclau’s conceptualization of ‘the universal’ and ‘the particular’, we show how the institutionalization of radical politics (as carried out by The Alternative) entails a move from universality towards particularity. This move, however, comes with the risk of cutting-off supporters who no longer feel represented by the project. We refer to this problem as ‘the problem of particularization’. In conclusion, we use the analysis to propose a conceptual distinction between radical movements and radical parties: While the former is constituted by an infinite chain of equivalent grievances, the latter is constituted by a prioritized set of differential demands. While both are important, we argue, they must remain distinct in order to preserve the universal spirit of contemporary radical politics

scholarly journals Occupy Wall Street:

2018 ◽  
pp. 193-214
Author(s):  
Bjarke Skærlund Risager
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Collective Intelligence ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
The Political ◽  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Street Protest ◽  
American Society

This article traces the various forms and roles of intellectuals and intellectualism in the Occupy Wall Street protest camp in Zuccotti Park in New York in 2011 while simultaneously serving as an introduction to the movement. It shows how the movement was formed by a range of intellectual ideas, both in terms of the political questions it posed and the tactics it employed. It also shows how Occupy affected the intellectual and political climate insofar as it became a phenomenon that everyone with an interest in public debate (and space!) had to take a stand on. The article argues that Occupy, with its experiment in alternative social and democratic structures, was an exercise in a form of organic and collective intelligence that attempted to guide American society in a more democratic and equal direction. By way of conclusion, the article discusses the aftermath of the protest camp and the effects of the movement.

scholarly journals Etnomusikologian yliopisto-opetus demokraattisen yhteiselämän kehitysalustana

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina C. Öhman
Keyword(s):  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Black Lives Matter

Elämme keskellä sosiaalista murrosta, jonka kehitykseen vaikuttavat koronaviruspandemian eriarvoistavat seuraukset ja akuutti tarve parantaa oikeudenmukaisuutta polarisoituvassa maailmassa. Koronaviruspandemia on haurastuttanut sosiaalista kanssakäymistä. Samalla myös yhteiskunnallinen eriarvoistuminen jatkuu; jo viime vuosikymmeneltä saakka muun muassa Occupy Wall Street -liikkeen, Arabikevään, Hongkongin protestien sekä #metoo- ja Black Lives Matter -liikkeiden esiin nostamat ongelmat ovat paljastaneet demokratian laajamittaista murentumista. Tämä herättää kysymyksiä siitä, miten kasvavat jännitteet ihmisten välillä ja fyysisen etäisyyden aika vaikuttavat jatkossa demokraattiseen yhteiselämään. Samaan aikaan on huomionarvoista, että humanistinen yliopistokoulutus on vaarassa. Markkinahenkisyyden ja vähenevien resurssien myötä yliopistot tekevät valintoja laadullisten tavoitteidensa välillä, joko panostaen “tehokkuuteen” (mitattuna opintopisteillä ja valmistuneiden opiskelijoiden määrällä) tai yleisesti tunnustettujen taitojen oppimiseen tai transformatiivisen oppimiskokemuksen tuottamiseen (Harvey & Green 1993, sit. Biggs 2001: 221–222). Nämä seikat huomioiden artikkelini yleisenä tavoitteena onkin avata uutta keskustelua etnomusikologian opetuksesta ja sen yhteiskunnallisesta vaikuttavuudesta. Käytän etnomusikologiaa esimerkkialana osallistavan opetuksen hyödyllisyydestä. Tarkoitukseni on erityisesti osoittaa, millä tavoin etnomusikologian yliopisto-opetus voi edesauttaa dialogiseen keskusteluun tarvittavien kykyjen kehittämistä ja siten harjaannuttaa opiskelijoita demokraattiseen yhteiselämään. Aineistona käytän omakohtaisia kokemuksiani; näytän, miten kokemukseni etnomusikologian opiskelijana ovat kehittäneet pedagogista ajatteluani ja opetustyöni tavoitteita. Ensin kuvailen kokemuksiani jatko-opiskelijana Pennsylvanian yliopistolla Yhdysvalloissa. Sitten kerron, kuinka dialogin kykyjen harjoituttaminen toteutuu opetustyössäni Helsingin yliopistolla. Opetuksellista näkemystäni määrittää transformatiivisen oppimiskokemuksen käsite. (Mezirow et al 1996; 1997; Nevgi & Lindblom-Ylänne 2009: 209.) Sen ohjaama analyysini nojautuu filosofi Kai Alhasen teoriaan dialogista demokratiassa. Alhasen mukaan dialogi on tietynlaista keskustelua, jossa osallistujat tarkastelevat yhdessä minkälaisia merkityksiä he antavat käsitellyille aiheille. Siten keskustelu voi johtaa luottamuksen rakentamiseen ja ymmärrykseen osallistujien kesken. Kuitenkin osallistuminen dialogiseen keskusteluun vaatii taitoja, joita on harjoiteltava. Nämä taidot ovat virittäytyminen, kuvittelu, harkinta, leikki ja usko. (Alhanen 2016.) Lopuksi annan työkaluja siihen, miten dialogisen keskustelun taitoja voisi harjoitella etnomusikologian opetuksessa. Yleisesti ottaen artikkelini on puheenvuoro etnomusikologian yliopisto-opetuksen arvon puolesta.

scholarly journals DEMOCRACIA RADICAL E PODER NA TEIA GLOBAL DOS INDIGNADOS: horizontes de uma nova cultura política no século XXI

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
Ricardo S. Kaminski
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Transnational Movements ◽  
Social Actors

Constituindo uma teia transnacional de movimentos antissistêmicos, desde 2011 novos atores sociais colocam na pauta contemporânea a discussão sobre o poder e a democracia. Ao questionarem a democracia liberal representativa, propõem um igualitarismo democrático radical que interpela sobre as possibilidades da reinvenção da democracia a partir de novas gramáticas sociais. Tais movimentos desenvolvem dimensões simbólicas e práticas características da cibercultura, em espaços ainda não consolidados no âmbito das instituições contemporâneas. Assim, este artigo apresenta, como eixo central, a cultura política implicada nas concepções de poder e democracia dos "occupies", na disputa contemporânea pelo significado da cidadania e do poder.Palavras-chave: Capitalismo, cultura política, Movimento Occupy Wall Street, movimentos transnacionais, democracia, poder.RADICAL DEMOCRACY AND POWER IN THE GLOBAL WEB OF THE OUTRAGED: horizons of a new political culture in the 21st centuryAbstract: Constituting a transnational web of anti-systemic movements, since 2011 new social actors put on the contemporary agenda the discussion about power and democracy. In questioning liberal representative democracy, they proposed a radical democratic egalitarianism, which asks about the possibilities of reinvention of democracy from new social grammars. Such movements develop symbolic and practical dimensions characteristics of cyberculture, in spaces not yet consolidated in the context of contemporary institutions. Thus, this paper presents, as the centerpiece, the political culture implied in the concepts of power and democracy of "Occupies" in contemporary dispute on the meaning of citizenship and power.Keywords: Capitalism, politic culture. Occupy Wall Street Movement, transnational movements, democracy, power.

Bangkok is Ringing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Tausig
Keyword(s):  
Arab Spring ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Sound Studies ◽  
The Political ◽  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Political Protests ◽  
The Arab Spring

Bangkok Is Ringing is an on-the-ground sound studies analysis of the political protests that transformed Thailand in 2010–11. Bringing the reader through sixteen distinct “sonic niches” where dissidents used media to broadcast to both local and diffuse audiences, the book catalogues these mass protests in a way that few movements have ever been catalogued. The Red Shirt and Yellow Shirt protests that shook Thailand took place just before other international political movements, including the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street. Bangkok Is Ringing analyzes the Thai protests in comparison with these, seeking to understand the logic not only of political change in Thailand, but across the globe. The book is attuned to sound in a great variety of forms. The author traces the history and use in protest of specific media forms, including community radio, megaphones, CDs, and live concerts. The research took place over the course of sixteen months, and the author worked closely with musicians, concert promoters, activists, and rank-and-file protesters. The result is a detailed and sensitive ethnography that argues for an understanding of sound and political movements in tandem. In particular, it emphasizes the necessity of thinking through constraint as a fundamental condition of both political movements and the sound that these movements produce. In order to produce political transformations, the book argues, dissidents must be sensitive to the ways that their sounding is constrained and channeled.

The Case for Social Justice

2018 ◽  
pp. 45-82
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Black Lives Matter ◽  
Opposition Movement ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Trayvon Martin

This chapter explains the fomentation of the Black Lives Matter movement, which began as a hashtag in 2013. The chapter explores the ideology and goals of the movement, as well as past and current tactics that the movement participants are utilizing to bring awareness to their cause. The chapter highlights numerous high-profile incidents that propelled Black Lives Matter onto the national stage, including the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Sandra Bland. The chapter juxtaposes Black Lives Matter against other contemporary American social movements such as Occupy Wall Street to better understand the development of an opposition movement in the U.S.

Enclaves and Counter-Publics

2019 ◽  
pp. 69-102
Author(s):  
Sarah Florini
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Media ◽  
The Political ◽  
Media Production ◽  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Presidential Primary ◽  
Racial Issues ◽  
Racial Dynamics ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dominant Discourses

Chapter 2 examines how different affordances of the network allow, and sometimes force, users to shift between creating digitally enabled enclaves and directly debating dominant discourses forwarded by those outside the network. Contextualizing the network in the history of Black alternative media production as well as within the tradition of Black social enclaves, it goes on to explore moments when the more visible elements of the network serve a counter-public function to challenge mainstream legacy media and the political establishment. The chapter also analyzes debates over the racial dynamics of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Game of Thrones fandom under the hashtag #DemThrones, and the #BernieSoBlack hashtag, which emerged during the 2015 presidential primary as a criticism of some of Senator Bernie Sanders’s supporters’ desire to minimize the importance of racial issues in the candidate’s platform.

scholarly journals How not to Occupy Bartleby

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Patricia Sequeira Bras
Keyword(s):  
Political Agency ◽  
The Political ◽  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Occupy Movement ◽  
Political Outcome ◽  
Political Emancipation ◽  
Bartleby The Scrivener

This article aims to discuss how Bartleby, the character from Herman Melville’s homonymous story, Bartleby, The Scrivener re-emerged in the Occupy Movement in Wall Street. Here, I intend to argue that Bartleby has been wrongly appropriated, which in turn, may explain the shortcomings of the movement. The Occupy Wall Street took possession of Bartleby because in Melville’s story, he occupies the premises of a lawyer’s office in Wall Street. However, this appropriation has dismissed the political 'inefficacy' of Bartleby’s formula, 'I would prefer not to'. As I shall argue, the formula exposes instead a residual political emancipation, generating a contingency. Rather than attempting to find some political agency within Melville’s figure, we should recognise the capacity of his formula for political insurgency. With this perspective in mind, I shall revise this appropriation to suggest that despite the political contingency of Bartleby’s formula, this should not be regarded as a means to a political outcome.

Conclusion

For the Wild ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah M. Pike
Keyword(s):  
Animal Rights ◽  
Youth Culture ◽  
First Century ◽  
Occupy Wall Street ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Black Lives Matter ◽  
Early Twenty ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Changing Times ◽  
The Right

In the book’s Conclusion, I explore what it means to act “for the wild” and “for the animals” throughout one’s lifespan. Radical animal rights and environmental activism can be seen in relation to other radical protests of the early twenty-first century, including Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter and the Standing Rock Dakota Pipeline protest, as well as anti-government protests on the Right. I conclude by suggesting what this study has, in the end, to say about youth culture, ritual, memory, and contemporary spirituality in the contexts of radical environmental and animal rights movements and broader political and social shifts in the early twenty-first century. These movements are significant signs of changing times as human and other-than-human communities face and respond to powerful social, political and climate challenges.

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