Occupy UK - politics of status quo

The so called Occupy UK movement – an extension of the Occupy Wall Street movement – is basically a protest movement. People are angry, frustrated and they want to protest. There is nothing wrong about showing anger. They are protesting… against what? What do they propose as an alternative social model? Nobody knows. Not even the protesters themselves.

Do you remember those rooms with sound insulation that people are supposed to use to get rid of their anger, frustration and stress? You enter the room, close the door and shout as much and as loud as you can. When you leave the room, you should in theory feel more relaxed. Never mind if the conditions that made you angry, frustrated and stressed are very much the same.

They erected a few tents near St Paul’s Cathedral, got interviewed by the mass media, said what they are angry, frustrated and stressed about and that was it. The World goes on, conditions changed very little or not at all. A few members of the Church of England lost their posts, the Church itself lost tens of thousands of pounds in revenue, Police officers earned extra-time payments, lawyers and public officials put some money into their pockets and the mass media had something to talk about. This was a clear example of the “Economics of No Change at All”.

Real change can only come from a movement with a certain direction, specific aims and credible means to achieve the said aims. In theory, real change should come via the actions of organized political parties and this is where the tragedy started. None of the so called mainstream political parties, that have the power to change conditions and implement a new social model, has the will to change conditions and implement a new social model. Why not? Because they themselves created the present social model and they make every effort to preserve the status quo.

The said parties are represented in the Church of England, in the political establishment, in the financial sector, in the Judiciary and in the mass media. Change? What change?