[lbo-talk] Zizek speech to OWS

Chris Sturr sturr at dollarsandsense.org
Mon Oct 10 09:13:08 PDT 2011


I thought Zizek's speech was great, though Rick Wolff is great too. This piece in the Guardian is apparently what he said in his first #OWS speech: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/oct/04/occupy-wall-street-new-york. It's not so far in tone and aims from what Zizek does, but Rick does hit that point he always makes that "capitalism as a 'broken' system that needs replacing". I think all kinds of talks are needed--some people respond well to a talk like Zizek's; some people respond to more interactive teach-in-type stuff; some people need to be schooled on class and the basics of a left critique of capitalism.

FYI,we have organized an #OccupyBoston Economics Forum, intended as a series of teach-ins on bread-and-butter issues from radical economics. The first one is today at 4pm: Arjun Jayadev of UMass Boston on why austerity is crazy in a recession. Tomorrow at 3pm: Bryan Snyder of Bentley University on financialization. Tomorrow at 4pm: John Miller of Wheaton College, with a live version of his D&S column, "Up Against the Wall Street Journal," in which he'll talk to people about how to respond to right-wing myths about the economy. More speakers to come--we're probably going to have one a day for a while. This is all in addition to the superstar types (Cornel West, Chomsky, etc.) who are cycling through.

One talk I really want to get going is something that responds to the Ron Paul types with their "End the Fed" signs, or at least provides an alternative view for people who would otherwise be influenced by them. This piece by D&S columnist Arthur MacEwan is a good start: http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2007/0507drdollar.html. I might ask Arthur to do his teach-in on the Fed--there is such a need for a more nuanced view than most people seem to have.

Message: 9
> Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:02:42 -0700
> From: John Gulick
>
> I haven't seen a video or read a transcript of his Zuccotti teach-ins down
> there, but I'd take one Richard Wolff appearance over 10 of the same by
> Zizek. He's giving the occupiers (quasi-Marxist) economic literary, as
> opposed to provocative quips, and trying to connect their process fetish to
> demands for more democratic workplaces.
>

-- -- Chris Sturr Co-editor, Dollars & Sense 29 Winter St. Boston, Mass. 02108 phone: 617-447-2177, ext. 205 fax: 617-447-2179 email: sturr at dollarsandsense.org



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