1848+: Last and First Men

Friday January 27, 2012

Invitation to General Assembly at the Museum of Modern ArtPosted 5 hours ago on Jan. 27, 2012, 7:31 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
January 27, 2012
Please join Occupy Museums this evening as we re-assemble inside the Museum of Modern Art. Two weeks have passed since our January 13th action, in which we stood in solidarity with Teamsters Local 814 Art Handler’s Union in its struggle to end the lockout of the union by the billion-dollar auction-house Sotheby’s. In light of the numerous ties between MoMA and Sotheby’s, we demanded that the museum call for an end to the lockout by its corporate affiliate.

As part of our action on the 13th, a banner was dropped in the second-floor atrium calling for an end to the lockout. The head of Security at MoMA coercively confiscated this now-historic banner. In a public letter sent to the museum one week ago, we called it a “unilateral acquisition” and stipulated that the museum accede to our conditions of publically calling for an end to the lockout to complete the acquisition. In turn, the museum called for us to retrieve the banner, stating that it was “left” on the premises, as if by accident. We know and they know that this is untrue; a rather disgraceful attempt to ignore an uneven acquisition policy, and the larger issues about concentrations of money and power in the art world we are raising.

The fact that public-money-receiving “non-profit” MoMA shares two board members with Sotheby’s— a speculative, for profit auction house whose business benefits greatly from the approval major museums give artist’s work— could possibly be purely coincidental.

It is not coincidental that Occupy Museums and the Teamsters local choose a Target Free Friday to re-claim their artwork. As working artists and locked out union members—it is the only day, we can afford to enter the museum. As it turns out, this free day was initiated not by the mega-retailer, but rather by pressure from a group of artists/activists called the Art Workers Coalition in the 1970’s. Their struggle then, and our shared struggle today is to put culture into the hands of the 99%- the artists, art lovers and workers who are largely invisible to the museum.

Today we will present MoMA a second chance to stand up for the rights of Sotheby’s art handlers- the workers behind the scenes of the glamorous 1% auctions. We invite the museum directors and staff to join our assembly and respond to the conditions we have made public. This show of solidarity from a major institution will be an invaluable support as the 99% prepare to stand for equality and justice for all workers on May 1st and beyond. Expect Us.

Occupy Museums

Last and First Men, net book at eonic-effect.net

Published on Thursday, January 26, 2012 by Waging Nonviolence
by Nathan Schneider
While many of us are working to ensure that the Occupy movement will have a lasting impact, it’s worthwhile to consider other countries where masses of people succeeded in nonviolently bringing about a high degree of democracy and economic justice. Sweden and Norway, for example, both experienced a major power shift in the 1930s after prolonged nonviolent struggle. They “fired” the top 1 percent of people who set the direction for society and created the basis for something different.
A march in Ådalen, Sweden, in 1931.
Both countries had a history of horrendous poverty. When the 1 percent was in charge, hundreds of thousands of people emigrated to avoid starvation. Under the leadership of the working class, however, both countries built robust and successful economies that nearly eliminated poverty, expanded free university education, abolished slums, provided excellent health care available to all as a matter of right and created a system of full employment. Unlike the Norwegians, the Swedes didn’t find oil, but that didn’t stop them from building what the latest CIA World Factbook calls “an enviable standard of living.”
[Read more →]

Published on Thursday, January 26, 2012 by TomDispatch.com
A Secret History of Free Enterprise and the Government That Made It Possible
by Christian Parenti
Look back on 2011 and you’ll notice a destructive trail of extreme weather slashing through the year. In Texas, it was the driest year ever recorded. An epic drought there killed half a billion trees, touched off wildfires that burned four million acres, and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes and buildings. The costs to agriculture, particularly the cotton and cattle businesses, are estimated at $5.2 billion — and keep in mind that, in a winter breaking all sorts of records for warmth, the Texas drought is not yet over.
In August, the East Coast had a close brush with calamity in the form of Hurricane Irene. Luckily, that storm had spent most of its energy by the time it hit land near New York City. Nonetheless, its rains did at least $7 billion worth of damage, putting it just below the $7.2 billion worth of chaos caused by Katrina back in 2005.
[Read more →]

Published on Thursday, January 26, 2012 by Common Dreams
Adbusters Issues New Call to Action: Occupy Chicago for G8/NATO Summit
- Common Dreams staff

The Occupy Wall Street movement traces its origin to a call to action in the Vancouver-based magazine Adbusters.

Now, Adbusters has issued a Call to Action to Occupy Chicago for the G8/NATO summit this coming May:

Hey you redeemers, rebels and radicals out there,

Against the backdrop of a global uprising that is simmering in dozens of countries and thousands of cities and towns, the G8 and NATO will hold a rare simultaneous summit in Chicago this May. The world’s military and political elites, heads of state, 7,500 officials from 80 nations, and more than 2,500 journalists will be there.

And so will we.

On May 1, 50,000 people from all over the world will flock to Chicago, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and #OCCUPYCHICAGO for a month. With a bit of luck, we’ll pull off the biggest multinational occupation of a summit meeting the world has ever seen.

And this time around we’re not going to put up with the kind of police repression that happened during the Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago, 1968 … nor will we abide by any phony restrictions the City of Chicago may want to impose on our first amendment rights. We’ll go there with our heads held high and assemble for a month-long people’s summit … we’ll march and chant and sing and shout and exercise our right to tell our elected representatives what we want … the constitution will be our guide.

And when the G8 and NATO meet behind closed doors on May 19, we’ll be ready with our demands: a Robin Hood Tax … a ban on high frequency ‘flash’ trading … a binding climate change accord … a three strikes and you’re out law for corporate criminals … an all out initiative for a nuclear-free Middle East … whatever we decide in our general assemblies and in our global internet brainstorm – we the people will set the agenda for the next few years and demand our leaders carry it out.

And if they don’t listen … if they ignore us and put our demands on the back burner like they’ve done so many times before … then, with Gandhian ferocity, we’ll flashmob the streets, shut down stock exchanges, campuses, corporate headquarters and cities across the globe … we’ll make the price of doing business as usual too much to bear.

Jammers, pack your tents, muster up your courage and prepare for a big bang in Chicago this Spring. If we don’t stand up now and fight now for a different kind of future we may not have much of a future … so let’s live without dead time for a month in May and see what happens …

for the wild,
Culture Jammers HQ

# # #

http://darwiniana.com/2012/01/25/libertarianism-googled-counterattack-at-dawn/

By SANDRA Y.L. KORN
Published: Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Two weeks ago, Harvard administrators removed the geodesic dome that had served as the home of Occupy Harvard over winter break, leaving the movement without a physical encampment. The transition Occupy Harvard has undergone—from physical occupation of space to meetings and actions—has taken place at Occupies across the country after evictions by city governments and inclement weather.

This transition has provided urgency to philosophical discussions about the purpose and meaning of Occupy. The conversations on this topic that have taken place among the tents and list-serves of Occupy Harvard often parallel discussions happening elsewhere in the global Occupy movement. They center on what some consider a fundamental question of Occupy: Is it a protest or a community? While those who view Occupy as a protest seek to rectify specific problematic practices, those who see Occupy as a community attempt to model a more just society.

Like many of the students, faculty, and staff who worked to organize some of the first Occupy actions on Harvard’s campus, I originally thought of Occupy Harvard as a protest movement. After months and years of fruitless and frustrating discussions with University administrators about issues like ethical investment and benefit parity for indirectly hired employees, I saw Occupy Harvard as a way to escalate these campaigns. I assumed that rallies and a tent city would put more student, alumni, and media pressure on the University to do the right thing.

Indeed, Occupy Harvard has been a very effective protest. It achieved its goal of helping the custodians’ union secure a favorable contract for the next five years. It convinced the University administration to investigate its investment in HEI Hotels and Resorts and to release its first statement about ethical endowment investment since 2005. It sparked national discussion about how classical economics is taught in the college setting. It encouraged discussion about the role of Wall Street recruiters on campus and apparently inspired the Phillips Brooks House and Center for Public Interest Careers to host a conference on public service careers over Wintersession.

Hopefully, as Occupy Harvard turns its attention to the University’s conflict of interest policies and executive compensations, more positive changes will follow. This is exciting for those frustrated with Harvard administrators’ unresponsiveness to previous student requests.

The global Occupy movement is full of disillusioned citizens who have become frustrated that despite their votes and phone calls, elected officials continue to serve the interests of the upper class and Wall Street instead of passing legislation to help the 99 percent. They, too, have succeeded in changing national discourse about income inequality, sparking political moves like President Obama’s proposal for student debt relief, and countering the actions of big banks by installing homeless families into vacant homes.

Many, however, view Occupy as more than simply a protest movement. They consider it a community of like-minded people gathering in tents or in rallies who can work together to address fundamental problems in American society, ranging from wealth disparity to racism and sexism.

Occupy Harvard’s physical encampment did create a space on campus where those interested in economic justice could meet each other, reach out, and connect to the larger community. I spent many hours sitting at Occupy Harvard’s Information Desk, where community members ranging from graduate students to Harvard employees would come to talk about their insufficient health care plans, their fears about being laid off, their frustrations with temporary work contracts. They would note to me, “I never had anyone to tell that to before. Thanks for being here.” The tents in the Yard became a symbol of a community at Harvard that was paying attention to inequality and trying to overcome it.

Similarly, some view the global Occupy movement as an experiment in radical democracy. Every Occupy utilizes consensus-based decision making, a democratic process designed to let every single voice be heard, however loud or wealthy. Occupiers try to envision what a better society would look like and construct it in their own tent cities and gatherings.

Some view the distinction between Occupy as protest and Occupy as community as irreconcilable. The conflict has played out in consequential decisions faced by Occupy: for example, Occupy Wall Street has struggled over whether it is more important for the group to focus on planning new actions (focusing on the “protest” vision of Occupy) or simply finding food and shelter for homeless Occupiers (the “community” vision of Occupy).

However, I believe that protest and community do not exclude each other. Occupy Harvard can work with allies in the administration to organize University-sponsored events about economic inequality (creating a conscious community) while at the same time pressuring the University to change its labor practices and investment policies. Similarly, Occupy movements across the country can form stronger communities while challenging specific corporate or government policies. This combination may let Occupy avoid the inconsistencies of previous social movements like the Civil Rights movement, which ignored blatant chauvinism among its leaders in pursuit of racial justice. In fact, perhaps Occupy could not stand alone as either a protest or a community, and is necessarily both at once.

These two visions of Occupy, as a protest movement and as a new community, may come into opposition as Occupy Harvard creates a vision for its future. However, they need not be radically different, or even in conflict. Existing without a physical encampment allows Occupy Harvard, like Occupations across the country, to explore more fully what, exactly, it wants to be.

Sandra Y. L. Korn ‘14, a Crimson editorial associate, is a history of science and studies of women, gender, and sexuality concentrator in Eliot House.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/1/24/occupy-harvard-protest-wall-street-theory/

Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future is a “future history” science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon. A work of unprecedented scale in the genre, it describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen distinct human species, of which our own is the first and most primitive. Stapledon’s conception of history is based on the Hegelian Dialectic, following a repetitive cycle with many varied civilizations rising from and descending back into savagery over millions of years, but it is also one of progress, as the later civilizations rise to far greater heights than the first. The book anticipates the science of genetic engineering, and is an early example of the fictional supermind; a consciousness composed of many telepathically-linked individuals.

In 1932, Stapledon followed Last and First Men with the far less acclaimed Last Men in London. His other great novel, Star Maker (1937), could also be considered a sequel to Last and First Men, but is even more ambitious in scope, being a history of the entire universe.

http://darwiniana.com/2012/01/25/failure-of-neuroscience-and-the-hard-problem/

The schedule of meditation at the OWS camps has been a revelation of something for future politics. The movement could lead the way toward a politics of self-consciousness in a probram that embraces the best of secularism, New Age religion, and tradition, in a radical new mix that is practical, non-dogmatic, non-mystical, and free of New Age baloney, a bare bones recovery vehicle in the desert of scientism.