Occupy Wall Street and Jean-Jacques Rousseau's A Discourse on Inequality.mpg

[machinevos]

Goosebumps all over. I fucking love the internets. 

[trentspirit1]

It's my last year in highschool and we study European philosophy from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Rousseau is among my favorite philosophers, his work is really dense, at the end of his life some people called him a misanthrope but probably he was misunderstood because he was a kind of "wild genius".

By the way, the concept of man VS the machine also reminds me what Steinbeck explains in the Grapes of Wrath.

[trentspirit1]

Thanks a lot for uploading the video.I'm not an American, and the way you explain what is happening really allows me to understand the ins and the outs of the occupy Wall Street movement.It's very interesting to see how Rousseau's work is still relevant.

[Howsonify]

@1:29

I think that's a great point that all people should seriously consider before getting in too deep with OWS. Corel West, speaking of which, gave an interview with Tavis Smiley where he said, 'we're not demonizing rich individuals... but we need to have democratic accountability to try to curtail the use of arbitrary power so that our greedy orientations don't get out of hand.'

Interview is @: pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/featu­res/poverty-tour/

And paraphrase is @16:35

[drjasonjcampbell]

@Howsonify thanks for the link :-)

[MrLatta]

... to a national and international level? Thanks again!

[MrLatta]

Wonderfully said! I have a question, I hope you have time to address.

-As we hear claims of the occupation movement spreading, not just throughout the country, but, indeed, throughout cities in different countries across the world, is their a distinction to be made between the motives of those abroad and those at home? The need to address the abuses of a political system, I think is well taken, but do the means to do so vary from a local (city and state) to a national and international? Thanks.

[drjasonjcampbell]

@MrLatta Cobra Commander :-) I'm honored by ur presence. I think generally the means do not differ. If, however, we are to address the alleged problems of corruption in Greece and notoriously Italy for example, the precise steps will differ from how this may be done in the US or Nigeria. Identifying the nature of the conflict is the first step to resolution. I think globally if my videos are of any use, we will recognize the problem but the solution will differ slightly, all having the same form

[JonPaulPrime]

Agree, it is not about attacking wealthy individuals but attacking the mechanism that allows them to keep so much and give so little back. Agree about regulation too. "Economic sadism" -- too many people standing in a growing line at a soup kitchen within smelling distance of a small group of people (the 1%) enjoying an all you can eat buffet. thanks so much for this, drcampbell, and apologies for those moments when my rhetoric goes *too* far to the left.

[drjasonjcampbell]

@JonPaulPrime ...You're never too far left bro. GrandSlam HomeRuns all day....peace....

[ca9109]

the machine is the government. through government, corporations are allowed to grow to such a size and create regulations in their favor. they would not even be in a position to take such giant risks if it weren't for state capitalism. the plutocrats use free market economics as a mask. the protesters should demand the removal of money from politics not deregulation, we need a cure not a treatment for symptoms.

[ca9109]

@ca9109 *from politics not regulation.

[drjasonjcampbell]

@ca9109 @ca9109 I agree and disagree. I love Rand as much as the next guy. Her epistemology, underrated. She was a great epistemologist. Economics, not so good. The Alan Greenspan school of economics, not so good. I just believe that markets need regulation. I don't believe that if left alone they'll even function properly, given algorithmic investments. As far as corporate sponsorship, it's something a protestor stated and it sounded really exact, so hey why not :-) my stance is not to hamper..

[drjasonjcampbell]

@ca9109 ...the flow of capital but to make sure through regulation [real regulation] that investments are sound and are not established to exploit investors. That's almost impossible to to argue against. Why not protect people's pensions? Why not protect peoples 401ks? Why not protect people from unclear contractual agreements and shoddy economic practices. Unless the assumption is that ALL [emphasis] economic practices are on the up-and-up, which we know they're not. So we'll need regulation.

[ca9109]

@drjasonjcampbell that's not my point, my point is these people are going to ask for regulation while keeping the federal reserve and the flow of of money in politics because of the this left right paradigm. they are comfortable as long as their lives remain uninterrupted (economic). the issue should not be something so symptomatic as regulation but something broader and fundamental. its like treating a nose bleed when the patient has organ failure. an autonomous process by which talking

[drjasonjcampbell]

@ca9109 ...I get ur point...economic overhaul is a HUGE HUGE undertaking. My knowledge of economic theory is rather weak, to be honest. It's my ignorance, but I just don't know of viable alternatives. Even if we backed our currency by gold and silver I'm not sure that it would yield the changes you and so many others might desire. We're talking a BIG BIG change. It's not like cryptocurrency or social currency, the only thing I can think of is to do away with currency but that's scifi, right? :-)

[ca9109]

@drjasonjcampbell i would be glad to discuss the removal of currency, and recourse management based on a scientific analysis but i also do not want free market economics to be dismissed arbitrarily. states are restricted by cultural anatomy, in America that is individuality and decentralization. if we can restore life to this lifeform through the removal of money in politics and end/drastically reform the federal reserve then we can have real conversations. i am in favor of free markets in

[ca9109]

@drjasonjcampbell the short term because they are essential in the distribution of information and technology throughout all classes. this allows a fundamental change in the relationship of man and humanity. we can extract the curiosity that is buried so deep within people. we can refine the individual to think and not to retain (what you do), and most of all we can evolve without violence. change will no longer need a war or a recession instead it would be information driven and gradual.

[ca9109]

@drjasonjcampbell i would not like to see these protest focusing on regulation, that would only retard progress by maintaining the wars, the polarization of politics, and worse of all inheriting information as opposed to adopting it. restoring a government that operates under its anatomical restrictions is enough for us to deal with future issues(regulation,health care etc..) because resolutions would be driven by concern and not money. its awesome that the us has such a cultural anatomy

[ca9109]

@drjasonjcampbell that is why i am in favor of free markets for now.. this character limit is sad lol my message is not even that long and it came out to so many comments.

[drjasonjcampbell]

@ca9109 great points..."and most of all we can evolve without violence" i like that. I see ur aim and I agree to an extent. Regulation shouldn't be the sole aim. I agree with you. Regulation is a temporary patch, again I agree with you. I do think we the "occupy movement" should address the need for regulation, but I get ur point, we're talking major system overhaul. I'm all for that. I'm constructing a series on the occupy movement and I'll keep ur comments in mid while researching. good ideas.