Reading key historical events longitudinally, we see how political revolutions usually have an impact on foreign policy. When the protestors lose, as they usually do, the status quo is maintained, and the situation remains as bad as it had been. To the contrary, when the underdogs in the struggle do manage to win – the victory for Chairman Mao being a classic example – things could prove to be worse. Yet, uprisings from below are a risk worth affording. In other words, while
“there isn’t much good to be said about the origins or the outcomes of peasant revolts, but there are good reasons they keep happening. Economic distress equals political unrest, on the perfectly reasonable assumption that politics and economics are joined at the hip. No matter if the wrong Siamese twin often takes the beating–any political unrest will have some influence on foreign policy.” (O’Rourke 6)
Hence, in the final assessment, Occupy Wall Street is a much needed public unrest. Irrespective of how effective its message will translate into public policy is an open question that time will answer. But in the context of what it has done to unite diverse demographic groups within the population, and for its role in creating optimism out of an atmosphere of gloom, it is already a success. While the pitch and tenor of the movement has somewhat mellowed since its vociferous beginnings in September 2011, its entry in the annals of history is already registered. At the minimum it has given a feeling of hope and opened up discussions on alternatives to the prevailing economic model. But it is in the interests of all Americans as well as the future viability of the human race, that the impressive beginning to OWS is taken to their proper conclusion. It is equally important to realize the vision as it was to first advertise it.
Works Cited
Davis, Martha F. “Occupy Wall Street and International Human Rights.” Fordham Urban Law Journal 39.4 (2012): 931+. Print.
Dean, Amy. “Occupy Wall Street: A Protest against a Broken Economic Compact.”Harvard International Review 33.4 (2012): 12+. Print.
Kunstler, Sarah. “The Right to Occupy – Occupy Wall Street and the First Amendment.”Fordham Urban Law Journal 39.4 (2012): 989+. Print.
O’Rourke, P. J. “Are the Peasants Revolting? Occupy Wall Street Takes on the World.”World Affairs January-February 2012: 6+. Print.
Wallenberg, Christopher. “To Catch the Conscience of a Nation: Occupy Wall Street’s Inherent Theatricality Is Bolstered by Artistry from Cadres of the Committed.”American Theatre Apr. 2012: 26+. Print.