Occupy Wall Street -- economics as if people mattered -

Occupy Wall Street — economics as if people mattered

Friday, November 11th, 2011

This article is by Fr Chris Middleton SJ, the Principal of St Aloysius College, Milson’s Point, in Sydney. It is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in the college’s newsletter

The Occupy Wall Street protests have swept around the globe. While it is hard to identify a coherent program in these protests, it is clear that they have touched a nerve in Western society in regard to how the socio-economic system functions in the aftermath of the great financial crisis of 2008.

More extreme reactions can be identified in the Greek riots. The one clear note appears to be resentment at perceived corporate greed.

The Tea Party movement in the US, and its spin-offs around the world, such as the Convoy of No Confidence Rally in Canberra, express a similar anger at the status quo, though for them the growing debt crisis and a perceived culture of entitlement are the targets.

Both give expression to a crisis of confidence in the economic system and in the ability of our political processes to manage it.

Whatever the merits of such protests and the associated issues of free speech and democratic processes, it must be said that the capitalist system has shown itself over the last century as one that has been remarkably flexible and resilient.

It has seen off rival economic and political challenges from the extremes of right and left, and it is far too early to speak of any substantial challenge to its dominance today.

But perhaps there is a real taste for exploring alternatives.

In 1973 economist and philosopher E. F. Schumacher coined the phrase ‘small is beautiful’ — this was, in fact, the title of his seminal book on economics. In an age that had produced many great ‘isms’ (communism, fascism, capitalism) Schumacher advocated a more human-scale, decentralised approach to society. The subtitle toSmall Is Beautiful was ‘economics as if people mattered’.

In more recent times Schumacher has been described as the ‘soul of the Green movement’. Satish Kumar, editor of Resurgence, sees in the Greens community and economic policies the influence of Schumacher’s belief that ‘the environment is not just an empirical, technical, policy matter; it is related to human values, which are a part of natural values.’ Read more