Our first debate: The Occupy Movement

Our first debate will focus on what's come to be called "the Occupy movement," which emerged this past September when a thousand or so protesters, heeding a call from Adusters magazine, staged a march on Wall Street that then turned into an occupation of nearby Zuccotti Park. Since then, the movement has spread to hundreds of cities across the country and around the world (including Denver).

Although the Occupy movement is very new, the ideas that inform it (and the ideas that inform the arguments of the movement's critics) have a long history. At the heart of that history is the question: What kind of economic system is most compatible with the values of a just and democratic society? More specifically, is capitalism compatible with justice and democracy? And what, if any, are the alternatives?

Debate Groups 1 and 2 will take up this cluster of questions in class next week, focusing on the Occupy movement specifically but drawing also upon the ideas of two texts central to the ongoing debate over this issue: Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine (widely read and highly influential in Occupy circles) and Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom (a classic text in the conservative circles critical of the Occupy movement). Selections from both texts are available on Blackboard (in the folder labeled "Content").

Debate Group 1 will argue from the side of the Occupy protestors: i.e., Group 1 will contend that capitalism as it's now practiced in the US and globally is incompatible with -- indeed, hostile to -- the values of a just, democratic society. Group 2 will argue from the side of the movement's critics: i.e., Group 2 will argue that, for all its ups and downs, free-market capitalism is ultimately the fundamental basis of a just, democratic society. Group 3, Catherine, and John will serve as the audience for the debate, listening, responding, and posing questions of their own. (You'll find more info about the format of the debate here.)

If you are not in Debate Groups 1 or 2, you do not need to read Klein or Friedman (part of the challenge for the groups is to make the ideas in these texts clear and accessible to an audience unfamiliar with them). However, everyone in class should read the brief articles below, to familiarize themselves with the Occupy movement and the controversies surrounding it.

• Guardian article on the Occupy movement 
• Opinion piece by an Occupy supporter 
• Opinion piece by an Occupy critic 

(If you'd like to do a little extra reading about the Occupy movement, you might take a look at their main website, this tumblr of testimonials from supporters, and this tumblr by the movement's critics.)