Occupy the Economy

The billionaire mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, ordered the eviction of Zuccotti Park last Monday. The eviction was executed with reportedly excessive force, and has left the Occupy movement -- in New York and elsewhere -- at a turning point.

Should activists prioritize civil liberties and the holding of space, or instead pocket the public relations boost that comes from aggressive policing and re-focus on the economic concerns giving the movement broad resonance? Many commentators have noted that Bloomberg's order is an unintentional gift: a clear exit strategy the movement has lacked until now (occupations elsewhere are currently deciding whether to pack up or hold out).

But even if activists can cleverly capitalize on the New York eviction (or their own) and transition from occupation to more long-term organization, it is unclear what form and direction the movement will take. The 99 per cent v. the one per cent is the most enduring frame produced by this autumn of discontent. But actually evening out economic inequality is a complex affair. Should redistribution be achieved through more progressive taxation or a financial transaction tax, or must capitalism itself be fundamentally transformed?

The jury is out, but however you answer this question the task is massive. Even moderate reforms require herculean effort given the very concentrations of power OWS has been railing against since September (witness the difficulties passing the ultimately weak Dodd-Frank financial reforms in the U.S. due to significant industry pressure).

Alternatives abound

And yet actually existing economic alternatives abound -- alternatives many of us already participate in, and that occupiers have helped popularize. Nov. 5, for example, was Bank Transfer Day. Last weekend we were encouraged to switch accounts from conventional banks to credit unions. It is still too soon to know how effective this event was, but the Credit Union National Association in the U.S. estimates that since the end of September credit unions have added 650,000 members -- eight times the normal rate of membership growth -- and $4.5 billion in deposits.

Not all credit unions are perfect institutions but they differ from conventional banks in a crucial way: profit is not their primary motivation. They serve members, not shareholders, making them more democratic and community-focused. Credit unions -- which in B.C. hold a combined $49 billion in assets -- are part of the growing social economy.

There is no universally accepted definition of the social economy, but very simply it names economic activity oriented towards bettering the common good rather than profit-maximization. Examples of other social economic actors include co-ops, social enterprises, and small businesses.

Many of the radical books inspiring occupiers, for example, were likely published and/or distributed by AK press -- a worker-run collective in Oakland. You are probably reading this article with Mozilla's Firefox web-browser. Mozilla is a social enterprise motivated by Internet democracy, not profit.

Big now, ready grow

The social economy is bigger than we think, but it needs to spread. With enough social economy infrastructure we'd be able to have transfer everything days: food, transportation, housing, credit, clothing, media, entertainment, all secured and enjoyed in the social economy. The social economy is an actualization of the slogan "people before profit."

People, as we speak, are building a more sustainable and just economy in the shell of the old, and we can join them with our energy, ideas and money.

As encampments across the continent face eviction, fatigue, and winter chills there is little reason to despair. The time is ripe for another occupation: of the economy itself.