Home

Follow Countercurrents on Twitter 

Why Subscribe ?

Popularise CC

Join News Letter

Editor's Picks

Press Releases

Action Alert

Feed Burner

Read CC In Your
Own Language

Bradley Manning

India Burning

Mumbai Terror

Financial Crisis

Iraq

AfPak War

Peak Oil

Globalisation

Localism

Alternative Energy

Climate Change

US Imperialism

US Elections

Palestine

Latin America

Communalism

Gender/Feminism

Dalit

Humanrights

Economy

India-pakistan

Kashmir

Environment

Book Review

Gujarat Pogrom

Kandhamal Violence

WSF

Arts/Culture

India Elections

Archives

Links

Submission Policy

About CC

Disclaimer

Fair Use Notice

Contact Us

Search Our Archive

Subscribe To Our
News Letter



Our Site

Web

Name: E-mail:

 

Printer Friendly Version

OWS Movement: A Down To Earth View

By Fred Magdoff

31 October, 2011
Countercurrents.org

A participant's note from Burlington

[ Following is a first hand note by Professor Fred Magdoff that gives a down to earth view of the OWS movement. ]

I went to OWS (a week ago) and Occupy Burlington last Saturday . I was VERY happy that it was the last day of the regular weekly farmers market at the same small park, and the farmers gave the Occupy Burlington people $400 worth of tokens to buy food at the market!!!

Drove to Boston with two friends on Sunday--spent some 4 hours there, including giving a talk at 6 pm and staying for the first part of the General Assembly (GA) meeting that started at 7 pm . Got some more time to interact with folks there than when at OWS. They had just gotten through Saturday night 's winter storm (see below) -- and the "winterization committee" described how they spent the $1,500 they had been allocated in emergency funds to help prepare for the storm. Spirits seemed high. The medical tent people says that about 1/3 of the people sleeping there are homeless. At least they have regular meals, people to protect them (I heard the safety committee's report also, along a number of other committees), and people with them who are concerned with their plight.

I think my talk went ok--people said so. I am trying to bring the environment into their discussion, which is mainly about economics/politics. Basically, my pitch is that it's all the same struggle and somehow we need to put all of these progressive and important struggles together in one movement. (I actually put it that way in NYC , but didn't during the presentation in Boston , but did do so in discussions with people afterwards).

Met a few others who had VERY good things to say about how important MR was to them. I informed the assembled people that I had left books and copies of Monthly Review in the library tent.

Fred Magdoff is professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont and adjunct professor of crop and soil science at Cornell University . He writes frequently on political economy. His most recent books are The Great Economic Crisis (written with John Bellamy Foster, Monthly Review Press, 2009) and Agriculture and Food in Crisis (edited with Brian Tokar, Monthly Review Press, 2010) and What Every Environmentalist Needs To Know about Capitalism, A Citizen's Guide to Capitalism and the Environment (with John Bellamy Foster. Monthly Review Press)

 

 

 

 

 

 



 


Comments are not moderated. Please be responsible and civil in your postings and stay within the topic discussed in the article too. If you find inappropriate comments, just Flag (Report) them and they will move into moderation que.