International Studies Journal (ISJ)

International Studies Journal (ISJ)

Occupy Wall Street Movement; Efforts For Reform or Revelation?

Document Type : Extension Article

Authors
1 Associate Professor of Political Geography, Tarbiat Modares University
2 PhD student in Political Geography, Tarbiat Modares University
Abstract
Protest movements in any society demands structural changes in political, economic and social aspect of life resulting from generaldissatisfactions. Such movements could expand the spectrum change in the prevailing political system. One could even say that it is of life in terms of political and economic reforms or fundamental on the basis of dissatisfactions that shape the future structure of management of a nation's socio-political life. Occupy Wall Street as a protest movement challenging political and economic structures as well as functional behavior of capitalist systems, has resulted from the critical approach of the US criticizesregarding the current capitalist order in the United States. On the one hand, individuals demand transformation in the states politics and economic administration before extending their supports for the capitalist systems. For this group, Occupy Wall Street notices that capitalist system could not provide for adequate welfare system for the majority of the populations. While, on the other hand political and social thinkers have told us that the Occupy Wall Street movement had been inspired by the so-call Arab Spring movements and Arab Uprising which has had far reaching consequences in the Western societies.. This study is an attempt to address the question: "whether Occupy Wall Street is a just a usual street protest with revolutionary goals in mine, or it is collective action for bringing fundamental reform in socio-political and economic order of the United States? In this attempt studying correlated similarities and differences between Arabic Uprising for revolutionary reasons, and the true characteristics ofwhat has become known as Occupy Wall Street and its goals for the United States will be examined.
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