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by Arnold De Villa
November 1, 2011
If Karl Heinrich Marx were alive, he probably would say: “See, I told you so”. He argued that the profit accrued by wealthy capitalists would eventually create an internal tension culminating in the uprising of the proletariat to create a classless society. Ironically, although he was an advocate of the working class, he was actually born from a wealthy middle class family who themselves were capitalists. If it were not from that privileged socio-economic background, he probably would not have come across Hegelian teachings through the benefits of his higher education. He also argued that social theorists and the marginalized few should topple down capitalism and bring about social change.
A hundred years before Marxist doctrines ruled radical economic theories, after having lost the American revolutionary war, France witnessed a reformation initiated by the common people as a result of debts incurred after losing its colonial possessions. Rising prices, hunger and malnutrition pushed the people to revolt against their King. Allegedly, it was a movement that gave birth to the “French Revolution”, an event that triggered the ideology of “Fraternity, Liberty and Equality”. It was a historical catalyst of great proportions that dealt with the death of the French Monarchy.
More than three hundred years later, the patterns of history seem to have another “déjà vu” in Wall Street, Main Street, and other parts of the world and now in Oakland, California. It is amazing how the patterns of social human behavior move around in circles like a pendulum absorbed within the endless cycles of abundance and deprivation, opulence and indigence, greed and despair, dominance and minority.
The Communists stalwarts of China would have probably dealt with the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in Oakland, California, the same way they dealt with the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 and get away with it. That is because it is expected to be communistic in its rule while Oakland is still a democratic American habitué.
But if I came from Baranggay Pinagkaisahan, a small barrio on the outskirts of the wealthy developments of Makati, and I did not know what I know now, and I saw on international television the chaos of all these movements, and I did not come from the working class, I probably would have sided with Marx. We will tend to gravitate towards those we identify ourselves with, grew up with, and whose lifestyle we were raised with.
“Occupy Wall Street” movement is now on day 40. This is the second time I am scribbling about it and I am still amazed on the mysteries of democracy amidst the pinnacle of capitalism. We can assume that democracy is a system whereby there is enough freedom for anyone to be what he wants to be in a government established for the people, of the people and by the people. On the other hand, capitalism is a somewhat vague terminology dangling between the notions of private property and free market enterprise. America, the potpourri of democracy and capitalism, has been an international paradigm, a role model of peace, abundance and dominance. It is for this reason that citizens and natives of different countries have opted to migrate to this land of “equal opportunity”, a phrase now debated and rebutted by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. When 1% of her population earns more than 200% increase of wealth as a portion of the national revenue, while unemployment rises to a staggering degree, it is but natural for the underdog to protest. They blame greed and corruption as major culprits. However, greed and corruption are not exclusive to the 1%. Greed and corruption are human vices ubiquitous in any social class or economic circle. Then what is there to protest?
If the politicians are to blame, who voted for them anyway? So let’s pin down the corporate giants. Yet, if they are public, then wouldn’t the mass of stockholders, who are not on the top 1%, be equally liable for whatever inequality these corporations have caused? How many households have received proxy notices only to throw them directly to a heap of garbage? So let’s blame the mortgage debacle. Really? I heard that the free market attitude of wannabes wanting to catch up with the Joneses and brokers wanting to climb the top 1% caused all these to implode in the bourses of the national treasury.
Ah, such are the travails of a capitalistic democracy! There is no absolute contentment because man is by nature insatiable. In America, we want more but we want to pay less. We want our wages to go higher, but with more time for vacation and more benefits than we could imagine. To this extent, many CEO’s have huge misconceptions that they are entitled to their humongous compensation in the same way that some poor and unemployed people have believed that they are entitled to social benefits. “We are poor, therefore we deserve help” is what they say. In the midst of these two extremes are so many educated and intellectual citizens who have so much time in their hands. They contemplate. They speculate. And then they talk.
Despite all these, I believe that the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, is nothing else than another portion of a pendulum wrapped within the same patterns of human behavior and historical changes. It is part of a cycle which we have seen before in another form, a cycle that could either bring about another era of prosperity or another decade of universal hardship. The possible prognosis is tough.
And despite all these, we could probably reflect on what democracy truly means for us. Likewise, we could perhaps ruminate on the capitalistic environment we live in. So, if you are a nurse between shifts, a factory worker waiting for the conveyor belt to start, if you are a postal worker walking through your own delivery, if you are between jobs or a student, then what does democracy mean for you? If you are first generation immigrant like many of the Filipinos are, is this the country you truly want to spend the rest of your life in? Is this the America you would someday have your remains buried in? Is this really your American Dream?