Abstract
Jacquelien van Stekelenburg argues that the Occupy Movement can be seen as a product of our time. The movement shows how people are becoming increasingly connected as individuals rather than as members of a community or group. The Internet she suggests is instrumental in forging and sustaining these new ways of organizing as individuals.
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Notes
At the time of writing, 9 February 2012 (see http://www.occupytogether.org/actions/) for most recent numbers.
Interview of Dennis Lutz, occupier Amsterdam, The Occupy Movement in the Netherlands. In Holland, even if there are declarations of representing the vast majority, it would seem that the occupy is largely a movement of the left. A study of Dutch people's response to the occupy movement reveals that notwithstanding that 85 percent of the Dutch know about the Occupy movement, a smaller number sympathize with their claims – a too powerful financial sector (80 percent) and inequality (69 percent) – while a much smaller amount (26 percent) sympathize with the movement itself (De Goede et al., 2012). Hence, the Occupy movement does represent a large majority of the Dutch population in terms of claims – even if not the full 99 percent – but much less so in terms of their tactics.
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Argues that the Occupy Movements is a reflection of a new politics today
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van Stekelenburg, J. The Occupy Movement: Product of this time. Development 55, 224–231 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/dev.2012.6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/dev.2012.6