The Moral and Economic Implications of the Occupy Wall Street Movement Research Paper

The Moral and Economic Implications of the Occupy Wall Street Movement - Research Paper Example It raised questions about the humanity of the people at the helm of affairs and also questioned the political will of the nation’s system of governance whereby the sincerity of the nation’s political establishment in creating a certain amount of parity within the population is rendered suspect. There are other aspects of this movement and the government’s response that need to be looked into. Apart from not offering any tax sops to the common man and talks of doing away with tax-cuts that were offered during the Bush-era, the government had fuelled the anger of the common man. The brutalities that were carried out upon the protestors by the police came out in the open only due to the work of independent cameramen who were not associated with any news agency. The incidents that occurred during the movement thus bring to light the role of the media as well in the success or failure of such movements. The movement is described by itself as being the result of a seri es of movements that supports democracy. These, the movement claims, includes the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt where the common man protested against the marginalization of a majority of the population for the purpose of the welfare of the minority that constituted the ruling elite (Occupy Wall Street: The Revolution Continues Worldwide, n.d.). Having this as a moral backing definitely provides a cushion for the movement in terms of the support that it would be able to gather at an international level. There is thus an element of diplomatic support that the supporters of the movement expected to get through their efforts for an equitable society in which everybody would be provided with equal opportunities. In the absence of this, people would live lives whereby their work would be used for the benefit of others and not themselves. Apart from the moral degeneracy of this position, there is also the fact of its unsustainability from an economic point of view that needs to be looked into. The creativity that is necessary for a happy nation and society and a robust economy would be lacking in case the demands that were raised by the movement are ignored. The brutalities that were practiced for the quelling of the revolution also point to the development of a state which brooks no dissent, thus stunting the intellectual growth of the nation and also constructive thought that may lead to a better way of managing the economy. If one looks at these problems from a utilitarian perspective, one would feel that the movement and the rationale behind it need to be lauded. The principle that the movement fought for, a good life for the majority of the citizens of the country, is similar to what the Utilitarian philosophers of the Victorian age proposed. They sought a political system that would make the majority of the people within a society happy. This would be possible in an equitable society where people receive equal opportunities to make their lives better. The mov ement thus almost seems to be driven by a utilitarian philosophy which would lead to the happiness of the masses and not just the ruling elite. This points to a sad situation where there is a great disjunction between the two.  Ã‚