The Rise and fall of the "Occupy" Movement
Societies have evolved with time caused by the ever dynamic and changing needs of mankind due to a variety of factors-- these changes have, in turn, resulted in demands in policies and structures that have impacted on the society in either positive or negative ways. As a result, there have been sociological developments and reactions towards these changes across many parts of the world. It has either approved or disapproved such changes such as observed through actions in mass movement occupations among many other methods. Many prominent thinkers have postulated that the growing difference between the rich and the poor can and will continue to result in conflict-- many theories and explanations have been developed to further examine the reasons behind such conflicts within the society how best they can get resolved to enhance positive growth and development across the entire society. The so-called "Occupy" movement is one such method. Developed initially as a protest movement against the greed prevalent on Wall Street, it became a worldwide symbol of resistance against oppression.
Protests and demonstrations have long been used to draw attention to the wrongs in society, particularly in the last century. Demonstration-- both peaceful and violent-- has been a tool for the masses to use against the powerful few. The "Occupy" movement is no different-- fed up with the greed that they perceived to be incurable on Wall Street, protesters took to the streets of New York, forcing the media and powerful people alike to engage in conversation about the problems facing the United States (Cohen 2011). The "Occupy" movement became a dominant template for protests in recent years, particularly from late 2008 moving forward. It resulted in many other "Occupy" movements recorded and noted across the world at the same time period (In Smith, 2014). In 2011, the height of the "Occupy" movement, there were sister demonstrations happening around the world. "Occupy"-style movements were captured in Africa in a variety of countries, Europe, North and South America as well as the Arab and Asians countries.
It is argued that it was the time when the "Occupy" movement had reached its peak before it reached its goal, and this is arguably true. In the United States, the "Occupy" movements were mainly driven by failure to realize the country’s economic aspirations; disenchanted youth and the 2008 global recession that impacted the US economy and other countries worldwide caused widespread social malaise (Naidu 2012). In the United States, the "Occupy" movement mainly discussed sociological affairs affecting them such as complexities experienced in the process of acquiring credit- default swaps, students loan debts and veterans- post-traumatic stress disorders among others (Langman, 2013).
These movements were not the same on a global scale. In the Arab world, "Occupy" movements were started mainly to address the sociological concerns relating to improved living conditions such as access to healthcare, education, employment opportunities and freedom among many others sociological concerns. The "Occupy" movements in the Arab world were so influential and intense that it resulted into many changes across the countries such as Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia, and Turkey among other Arab nations-- this change became known as the “Arab Spring” (Langman 2013). The Arab Spring resulted into change of leadership in some countries, and improved reforms in sociological affairs.
The Arab Spring was mainly active from the years of 2011, although areas of Africa and the Arab world are still in turmoil as a result (Langman 2013). European countries were not relieved from the "Occupy" movement in the same period, although the extent was not as strong as felt in the Arab countries. The reasons given to these according to scholars especially those related to the discipline of political science, philosophy and sociology as well observed that the impact was very great in such countries. It is because of the traditional and ancients way of governance that favored communism and limited freedom of the people unlike their counterparts in other parts of the world. According to the analysts, its showed how the structures realigned as stated in the Karl Marx philosophy that explains sociological events. It states that the conflict is inevitable and restructuring and realignment of society will results after the struggle among owners of production means and those who do not.
In the Arab world, the Occupy protests have had mixed results. Some of the protests resulted in the change in regime; in Egypt, for instance, the Occupy movement resulted in the ousting of the Egyptian government. However, the long-term effects of these protests are questionable. Egypt is not any more stable today than it was under the previous regime; instead of a dictator, Egypt now remains under the power of a sort of military junta, which continues to effectively curtail peace and equality in the country.
Recently, in Hong Kong, protesters took to the streets to protest China’s involvement in Hong Kong politics. Calling their movement an “Occupy” movement, they began to camp in the streets, refusing to move. They took many of their lessons from the movement in New York, although the motivations were very different. Some movements have resulted into violence between the occupants in the movement and the state. For instance, the Zuccotti park occupation led to intense violent and forceful reaction from New York Police Department. However, organizers of the movement achieved their some of their goals and intention through media coverage of the events and the publicity of their societal concerns, although their long-term goals were not met (Langman, 2013).
In Hong Kong, the results of the protests have been mixed. Hong Kong is in a unique place in terms of its relationship with China-- it is more free than the mainland, but it still remains under the control of the mainland Chinese government in some ways. Recently, when the government tried to crack down on Hong Kong’s ability to be self-monitoring and self-sufficient, the Hong Kong people fought back against the mainland government, organizing huge protests that clogged streets and halted work. Because Hong Kong is such an important business center for China, the Chinese were, understandably, hesitant to crack down hard on the protestors. However, the Chinese government was also unwilling to give in to the demands of the protestors, and eventually broke up the protests and arrested the organizers.
The Occupy movement in the United States was, yet again, very different from those outside the United States. While very visible in the media, the Occupy movement in the United States did very little to reach the goals that it set forth. Today, there are still problems on Wall Street, and very little has changed. Other Occupy movements have led to regime changes or other extreme changes.
Sociological scholars and those in the related field have tried to analyze and to internalize varied phenomenon that transpire within the society. More so, matters of group involvement have attracted more interests as they are able to link the interconnectedness between the society as whole and view. It interprets sociological events from broader perspective unlike an individual’s views relating to sociological issues. Therefore, "Occupy" movement besides being among the instruments that advocate change within a society, it also creates an opportunity to explore sociological concepts and ideas (Naidu 2012).
Societies that have bureaucracy and prosperity have resulted into weaker societal ties, according to Kaufmann (2004). The society has shaded most of the bonds and unity of purposes that existed in the past because of the contemporary demands that has increased competition between individuals at the expense of their unity and solidarity. Most of the state agencies that were local to various “Occupy” movements deprived and denied media coverage of such events locally and internationally. However, technological advancements and innovation has resulted into portable media devices that was able to be used. In the long run, the “Occupy” movements have become a societal trope. They are recognizable; a kind of one-size-fits all form of protest in which people from all different locales and walks of life could participate. There are very few banners under which an American student swimming in debt and an Egyptian Muslim could unite, but they did find a similar banner with the “Occupy” movement.
Qualitative and quantitative research design methods have enabled many researchers to come up with findings relating to varied subjects of interests under observation. In some research cases, a combination of the two methods has resulted into more in-depth data and exemplary findings. However, not all research studies can allow a combination of the two methods. In relation to this research study, secondary research methods were used that majorly focused on the qualitative aspects of the research relating to "Occupy"ing movements and related sociological developments. The research utilized a combination of sociological research designs such as content analysis and discourse analysis. Cultural artifacts within the aforementioned communities and countries such as freedom and governance styles analyzed systematically and later interpreted the theme presented in making conclusions relating to the subject of "Occupy"ing movements (Bryman, 2012). Discourse analysis that analyzed the conversations of artifacts and organizers is widely used to note the sociological themes that resulted to "Occupy" movements such as freedom, quality healthcare, and education and employment opportunities among others.
The “Occupy” movements have impacted many societal concerns in a wide variety of ways. Despite the fact that it has interfered with the normalcy within the society that they happened, creating a short-term negative impact. The events have resulted into many positive reforms within the society that. That have shaped many aspects and hence improved sociological affairs and concerns. Places that such non- violent protests have occurred have noted positive reforms and changes. The movement rose at one time before they it subsided. Existing sociological theories and ideologies have explained the reasons and interpretations given to "Occupy" movements.
References
Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cohen, C. (2011). Why “Occupy Wall Street” Should Occupy Us. Psychiatric Services, 62(12).
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In Smith, M. C. (2014). Group Politics and Social Movements in Canada.
Kaufmann, E. P. (2004). The Rise and fall of Anglo-America. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Langman, L. (2013). "Occupy": A New Social Movement. Current Sociology. 61.4 (2013): 510-524.
Naidu, S. (2012). Introduction: Economics and Occupy Wall Street. The Economists' Voice, 9(3).
Stetter, S. (2012). The Middle East and Globalization: Encounters and Horizons. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
