Joe Stiglitz on the 1%

Joe Stiglitz, writing in May 2011, sets the scene for the emergence of the Occupy movement in this discussion of US income inequality.

170 economists sign statement in support of OWS

170 economists have signed a statement in support of the Occupy Wall St movement. Read the statement here.

NYRB on the Occupy movement two months in

On the NYRblog, Michael Greenberg gives a detailed account of a dramatic week for the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, while Jeff Madrick looks at the evidence on runaway incomes for the top 1% - America's new robber barons.

Selection of posters and placards from today's student protests in Dublin, Ireland

Thousands of students marched in Dublin today in protest against increases in fees and expected cuts to student maintenance grants in the forthcoming budget. Here is a selection of posters and placards from the march.

"What ever happened to free education"

"we write the future"

"If you're gonna take my education, at least book my ticket to Australia"

"Make the 1% pay"

"No cash, no jobs, no hope"

"Sentenced to debt"

"Pay my fees or pay my dole"

"Feck off fees"

"Emma was here! (But probably won't be next year ... )

"Dumbledore wouldn't stand for this sh!t"

"Beans on toast + fees = toast"

Blaming the poor for their condition...

Faced with inexplicable inequalities and injustices in society, and feeling disempowered to challenge the status quo, we have a natural tendency to try and rationalize the situation by assigning blame; the unemployed must be lazy, rape victims were "asking for it" etc. In this way we try to evade the unpleasant prospect that such circumstances could befall any one of us.

Oliver Burkeman describes this phenomenon in his latest Guardian column. However, he mistakenly sees this "just world hypothesis" as a difficulty the Occupy protestors will have to overcome. If the majority of us view the travails of those less well off than ourselves as their just desserts, why bother trying to alter "the system"? In fact, the Occupy movement presents an alternative to the vicious cycle of inequality being reinforced by negative stereotyping of the less fortunate members of society. The Occupy protestors force us all to face up to the injustices, to which we have become - subconsciously or otherwise - desensitized. Perhaps even more significantly, the movement also offers a voice of empowerment and the prospect that such inequalities are not inevitable.