More than a century ago, Karl Marx said that socialism primarily is a reality of developed countries.

Something odd is happening in the US. The fire of rebellion that has broken out in Zuccotti Park, Manhattan, is spreading. Calls for uprising are coming from Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles as well.  Some demonstrators carry paper hats to collect money for the rich. They wear sign-boards that read, “Help the rich!” and mock them. Demonstrators I saw on the news last night were carrying placards that read, “Arrest bankers, not protestors!” What really concerns the people in Zuccotti Park is the “Occupy Wall Street” campaign. The campaign at this point has no particular objective or target. The organizers of the campaign say on their website that they were inspired by the Arab Spring. They claim, “we are sick of the fact that the 1% controls everything. Hear the 99% now!” The movement is quite romantic; but so was the Tea Party movement that helped the Conservatives to electoral victory. Today let me take the risk once again of making an early assessment.

The movement did not arouse much interest at the outset. Only after the police blatantly and unfairly pepper-sprayed the protestors and the footage was posted on the Internet did people begin to wake up. On the weekend, the police arrested 700 protestors for trying to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, fanning the fire of the uprising. Despite the arrests, hundreds of people continue to stay in Zuccotti Park and the movement has jumped to other cities. The issue has grown. The group is still writing intensely on Twitter.

But who are these people and to what do they correspond? First, they seem to be slightly different from the supporters of the Tea Party. The regular supporters of the Tea Party meetings are married people of a certain age with families. They are afraid of the crisis. They complain about the increasing role of the state in the economy. The people in Zuccotti Park are much younger. The representatives giving interviews to the press are in their 20s and 30s. They still have time before they put down their roots. The Tea Party supporters are concerned about how they will maintain the lives they have built.  The people of Zuccotti Par, however, seem to be complaining about the fact that they have not been able to start their lives yet. They are well-educated, but they do not have jobs. Let this be the first point.

And the second one: When it comes to economic policy, the protestors in Zuccotti Park are demanding the prioritization of employment more than stability. As you might remember, as production began to recover, the focus of economic policy debates immediately shifted to budget balance and fiscal stability. This was what brought the electoral victory of the Republicans. Now, it appears that the axis of the debate is shifting from stability towards employment. The social base of the ongoing debates among economists and politicians is being shaped meanwhile. It seems that the youth and the unemployed have gathered in Zuccotti Park to influence politics.

Third, I believe that we are learning an applied lesson, that the indecisiveness of politics regarding the economic crisis stemmed from social unrest rather than a lack of a vision. What if the number of protestors in Zuccotti Park grows? President Obama will become able to take influential steps in line with the famous maxim of Maynard Keynes, “In the long run we are all dead.” Timid expansionary policies can be replaced with proper steps in the right direction. A mutual understanding is growing that the focus immediately must be shifted from stability to employment.

Is this good? I believe so. That new university graduates have not had a path to follow for the last few years is sad. What is more, none of them has any responsibility for the present circumstances. But they are right out there. The young and the unemployed in the US, in Europe and in Turkey are bearing the brunt of the burden. Let me tell what the best outcome would be in theory.

More than a century ago, Karl Marx said that socialism primarily is a reality of developed countries. How about that?

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 04.10.2011