Tag Archives: democracy

Are the movements in Ukraine and Thailand democratic?

Posted on December 10, 2013 by David S. Meyer

I don’t know enough about these cases to say. Clifford Bob, who knows more than I do, writes with concerns: I just read your blogpost on Ukraine and Thailand.  I was struck by that juxtaposition today also.  But one thing … Continue reading →

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Social movements, governance, democracy, and Egypt

Posted on July 4, 2013 by David S. Meyer

What are we to make of the military coup that the military refuses to call a coup in Egypt?  I’m generally ready to cheer the departure of an unpopular putative theocrat, but quite suspicious of the military deposing elected officials … Continue reading →

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Recovery for Occupy Wall Street’s library

Posted on April 10, 2013 by David S. Meyer

In the weeks that Occupy Wall Street created a protest village in lower Manhattan, activists put together a lending library of more than 5,000 volumes.  When the police cleared the demonstrators out of Zuccotti Park, contractors hauled all of the … Continue reading →

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Template blinders: the where’s the movement question?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by David S. Meyer

Anti-austerity protests have reappeared across Southern Europe.  Citizens are taking to the streets to protest cuts in services and high unemployment.  Where’s the protest in the United States, where we are embarking on new cuts in government spending (call it … Continue reading →

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Is Occupy one?

Posted on September 16, 2012 by David S. Meyer

I mean: is Occupy now one year old?  Is it still around?  Is it unified? A year ago on September 17, the Occupation of Zuccotti Park began, with a beautiful poster and far less participation and promise than it soon … Continue reading →

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The value of truth

Posted on March 18, 2012 by David S. Meyer

I want to believe that telling the truth matters.  Advocates who have any belief in democracy as a value have to think that if people only knew what they know they’d agree.  Activists take on a public education job when … Continue reading →

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Leaving the Tea Party (Patriots)?

Posted on February 29, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Mark Meckler has just resigned from the leadership of the Tea Party Patriots, an organization he and Jenny Beth Martin, started in 2009.  Because Meckler was the most visible exponent of a fundamentalist grassroots orientation to political activism within the … Continue reading →

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Violence, democracy, and a general strike

Posted on October 29, 2011 by David S. Meyer

The efforts to clear out Occupiers in Atlanta, Oakland, and San Diego emphasize the difficult stalemate between local governments and the emergent Occupy movement. Although local officials may be mostly sympathetic to the concerns of the Occupiers, they’re also responsible … Continue reading →

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Occupied Wall Street

Posted on September 30, 2011 by David S. Meyer

Some of the demonstrators who promised to stay at the protest on Wall Street until their one demand was answered nearly two weeks ago are still there.  Several dozen are camping out in Zuccotti Park, a private park nearby, and … Continue reading →

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The Tea Party and Grassroots Democracy

Posted on September 15, 2010 by David S. Meyer

Morning Edition features an interview with journalist Jonathan Rauch, discussing the tea party in general, and his article in the current edition of the National Journal.  Some segments of the movement are determined to serve the grassroots under any circumstances, … Continue reading →

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