th3view5ofwe asked: I agree with you on the whole occupy wallstreet thing. it is rather unorganized and maybe they are not going in the right direction as far as solutions go but I have to admit, I`m just glad that SOMETHING is happening. If nothing else maybe it will at least get people thinking. They are giving a lot of effort and at least trying to stand up for what is right and i have to respect that. If it was up to you what would you have them do differently?
Well, I hesitate to give advice to people who in one sense are miles ahead of me (in the sense that they’ve actually gotten out of their desk chairs and begun actively — if perhaps confusedly — seeking the change they want). As I’ve said, I’m a writer, not a protester.
As I’ve also said, it seems like there’s a significant amount of confusion among the protesters over the source of the problems they’re protesting and solutions they’re seeking: In many cases, the line seems to be “We object to the government giving corporations all these special privileges and basically becoming the enforcement wing for criminal corporate activity; so let’s have the government get more involved in the financial sector.”
So were I to presume to give advice, my advice would be that they perhaps do a little more reading into the actual source of their problems before deciding what the solutions might be. Rothbard put it well: “It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.”
