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Persuasive Speech in Antisystemic Movements by Adam Starr 22 July 2002 20:44 UTC |
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Hello WSN World, It's been a while since I last posted anything; mainly because I've been busy with the rest of my life. However, today I had to give a speech to a group of young, University student, moderate activists concerning future protest movements. The speech itself is 7 minutes and I wanted to give a world system twist to where I see activism going in the future. I need to use the speech again for another group session. If anyone would like to give me some feed back, or critique my work, it would be greatly appreciated. Please note that this is NOT academic, but rather, a speech written to rally student support. Thanks AGF and IW for the inspiration. Cheers, Adam Title: Antisystemic Movements and Future Activism Introduction: "Democracy, a political concept that emphasizes the participation of the general public in the decision making process of governments. Its origins lie within the French Revolution and the American Revolution. It idealizes the notions of individual rights such as voting, freedom of speech, and freedom to public gatherings. These core concepts were meant to ensure that government does not become a dictatorship that may harm the general public. They are also meant to act as mechanisms to keep the government in check with the will of the people. Perhaps the most common form of democratic expression is the "public demonstration" or protest. Since the WTO demonstrations in Seattle of 1999, there has been social activism at International Summits around the world. We are no stranger to this democratic device in Victoria. As the capital of BC, we have seen several protests at the Legislative Assembly over the past year lobbying against the current government over issues such as tuition fees, the firing of public servants, and health care. However, despite much public support in these demonstrations, have they actually produced any real public policy change? In other words, how effective are they? It can be argued Union leaders and activists have been successful in mobilizing people to attend such demonstrations, but they have failed in creating any real social change. In order to achieve the later, new ways of democratic protest must be contrived. Currently, demonstrations rely upon making as much noise as possible hoping that the powers that be will listen. If these powers don’t respond, more demonstrations are held, but the public interest decreases through disillusionment and apathy. Eventually, the cause looses its momentum and fades away leaving the government free to continue its policy practice. How then can this political cycle be changed?" Logical Support: "World System Theorists (Wallerstien and Andre Gunder Frank in particular) refer to protests as "antisystemic movements". Rather than democracy itself, these economists and socially minded thinkers are more concerned with the overlying system that individual governments exist within. Currently, the dominant world system is the "capitalist mode of production", or "global capitalism". Based on this notion, we can conceive that systems are prone to failure based on the very nature of systems. The more complex they become, the more prone they are to systematic failure. Thus, it is plausible that in the long run, it is not a matter of how the global capitalist system will fail, but more a matter of when. Take this notion of "antisytemic movements" and apply it to the dilemma of current social activism creating real policy change. In order to make real change, future protests must be aimed at long term systemic failure. That is, they must be aimed at destabilizing the system which the government exists within so that it has no choice but to change its policies. Rather then simply rallying at political and economic events, new forms of protests must be ongoing, and accessible to individuals on a daily or weekly basis. Increased use of the internet is essential as it provides a communication medium accessible around the world. Young, educated, socially minded people must begin to consider employment within government and international organizations to create change from within. There must also be an emphasis on legal and academic support. In addition to this, activist leaders must access the mainstream, create perimeters that protesters must adhere to denouncing all forms of violence, as well as be able to offer sound, effective policy alternatives that benefit the clear majority." Ethical Support: "Perhaps the thought of destabilizing the global economic system in order to create real policy change may seem offensive to some. In Canada, we can be thankful for much of our wealth due to global trade, however policy change does not mean that quality of life does not have to be affected. It must be acknowledged that for every event, there is a counter event. Our wealth is partly sustained by other’s poverty. Policy change must focus upon four main areas: employment, education, environment and health care. Not only in Canada, but around the world. These four areas are essential to maintaining our current standard of living as well as providing opportunity in Developing countries. Currently, foreign aid from Western countries focuses upon trade and economic reform that will enhance trade, however, such an emphasis within the system is not sustainable and as mentioned earlier, will eventually fail. In order for the global capitalist system to continue, the flaws must be corrected. However, it must be noted that an improved world system may be radically different from the one we exist in today." Emotional Support: "Many of you might not agree with these notions of new protests or believe that the current global economic system is not flawed and that social activism is for radicals dressed in black vandalizing private property. However, this is not the case for the overwhelming majority of activists. I ask you one thing, what kind of world do you want to live in? Entering the 21st century, we have seen an unprecedented amount of social unrest, increases in disparity between rich and poor countries, and of course, the bloody rise of terrorist activities. I for one do not want to live in a world that emphasizes global corporatism as a positive social attribute over global social justice and I am not alone. Was September 11th only the beginning of events to come? I would like to think not, but it is a possible reality we must consider. New methods of social protest aimed towards long term destabilization of the global economic system and emphasizing employment, education, health care, and environment may be our only option towards a peaceful transition of a more sustainable world system rather than complete systemic failure. Thank you." ===== Adam T. Starr Undergraduate of Political Science, University of Victoria 2787 Neyland Road, Nanaimo, British Columbia V9V 1G4 Canada (011) (250) 751-7798 adam@hornbyisland.com or reunitedhornby@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better http://health.yahoo.com
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