EL-ERIAN SAYS "LISTEN TO OCCUPY WALL STREET"

To the question "Should we pay attention to Occupy Wall Street?" PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian responds with an unqualified "yes."

Having watched Mohamed El-Erian on CNBC for many years, I would venture to say he is the most intelligent and perspicacious commentator on Wall Street. Even the know-it-all anchors and pundits on CNBC pay him enormous respect and deference when he is on. I have found his analyses to be well-reasoned, balanced, calm, unbiased, accurate, possessing well-grounded global and historical perspective, eloquently expressed. So when he says "pay attention" to the OWS movement, I would encourage others to listen.

For those questioning whether the OWS movement is accomplishing anything, the answer is very simple: the OWS movement is simply an expression of voter discontent with the present course and a cri de coeur for much-needed, radical change. What OWS is saying both forcefully and with the symbolic eloquence of people who are willing to put their bodies on the line in the streets (as opposed to those who grumble from their Barcaloungers while downing beer and pretzels in front of the TV) is "Here we are, Washington, large numbers of voters ready to give power through the ballot box to candidates willing to represent our values." The Tea Party did much the same and managed to transform Republican politics.

The OWS movement is simply the political manifestation Newton's third law of motion (every action produces an equal and opposite reaction), and consequently can be expected to breathe needed energy into Democrats, cowed and dispirited by the volume of Tea Party rhetoric. We saw this phenomenon at work in Wisconsin earlier in the year. Recall that the demonstrations in Madison quickly spread across the nation, encouraging Wisconsin demonstrators to perservere in their protest, eventually resulting in successful recall elections (alas, one vote short of a majority) electing candidates in favor of reversing Gov. Walker's union-busting initiatives. (See my Youtube video of the demonstration in San Francisco: Wisconsin Rally SF City Hall February 26, 2011)


www.the-predicament.com
The emergence of a tangible presence in the streets of a large, peaceful, vocal Left should inspire hope for liberals while prompting a sense of unease and caution for observers with a sense of history. The hope for liberals lies in the possibility of restraining and, perhaps reversing the damaging extreme rightward swing of the political pendulum, prompting Washington to produce jobs for the unemployed, more healthcare for those lacking it and funds for infrastructure repair and other left-leaning causes. At the same time, the emergence of OWS as a counterweight to the Tea Party prompts a sense of unease and caution due to the historically demonstrated consequences of political polarization.
As we have seen in California, when the center abandons their respective parties, it leaves control of the parties in the hands of the extremes of Left and Right which are too far apart to reach common ground, leaving the state essentially ungovernable. A polity that once resembled a ball is reshaped into a dumbbell. The ensuing paralysis results in rising discontent on both sides eventually finding expression in the streets, sometimes violently.
I summarized this phenomenon in my blog, shortly after the demonstrations began in Wisconsin:

Saturday, February 19, 2011

THIS IS HOW IT BEGINS

For a while there, it looked as if the Angry Right was the only political mindset willing to “take to the streets” to advance their cause. Now the Angry Left has shown up in Wisconsin to make their point prompting the N.Y. Times to ask: “Is Wisconsin the Tunisia of collective bargaining rights?”

It’s just a matter of time before the Tea Party starts staging counter-demonstrations, setting the stage for open confrontation on the streets between left and right seeking “2nd Amendment Solutions.” Governor Walker is talking about sending in the National Guard.

This is how it begins. . .

Welcome to Weimar Germany, ca. 1920’s.