theatlantic: A Constitutional Convention for Occupy Wall Street? Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy movement protests that are now experiencing national upheaval are being uprooted without having yet presented a definitive set of demands. At a basic level, they’ve been expression of frustration with a level of unemployment and underemployment that seems to show no signs of improving regardless of who is elected. More fundamentally, they’ve been a reaction to the growing income disparity in the United States, and the impression that the richest among us were disproportionately responsible for the current crisis, and that the system is rigged to reward rather than punish them. But a more distilled way to express the root problem is quite simply this: we have not had meaningful financial reform in response to the crisis. The Dodd-Frank Bill that was passed last summer was better than nothing, but it did not do what needed to be done to fix the problems that caused the current crisis. Nobody has been punished. Banks were not broken up so that they wouldn’t be “too big to fail” in the future. The banking system that’s brought us the current crisis remains in power, its wings clipped only superficially. “Why?” ask the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Lawrence Lessig has an answer. In his new book, Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress — and a Plan to Stop It, he spends 20 pages reviewing the the 30 years of deregulation that led up to the financial crisis and outlining our present circumstances. In fact, this book, published just before Occupy Wall Street began, is perfectly positioned to become the movement’s handbook. While few of the protesters will need convincing that the government is corrupted by money, the book lays out the case in a such a comprehensive and persuasive manner — and proposes such specific and radical solutions — that it seems tailor-made for the Occupy movement. And it’s ambitious proposal for state-based activism on behalf of a Constitutional Convention could provide the movement with a next organizing step as the movement nears its two-month anniversary Thursday — and faces questions about how to ride out the winter and police crackdowns alike. Read more. I saw Lawrence Lessig speak on this topic at Seattle’s Town Hall in October. The book and talk proposed a radical shift in how campaigns are funded specifically and how individuals can affect political life generally.

theatlantic:

A Constitutional Convention for Occupy Wall Street?

Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy movement protests that are now experiencing national upheaval are being uprooted without having yet presented a definitive set of demands. At a basic level, they’ve been expression of frustration with a level of unemployment and underemployment that seems to show no signs of improving regardless of who is elected. More fundamentally, they’ve been a reaction to the growing income disparity in the United States, and the impression that the richest among us were disproportionately responsible for the current crisis, and that the system is rigged to reward rather than punish them.

But a more distilled way to express the root problem is quite simply this: we have not had meaningful financial reform in response to the crisis. The Dodd-Frank Bill that was passed last summer was better than nothing, but it did not do what needed to be done to fix the problems that caused the current crisis. Nobody has been punished. Banks were not broken up so that they wouldn’t be “too big to fail” in the future. The banking system that’s brought us the current crisis remains in power, its wings clipped only superficially. “Why?” ask the Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Lawrence Lessig has an answer. In his new book, Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress — and a Plan to Stop It, he spends 20 pages reviewing the the 30 years of deregulation that led up to the financial crisis and outlining our present circumstances. In fact, this book, published just before Occupy Wall Street began, is perfectly positioned to become the movement’s handbook. While few of the protesters will need convincing that the government is corrupted by money, the book lays out the case in a such a comprehensive and persuasive manner — and proposes such specific and radical solutions — that it seems tailor-made for the Occupy movement. And it’s ambitious proposal for state-based activism on behalf of a Constitutional Convention could provide the movement with a next organizing step as the movement nears its two-month anniversary Thursday — and faces questions about how to ride out the winter and police crackdowns alike. Read more.

I saw Lawrence Lessig speak on this topic at Seattle’s Town Hall in October. The book and talk proposed a radical shift in how campaigns are funded specifically and how individuals can affect political life generally.

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    I saw Lawrence Lessig speak on this topic at Seattle’s Town Hall in October. The book and talk proposed a radical shift...
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    i’m glad someone came out and said it…what’s next? i’m still scratching my head, but i’m interested to see what the...
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