6.08 Module Project

1. 6.08 Module Project By: Muhammed Shelleh

2. The Occupy Wall Street Movement • Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is the name given to a protest movement that began on September 17, 2011, in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district.

3. A Revolution's Criteria • 1. Suffering population -> Thriving population2. Economic uncertainty -> Stable economy3. Poor leadership -> Great leadership4. Should replace old order with new state structure5. Political apathy -> Structured political system

4. Explanation • A little over two years ago, protesters began gathering at Zuccotti Park in New York City to protest corporate malfeasance and income inequality (among other things). It was the start of Occupy Wall Street, a semi-national movement that — for a few months at least — was being talked about as a force that could re-shape politics heading into the 2012 presidential election.The whole purpose of the Occupy Wall Street Movement was to change the economy so that the "99 percent" could get the same opportunities as the "1 percent". This satisfies #2 (economic uncertainty -> stable economy. There was never one specific leader, more so just a handful of people who wanted to make a change (#3). As far as legislative impact goes, it does not satisfy #5 (political apathy -> structured political system). However, that criteria is the least important. The most important criteria is #1 (suffering population -> thriving population). It satisfies this criteria because after the movement, there were many more job opportunities so a larger amount of the population lived comfortably. It did not replace the old order with a new state structure (#4), but again, that is not extremely important.

5. Summary • Overall, it can be concluded that the Occupy Wall Street Movement is a revolution because it satisfies the three most important criteria. The only two it does not include are the two least important, so it can still be considered a revolution.