...Graham “Occupy Wall Street” Business Ethics Professor: Steven Curry “Occupy Wall Street” The “Occupy Wall Street” movement has become a big deal since it began in the fall of 2011. This movement was inspired by international protests, with thousands arriving in New York City answering the call, soon spreading to well over 500 cities. I would like to discuss more of the details of the movement, the moral and economic implications, as well as the different ethics theories to see which theory best applies to the movement. The Arab Springs protest on February 11, 2011 was the most notable inspiration of the Occupy Wall Street movement. According to the website occupy together, the occupy movement is an international movement driven by individuals. They are organized in over 100 cities in the United States, and they aim to fight back against the system that has allowed the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. “All of us have many different backgrounds and political beliefs but feel that, since we can no longer trust our elected officials to represent anyone other than their wealthiest donors, we need real people to create real change from the bottom up… We no longer want the wealthiest to hold all the power, to write the rules governing an unbalanced and inequitable global economy, and thus foreclosing on our future.” The movement works to achieve their goals by resist, In the spirit and tradition of civil disobedience #occupy takes to the streets to protest...
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...Running head: OCCUPY WALL STREET Assignment #1 Occupy Wall Street Movement Brenda Bryant Dr. Obi. Iwuanyanwu BUS309 Business Ethics October 5, 2012 Discuss the moral and economic implications involved in the movement. The Occupy movement was a protest that gathered local organizers, students, and activists in response to the economic disparity of countries around the world. The protest gained momentum after a continuous series of protests took place in Zuccotti Park in New York City's Wall Street financial district (Manhattan) on September 17th, 2011, where it was named Occupy Wall Street (OWS). This is an international protest movement where the moral foundation of the OWS Movement appears to be focused around fairness, care, and liberty from oppression. The main moral issues are against social and economic inequality, greed, corruption, and the undue influence of corporations on government—particularly from the financial services sector. The OWS primary goal is to make the economic structure and power relations in society fairer. The majority view of the protesters and moral implications is to fight for more government involvement and concern for the 99 percent that are not rich. OWS protesters believe the economic system is not fair and is set up in way such that now only the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. The rich--those on Wall Street (“the “1 percent”) got rich by taking without giving. OWS protesters view the rich as cheaters...
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...Occupy Wall Street Movement Holly Hyder Professor Zimmerman Business Ethics July 28, 2013 Occupy Wall Street Movement In the fall of 2011 there began a movement in America. This movement would forever be known as Occupy Wall Street. Taking over Liberty Square in the Manhattan Financial District in New York, a group of Americans began a nonviolent protest over the economic state in America. One of the stances that Occupy Wall Street held was that 99% of American’s economic well-being was controlled by the top 1% of Americans. This economic truth would no longer be accepted by this group of Americans. This group also called for solidarity inside of the 99% of Americans defining this in a set of principles. These principles involved a direct and transparent engagement of participatory democracy, exercising responsibility on collective and individual levels, empowerment of each other against all oppression, redefining how labor is valued, the sanctity of individual privacy, that education is human right, and that all knowledge, technologies, and culture be open to free access, creation, modification, and distribution (Stone, 2011)). Together in this movements solidarity they came together in New York to speak out about the injustices that they have suffered at the hands of corporations. These facts were that homes had been placed in foreclosure without the original mortgages, bonuses have been given to executives after corporations have received bail outs from taxpayers, the...
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...Occupy Wall Street Movement Business Ethics 309 Discuss the moral and economic implications involved in the movement. September 17, 2011 is the day the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City. The main issues include social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the undue influence of corporations on government according to The New York Times. The mix of moral foundations based on ideas from the anthropologist Richard Shweder, outline six clusters of moral concern - care, fairness, liberty, loyalty, authority, or sanctity. OWS main moral issues include: fairness, care, and liberty. Fairness – the rich (the “1” percent) got rich by taking without giving. OWS protesters viewed the rich as cheaters who exploited their way to the top. They further suggested that the taxpayers had to bail them out after they crashed the economy. Care and liberty were the next moral foundations at OWS (Haidt, 2011). Analyze each of the implications identified above against the utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics to determine which theory best applies to the movement. Utilitarian looks at consequences, or the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that morally right action is the action that produces the most good. We believe that we are all individuals and that society is only the net result of our individual choices. The sociologist Emile Durkheim understood that utilitarianism is...
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...The Occupy Wall Street Movement began on Sept. 17, 2011, when a diffuse group of activists began a loosely organized protest called Occupy Wall Street, camping out in Zuccotti Park, a privately owned park in New York’s financial district. The protest was to stand against corporate and government greed, social inequality and the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process. The idea was to camp out for weeks or even months to replicate the kind, if not the scale, of protests that had erupted earlier in 2011 in Tunisia and Egypt. There were many that protested for this trying to make a change. Many people fought for their rights asking for help for certain situations such as foreclosing in homes and also asking for better jobs to support their families which I feel was the hugest part regarding this Movement. The Movement was very important for these people to stand up for their rights and announce the help that they needed and they feel that other people deserved when stuck in situations. There was a main slogan for these protesters. We are 99 percent was a huge part of this. It refers to income differential, a main issue for OWS. It derives from a We are 99 percent flyer calling for Occupy Wall Street's second General Assembly in August 2011. The variation "We are the 99%" originated from a page of the same name. Vietnam War era, and that the majority of Democrats, independents and Republicans see the income gap as causing...
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...Occupy Wall Street protest movement instigated by pro-environment group/ magazine Adbuster in Sept 2011 in New York City Wall Street financial district. This sociopolitical ideology that opposed good and service increasing amount. The main issues raised by Occupy Wall Street were “Social and economic inequality, greed, corruption and the perceived undue influence of corporations on government—particularly from the financial services sector. To achieve their goals, protesters acted on consensus-based decisions made in general assemblies which emphasized redress through direct action over the petitioning to authorities.” By Millennials being left wing or self-identified liberals more than a half of million signed a petition online to support the movement. However, this non- violent protest has generated comparison to Resurrection City, June 1968. From the economic disparities principle, permanent encampments, chanting, and demonstrators being forcibly removed....
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...City’s financial district, and the Occupy Wall Street movement (OWS) in its original form effectively disappeared from public view. This slight hiccup did not dampen the spirits of Occupied protesters, mostly comprised of disenfranchised young adults; instead, this obstacle spurred them to redouble their efforts and shift their focus, occupying alternative venues such as banks, corporate headquarters, board meetings, foreclosed homes, and college and university campuses. The Zuccotti Park camps merely represented the figurative “tip of the iceberg” in a global phenomenon, which held an ideological power that still remains relevant in social and political circles. The movement finally put a voice, multifaceted and bold, to the economic ails, political problems, and social unrest that racked the self-proclaimed 99% of the population. OWS called out the ruling class of elites by connecting the dots between corporate and political power, claiming that the economic system was rigged favoring those few on top, while leaving the overwhelming majority in the dust. “We the 99%” quickly gained footing and...
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...The movement failed for a variety of reasons, chief among them, was the diversion among the protesters. It cannot be forgotten, that the movement originated with students. These students were the children of the political and economic Chinese elite, and therefore had very different concerns than the other protesters. The death of the liberal reformer Hu Yaobang was the original spark and the uniting cause for the majority of the students. However, even among the students there was a whole variety of issues spanning the gamut from political democracy to interracial marriage. The inability of the student leaders to synchronize and untie under a single all encompassing message spelled trouble for the movement. Of course others were attracted to the moment such as "more radically inclined protesters....and decidedly adventurous groups."(Blecher 77) There was also the out of town lumpen proletarians which included a criminal element that had "fewer...
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...Occupy Wall Street no fue el primero que empezó la idea de “ocupar.” Entonces cómo empezó este movimiento y quiénes son los que desempeñaron un gran papel para su inicio? Muchas veces Adbusters es conocido como el grupo que impulsó Occupy Wall Street. Adbusters es una revista canadiense con el motivo de traer cambios en el mundo con su idea anti-consumista y anti-capitalista. Unos eventos que motivó esta revista fueron el boicot de Starbucks y del Huffington Post. Y todo fue porque estas compañías gigantes impedían el desarrollo de las que son pequeñas o locales. Entonces Adbusters, viendo que (la causa del movimiento), pidió que 90,000 manifestantes llenen la calle de Wall Street. Sin embargo, en verdad Adbusters no fue el inicio, sino fue un grupo de artistas, escritores, activistas, y estudiantes que se reunieron en el 16 Beaver Street para debatir sobre cambiar el mundo. Además de neoyorquinos, los miembros de estas reuniones incluían muchos de los que vinieron de todas partes diferentes como España, Egipto, y Japón, quienes ya antes habían participado en otras protestas en sus propios países. Ellos empezaron este tipo de reuniones en el verano del 2011, solamente para compartir sus ideas sobre las políticas y economía y los cambios que querían ver, no para empezar una protesta. Nadie de ahí sabía que ellos mismos iban a impeler un movimiento. Begonia y Luis, quienes vieron suceder el Movimiento 15-M en España (una protesta de “ocupar” donde 20,000 personas indignadas por...
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...Running Head: Occupy Wall Street Movement Occupy Wall Street By: Barbara Manley Business 309 Professor: Dr. Badowski January 29, 2013 Running Head: Occupy Wall Street Movement 1 Occupy Wall Street Movement The Occupy Wall Street Movement came about in September of 2011. This was a movement about corporate money ant the influences it has on the politics. Many supported this movement because they felt that politics” supported corporate greed, as well as financial and social inequality.” (Haidt, 2012). One moral view of this was focused on democracy, which must were lead to believe was controlled mostly money and not the people which is what a democracy is supposed to be focused on. Those who supported (OWS) Occupy Wall Street believed that if there was to be a change made in the country the focus must took of the money and placed back on the resources our country has to offer. This movement set out prove that we were throwing money at the issues and problems instead of really dealing with them and finding ways to fix them. Occupy Wall Street also brought out that America wasn’t setting an example of a united nation but that of a nation controlled by politics and money The (OWS) showed how more money was being spent on the military which many questions if this was really of necessity. Occupy Wall Street also places some of it focus on the nature, they showed that although we talking about preserving our world we continued to use harmful chemicals and drill. (Lakeoff, 2012) “A...
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...Running head: SOMETHING HAPPENING HERE There’s Something Happening Here: Occupying Wall Street Mindy Newell, R.N., CNOR Grand Canyon University NRS – 432V Teresa Ortner, RNC, MSNEd October 8, 2011 There’s Something Happening Here: Occupying Wall Street The Plan of Action On September 17, 2011, nearly 1,000 protesters gathered around the symbolic sculpture of a charging bull that is the focal point of Bowling Green Park, which is in the financial district of downtown Manhattan, to say to the kings of Wall Street “Enough! No more! You will not continue to profit on the broken backs and weary shoulders of we, the people! You will not destroy the American dream with your greed!” They did not leave, but hoisted tents and unrolled sleeping bags to “Occupy Wall Street” (Smith, 2011). Since that day, the movement has spread across the country, from New York up the coast to Boston, down the coast through Washington to Miami, and across the country through Chicago and St. Louis all the way to Los Angeles, from large metropolises to small towns across America. It has become a genuine social and political movement, utilizing both old media such as newspapers and television news and new media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube (Ellis, Raja & Follman, 2011). Major labor unions, such as National Nurses United, the AFL-CIO, the Communications Workers of America, the United Auto Workers, the United Federation of Teachers, the Writers Guild...
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...Occupy Wall Street Professor Sanjib Guha Business Ethics November 12, 2012 Occupy Wall Street Many Americans have wanted to take a stand against the corruption that occurs within big business, banks, and Wall Street. It was not until September 2011 that people band together to take a stand in Liberty Square, which is located in Manhattan’s Financial District (2012). This movement started with many passionate people that would no longer hold their silence. Having to deal with an economy that tanked and a high unemployment rate brought this to a head. The message was clear – a change was needed. It is said that the collective worker in America does not have a voice (About, 2012). Many are told to just deal with the outlined terms of employment or find another job. Union workers would say that they have choices, and their representatives fight for them. The union workers also have a higher salary than non-union workers in the same field of work. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) provided a springboard for a joint voice that was loud enough for some to hear. Many that were out of work and many that needed to speak up band together to focus on this inequality. Moral that was once low, soon increased as the movement took form. The movement had some setbacks a few months after it started which included protestors being faced with arrest. Looking from the outside into the movement, one would wonder if all involved had the same goals as the movement, or were they there to simply...
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...Occupy movement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (June 2013) Occupy movement Part of response to the late-2000s financial crisis and subprime mortgage crisis and the impact of the Arab Spring Combination of October 2011 global protests.jpg Worldwide Occupy movement protests on 15 October 2011 Location Worldwide (List of locations) Methods Occupation Non violent protest Civil disobedience Picketing Demonstrations Internet activism General strikes Direct action Arrests/Injuries/Deaths Arrests: 7,700+,[1] Injuries: 400+,[2] Deaths: 32[3][4][5][6][7] The Occupy movement is an international protest movement against social and economic inequality, its primary goal being to make the economic and political relations in all societies less vertically hierarchical and more flatly distributed. Local groups often have different foci, but among the movement's prime concerns is the belief that large corporations and the global financial system control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy and is unstable.[8][9][10][11] The first Occupy protest to receive wide coverage was Occupy Wall Street in New...
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...The Occupy Movement Randy Hale, Kathryn Lindquist Sanchez, Liduina Allen, Monica Lorena Carrillo, Veronica Lincoln PHL/323 November 13, 2011 Cassandra Giles, Facilitator The Occupy Movement Ethical behavior in business is consistent with the principles, norms, and standards of business practice that have been agreed upon by society (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). Society is unhappy with greed and corruption of wealth inequality prevalent in the U S. The wealth of the United States people is only held by 1% of the U.S. population (“Occupy Together”. 2011). The Occupy Wall Street movement focus is for better wealth equality across the nation. What happened in society that brought up the issue? What ethical change or ethical system played a role in the issue? What is a proposed plan to fix the issue? What seems to be the Basis of the Issue? The basis of the Occupy movement was brought about by ongoing financial fraud and wanting the wrong doers to be brought to justice. The movement wants to separate money from politics. The Canadian-based anti-consumerist organization called Adbusters proposed occupation of Wall Street to protest corporate influence on democracy, and a growing disparity in wealth. The issue being; they represent the 99%, and have the goal of ending the greed and corruption that the wealthiest 1% of Americans have (“Occupy Together”. 2011). The Occupy Wall Street movement wants a more equal distribution of the wealth. The idea is to rebuild the wealth...
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...Occupy Wall Street Movement November 2nd 2012 Business Ethics Occupy Wall Street In the fall of 2011, in Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, hundreds of protestors were evicted because they were protesting main issues such as social and economic inequality, greed, and corruption. The Occupy Wall Street slogan, “We are the 99%”, addresses the inequality income and wealth distribution in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. The protesters have put their faith in the last seemingly credible force in the world: each other. The movement is really about the balance of give and take of Wall Street, how there are people who make things to add to the distribution of goods in America, who help America’s growth by keeping consumers money and resources in America, and there are takers who take from Wall Street and do not give anything in return and that is where there the problem is because they don’t provide anything to the benefit and progression of America’s financial status. Moral and economic implications of Occupy Wall Street Movement “Like a lot of the young protesters who have flocked to Occupy Wall Street, Joe had thought that hard work and education would bring, if not class mobility, at least a measure of security (indeed, a master’s degree can boost a New York City teacher’s salary by $10,000 or more). But the past decade of stagnant wages for the 99 percent and million-dollar bonuses for the 1 percent has awakened the kids of the middle class to a national...
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