Dave Ramsey writes a clear and balanced critique of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement in this recent article. He lists some common demands that have fueled OWS and sparked similar Occupy... protests around the world. These demands include:
“No Government Bailouts!”
“Down With Corporate Greed!”
"Wealth Redistribution Is the Answer!”
For each stated demand, Ramsey provides a direct, and sometimes pithy, response. His bottom line is that while OWS has values that are admirable, there is no coherent, actionable plan. Without a plan, the actions are not likely to produce any real change.
Ramsey's article is not so much a defense of capitalism as an appeal for the OWS movement to come up with something concrete, born of values, and capable of being challenged in debate.
Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, has given us one of the best Value-Focused Thinking quotes ever, He said, "The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands." Start with values. Make a plan. Grade results against values, not against the plan.
Values (Heart). Get the values right or the numbers don't matter
Plan (Head). Get the numbers right, or the results don't matter.
Action (Hands). Execute the plan and get results that matter.
The OWS movement has clearly tapped into an issue that resonates around the globe. If the OWS movement will accomplish anything, they must find a way to present their values in a concrete way. They must develop an actionable plan that's open to review and which lends itself to modeling and testing. Without an actionable plan, the leaderless OWS movement will soon be ignored as just so many malcontents.
Compare and contrast OWS with the Tea Party. As James Sinclair's Venn diagram below shows, the two groups have similar issues. While neither group claims a single leader, the Tea Party has managed to produce a platform and to advance its values in an organized fashion.
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