Why Its Still Kicking off Everywhere - Book Report/Review Example

Why It’s Still Kicking off Everywhere? The persistence of social justice questions that have not been answered, coupled with the political enlightenment and technological access and use has contributed to a wave of uprisings and unrests in different parts of the world, which have really shaken the global regimes and further raised a question as to whether the historical revolts against the elite governments could be reshaping again. First, Paul Mason's theory holds that an uprising technological innovation is a major cause for the turbulent revolts that are being experienced in different parts of the world (Mason, 47). The fact that it has now become easier for people to communicate and spread ideas through telephony and the internet, and the fact that the use of the internet further complicates matters because of the disguised and anonymity of the users, makes it difficult for the authorities to get sufficient information regarding such communications, so they can handle matters in advance, before the revolutions in the telephony and internet technology spills over to the street (McNally, 32). The fact that now people have the channels to communicate and air their feelings towards social injustices in the society, coupled with an upsurge in the desire for human freedoms. Further, the definition and understanding of what freedom means has been fundamental tenets of the current developments in the global conflicting systems between the authorities and those perceiving social injustice in the authority (Sparke, 21). The economic conditions have changed drastically in some regions since the 2008 financial crisis, creating a wave of unemployment that is so apparent, thus it has relegated the unemployed into the bottom of a state-controlled mass, which is even worse than was historically a group of consumers without contribution, due to lack of opportunities (Mason, 91).“The Graduate with No Future” revolts are motivated by these worsening economic conditions, which threatens them with reduction of government education support and prospective lack of job opportunities after they have graduated, yet they are still carrying the baggage of educational loans to repay (Mason, 11). Paul Mason's theory holds that the suppressed feelings and frustrations that have been generated and stored in the minds of the impending graduates and the unemployed reaches a level when it is no longer possible for the society to hold back these agitations, and at some point the explosion of the agitations and frustrations just occurs so naturally, that the society is no longer able to control or limit the extent to which the frustrations will go in seeking for redress. It is such ways of expressing frustrations that are coming in the manner of the statements that “If You Don’t Let Us Dream, We Won’t Let You Sleep” (Mason, 39). The rise of populist politics, according to Paul Mason's theory, is another factor that has contributed to the current wave of uprisings in different parts of the world, with such populist politics seeking to scrutinize every aspect of the government operations, and pointing at the possible loopholes left by the state, no matter how small (Mason, 42). Such politics are gathering momentum through the use of social movements, NGOs and unions, which have become effective vehicles for meticulous scrutiny of the ruling regimes, after such entities are not able to generate creative and effective ideas for the governments to implement for prosperity. It is the despair associated with such failures that has resulted to the unions, social movements and NGOs to blow the issues out of proportion, and then mobilizing the public, which is even more desperate for implementation of social justice measures, to spark off uprisings that are destabilizing many countries (Sparke, 35). The populist politics have been generated by the current state of affairs, where the world is increasingly falling short of ideas to recreate wealth, and thus the sole focus of the whole society is on how the existing wealth can be redistributed equitably to all (Mason, 43). However, the wealth within different nations, or with all honesty, all nations, is not enough to better the lives of all even when it is redistributed according to social justice. The narrowed focus on how the government and the authorities are sharing the limited national wealth, is a major recipe for despair by the society, after realizing that no method of sharing such wealth can prove effective to satisfy everybody’s need. Consequently, the forces behind populist politics decides to push the agenda of wealth redistribution beyond the available practical means, eventually resulting to agitations and frustrations that explodes into protests and demonstrations that becomes difficult to quell (McNally, 41). The response by the state and capitalists to the existing social unrest also serves to heighten the wave of existing crisis. This is because, owing to the techniques that are applied by the social movements, the unions and the NGOs to attack the state over social injustice, the state is forced to respond in a way that demonstrates cruelty or alternatively remain indifferent to the crisis (McNally, 73). Both ways, the social frustration is bound to be boosted, and the consequence is a heightened conflict between the state and the society. Therefore, considering that capitalism does not create any avenue through which wealth can be equitably redistributed, there is an even more reason to be cautious about what the future holds, since the simmering dissatisfaction within the public domain is big, and simply awaits for a catalyst to re-ignite it into rage, and eventually full blown crisis. Additionally, there no longer exists a formidable global war or conflict that unites the elites to fight for change, leaving the society to be suppressed by injustice to the point of explosion (Mason, 94). Therefore, Paul Mason's theory holds that the very history that was declared to have come to an end; the history of revolts and armed struggle is now alive again, but more stronger that the historical one, owing to the backing of the technological innovations, new perceptions and definitions of freedom, and higher level of enlightened frustration (Sparke, 69). In the “The Graduate with No Future” protests, the British authorities were caught by surprise, when a battalion of 50,000 students marched through the streets of London but diverted to the unexpected venue at the Conservative party’s headquarters (Mason, 11). Further, the situation was worsened by the support given to the students by different other sections of the society such as the employees and the unemployed, thus sustaining a countrywide protest. While the students were protesting against the reduction of student education support, the protest gained momentum over varied reasons from varied sections of the society. Thus, Paul Mason's applies to Canada, to the extent that; failure of capitalism to deliver in its initial promises that there shall forever be unending growth has put the economic promises at loggerheads with the social and political expectations. The technological innovations have served to fuel the distribution and communication of the social expectations and the identified gaps, which then forces the society to seek redress in ways that will ultimately bring change, having been sufficiently patient in waiting for the change to effect itself (McNally, 56). Further, the society has developed tactics that are helping avoid military and state reprisals, through the application of non-violent demonstrations and protests, which have the force of a mighty mass-army behind, thus making it impractical to quell the protests instantly, while their bush fire techniques of spreading reason and mobilizing support is in turn gaining momentum. This new development is also attributed to the concept of free association, and the role of powerful international NGOs, which is a major force behind the protests, which are now stronger than the social movements (Mason, 45). Thus should the economic conditions deteriorate and the social pressure increase, Canada as a country cannot be exceptional from experiencing the situations that have occurred in the other countries. Works Cited McNally, David. Global Slump: The Economics and Politics of Crisis and Resistance. Oakland, CA: PM Press, 2011. Print. Mason, Paul. Why It's Still Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions. London: Verso, 2013. Print. Sparke, Matthew. Introducing Globalization: Ties, Tension, and Uneven Integration. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. Print. Read More