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“The Meaning and Necessity of Revolution in the 21st Century”

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An exceptional work of analysis and vision from one of the most astute observers of the present worldwide revolt. Jerome E. Roos is the founder of ROARmag.org (Reflections on a Revolution), and has traveled extensively in southern Europe over the past year. This is from a talk he gave in Barcelona on the eve of the 1-year anniversary of the uprising of the indignados. It includes links to videos that have inspired revolutionaries in Tunisia, Egypt, Greece and Chile: http://roarmag.org/2012/05/jerome-roos-ovni-2012-revolution-21st-century.

Early on in the article, Roos describes his perspective on the current situation (with links to some previous postings):

We are living through a time in which the illusory sense of growth and progress that underpinned the cultural hegemony of neoliberalism – and its belief that representative democracy and the self-regulating market will bring freedom and prosperity to all – is dying a slow and painful death. The deceptive ideological mirror of the End of History has been shattered, and in come tumbling a whole new range of alternative futures. With the uprisings that started in the Arab world last year, history appears to have started anew. After a brief interlude that began with the end of the Cold War, the ongoing global financial crisis has radically shaken the foundations of the neoliberal world order. The endless struggle has recommenced, and in the process, the horizon of the possible is rapidly shifting. And the most incredible thing is that we’re watching all of it happen right in front of our very eyes.

… and he looks ahead to the kind of society prefigured in the Occupations of 2011:

The occupations at Sol, Syntagma and Zuccotti Park were like a globally interconnected web of tiny little Utopias. They were a whisper from the future; a reflection of the society we wish to create. A society without parties or leaders – where decisions affecting the community are taken collectively and on the basis of consensus. A society with neither wage slavery nor unemployment – where people choose their own type of work and are rewarded on the basis of need, not greed. A self-organized society based on horizontally-networked federation, without hierarchical structures of power or political representation. A society that does not atomize individuals, but that cherishes the idea of community, providing a sense of belonging and fulfillment while leaving individuals perfectly free to develop themselves physically, mentally and spiritually; to actualize their greatest potential and achieve a sense of internal peace and harmony. A society that cherishes culture and creativity, selflessness and solidarity. That is the world that was born in Sol, Syntagma and Plaza Catalunya – that is the vision that gives us hope.

Full story is at http://roarmag.org/2012/05/jerome-roos-ovni-2012-revolution-21st-century.