By PAUL LAVERACK
POLITICAL MUSCLE

During this in-depth interview with Arman Hardwick and Jason Ackerman, two undergraduate student activists at Occupy CSUN on October 13, 2011, discussion ranges across the causes of the current economic downturn, FDR and his response to the Great Depression, the excesses of capitalism, solutions offered by socialism, and the need to get corporate money out of politics.

The two students, neither of whom majors in history or political science, focus their critique on the structural inequality built into the global economic system, and America’s special contribution to the financial meltdown. “Here in the United States,” Ackerman said, “we have a Wild West attitude about the economy. The trouble with the Wild West is that someone is always getting shot.”

The spirited conversation suggests that solutions to reshape the political economy are plentiful and readily available. That said, the small size and short duration of Occupy CSUN – it lasted less than a day and peaked at a hundred participants – show that the broader political will is not yet commensurate with the vision possessed by these two activists.

Click here for the video overview of Occupy CSUN.

Tags:  arman hardwick bank bailout California State University Northridge capitalism corporate greed CSUN economic crisis fdr franklin roosevelt great depression jason ackerman occupy csun occupy los angeles occupy wall street socialism