The 99% Movement and Signs of the Capitalism Decline

Mohammad Bagher Ansari

Why did the 99% Movement in the West occur, will this movement continue, and is this movement a way to the decline of capitalism? What system will be replaced, if the capitalistic system is collapsed?

With the advent of the anti-capitalism movement in America which is known as the "99% Movement" or " Wall Street Movement" and which spread out gradually  in many cities in the western countries, and even in some eastern countries with a capitalistic system such as Australia, Japan, and so on.. the above mentioned questions have been created in minds and attracted attentions to this point that whether the time has not arrived that the capitalistic system should also collapse just as the communist system did?

Undoubtedly, one of the most important factors that caused the collapse of the communism in the Soviet Union was the long and costly war of this large country with Afghanistan. This war with a neighbor that lasted almost 30 years emptied Russia's treasury and paralyzed its economy in such a way that its negative and irreparable effects became more apparent in people's lives. Moreover the seventy-year-pressure of the communist system had put its nations in a bad fix.

Therefore Mikhail Gorbachev, the last emperor of the communism system, in this critical situation, saw no remedy other than to announce "perestroika" and "glasnost" in the '80s. Perestroika was a plan for reconstruction the economic system which, in reality, was a goodbye to the economic system of communism; and glasnost was the open political atmosphere that, in fact, pushed "the Soviet Iron Curtain" aside.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, its satellites in Eastern Europe and other corners of the world were also released from the communist network.[1]

 Nowadays, though the capitalistic system of the West Imperialistic Empire has not yet announced its collapse, as a matter of fact, the USA and its western allies, after one decade of a costly war in Afghanistan and Iraq which has broken the backs of the economy of its capitalistic system, are facing critical problems.

Few years ago when the major banks of the USA, one after the other, were declaring bankruptcy and consequently, large companies in America and Europe were closing and unemployment increased in western societies, this must be the beginning of "western Perestroika', but western rulers continued to hide this truth until they were finally faced with street demonstrations in their own countries. Today this economic bankruptcy has manifested itself in the main and explicit theme of these protests as to why the wealth of the west must be at the disposal of 1% and 99% of its people must be deprived of it?

According to the statistics, after America's economic crisis, 46 million people of the USA were placed at the poverty line and so far this statistic is on the rise.  Today 2.6 million people have been added to this statistic. At the present time due to the poverty l5% of the people of America receive food stamps ($200 per person). According to the statistics 50% of the people of America have 2.5% of its resources at their disposal, while I % of the country's wealthy class of America has more than 35% of its resources.

However, Mass demonstrations in more than 1,000 cities of more than 5l states of America and sit in squares and parks, in tents and in the cold despite police violence of this country and also their movement is in the form of marches from New York to Washington DC indicates the seriousness of this movement. Demonstrations against capitalism has also spread from America to European countries. Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Greece, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Serbia and Montenegro have also witnessed these protests. In addition to Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Australia and Japan have held similar protests.

On the other hand, few months before the Wall Street Movement the Islamic Awakening in the Middle East and North African countries have been occurred and their nations -- who had for many years experienced the bitter rulership of USA authoritarian ruler and puppets, one after the other were being put into the garbage can of the history and this adventure still is continuing-- are getting rid of this situation. This is in fact a part of the history which reminds the collapse of the Soviet Union's puppets in the eastern European countries and elsewhere one after the other. 

Therefore, with this explanation, there are complete similarities between the fates the two enormous system of the atheist of the East and capitalist of the West, in terms of widespread poverty and the collapse of the satellites. And this situation will sooner or later cause great changes in the world.

Yet it is possible that these demonstrations and movements in the West may be suppressed and people will return home, but the problem of capitalistic system that have been appeared nowadays in the world, is a strong fire that remains under the ashes and will never grow cold or burn out.

Now that the "Western Awakening" has been occurred and the nations are looking at the other ugly side of the face of the western capitalism, the question is: What is the solution to this issue and what philosophy or school of thought should we look for?

The answer is one word which is: Until there is no system in the world based upon "Justice" the problems of human society will never be solved.

Justice and the Islamic economic system according to the holy Qur'an have been explained in the last part of the paper. 

[1] Imam Khomeini (RA) three years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, with a political or mystical prediction, in a letter dated I January 1988 wrote to Gorbachev: "Mr. Gorbachev, It's clear to everyone that we should find communism in world's political history museum ..." He further added, " Today those allies of yours that are genuinely concerned about their homelands and people are no longer willing to sacrifice their subterranean and surface resources to keep alive the myth of the success of communism, an ideology whose din of collapse has already reached the ears of their children." Sahifeh Imam, Vol.2l, pp. 22l-222.