“The real purpose of the Metamovement, I would argue, is to re-engage the 99%, from the bottom up, community by community around the world, first to learn how things really work and what is really going on, and then to decide what actions need to be taken in response.”

I agree absolutely. Well said. Thank you.

“My sense is that, in the short run, the situation is simply not bad enough in most of the affluent nations of the world to engage sufficiently large numbers of people…”

Maybe. We’ll see.

“And every failure, like the recent failure of the anti-pipeline demonstrations in Washington DC (despite evidence of unethical and possibly illegal activities by both US and Canadian governments and regulators working with Big Oil), will only serve to demoralize the Metamovement and sap its energy.”

Failures can have just the opposite effect. I think the movement will learn how to use and recycle everything. Our best and brightest creatives are committing.

“And in the longer run, I believe that the massive and chronic crises we will all be facing will consume so much of our time and attention that the Metamovement will fall by the wayside.”

Things aren’t bad enough yet…but things will soon be too bad. Fair enough. Its all good.

Neither hope nor pessimism really matter. We know the generation now alive is making a last stand for human civilization. I think such an existential disruption awakens something in the DNA. I feel it.

Poor Richard