RECOMMENDED READING
A decade after the Occupy Wall Street protesters called out the reckless greed that brought down the economy, a different kind of anti-Wall Street, populist uprising is happening onlineāon comment threads and in trading appsāand these protesters are dumping equal parts money and defiance into their cause. The GameStop revolution also speaks to general frustration with the state of work in America.
Recommended Reading
GameStop: Intentionally Dying
Our country, we tell ourselves, is a place where anyone can make it if they study enough, and where the smartest rise to the top. Grow up in a sad town with only empty lots where factories used to be? Hit the books, spend your days in the library memorizing dates, equations, and working out that brain.
L’Affaire GameStop
The stampede into GameStop and other stocks was a political event. Like antifa assaults on government building and the mob assault on the White House, the investment strategy hatched on Read more…
GameStop Populism
In our populist moment, the categories of left and right are losing their currency. Underlying recent eventsāthe Capitol riot of Jan 6 (a populist political uprising) and the GameStop saga (āthe first populist uprising in financeā)āis the belief that the system is rotten. Itās a belief shared by populists on both sides, even as party labels are becoming less meaningful for many working people who see reality as primarily shaped by the interests of a powerful, wealthy, global elite vs. the needs of ordinary people.
