Contingency is of the essence for creativity. The Flying Seminar session with members from Shiroto no Ran (Amateur Revolt), an anti-nuclear and counter cultural social movement group from Japan, and Occupy Wall Street, I think, was not an exception. What started as a rash decision by the Shiroto no Ran to come to New York to show their support to the OWS protest and to experience the heart of the occupation first-hand took an unplanned change after a chance meeting. Through a New School effort to create the time and space for deeper and meaningful dialogue, a valuable Japanese – American encounter occurred.

I heard the news about Shiroto no Ran’s visit just a day before their arrival. During their short stay at the Liberty Square, we met and talked about OWS. From our conversations, I began to realize how difficult it was for them to actually get the opportunity to really meet and get to know the people who are most engaged in the OWS movement. The activists in Zuccotti Park were too busy and things were changing too rapidly there. I realized that there was a need for creating a space that would facilitate a dialogue between these two groups of activists. A teach-in session organized by two New School professors, Jeffrey Goldfarb and Elzbieta Matynia, not only opened a door of opportunity, but also gave a concrete structure to my vague idea. From listening to their ideas about the Flying Seminar, I realized that we could have a serious conversation between these movements from different cultures. Just two days after I proposed the event, we all met, and my sense that it could be worthwhile, proved to be correct.

As a participant in both movements, I see my contribution in creating a space for dialogue as a modest one. But on the other hand, as a researcher who is working on the Japanese 1968 movement from a transnational perspective, I am especially interested. I am fascinated how such a dialogue is now possible in contrast to the impossibility of transnational – transcultural exchanges between activists in the sixties, and I think that such dialogue can have significant consequences. We learned from both our similarities and our differences.

Similarities and Differences

On capitalism: although not all participants involved in these movements are anti-capitalists, many, if not most, do consider capitalism as the source of profound problems. Both countries are in the stage of late capitalism and are currently facing the consequences of the great recession. In both countries the activists see the need for radical change.

With this in mind, both movements regard zones for alternatives as especially important. They work to create spaces where people can gather and live through an alternative life style, different from the ones which capitalism demands. For example, the urban commune filled with love and thoughtfulness at the Liberty Square and various shops in Koenji, Tokyo run by Shiroto no Ran that are organized through creativity and support from the people who share their ideas. Even though both movements believe in drastic social change and use the word “revolution” to describe their aspirations, their immediate aim is not to forcibly take over the government, but to create a “post-revolutionary” space inside of capitalism. They wish to change the society by inventing new tactics and demonstrating to the public that “another world is possible.” Persistent activity and the desire for creativity is the key to both movements. Their primary task is to expand their space and penetrate their thoughts into the existing society.

Despite these similarities, there are also important differences. In OWS, the goals are vague and also diverse. On the other hand, after the disaster of 3.11 in Japan, Shiroto no Ran is now focusing on a single issue, which is the abolition of nuclear power plants. Their tactics are also different. OWS occupies public spaces, while in Japan, since the use of public space for political purpose is highly restricted, Shiroto no Ran has rented  and runs several small retail shops, creating an alternative micro-economy to sustain their movement. Another difference is the consensus building process. Direct democracy is crucial for the OWS, but not for the Japanese movement at this moment. Lastly, judging from our discussion, principled opposition to violent action is more central for the Japanese activists than for the Americans.

Other than these differences on the level of issues and tactics of the movement, there are also the differences in the way they conceive capitalism. As I have mentioned earlier, both groups are against capitalism, but it seems that they are focusing on different aspects of capitalism. The OWS movement is struggling against the system that creates the deep disparity between the rich and the poor and the winners and losers that is rooted inside the American capitalist culture, which have become extreme especially after the great recession of 2008. On the other hand, after listening to the comments made by Shiroto no Ran’s members, it seems that their target is more toward the high mass consumption culture in everyday life that has been deeply embedded in the Japanese society since the 1970s. This difference came about partially from the impact of the 2008 recession on the labor market in each country. In the States, unemployment rate skyrocketed from 5.80% in 2008 to 9.28% in 2009. On the other hand, although the recession actually did affect the Japanese labor market, it was still within the limit of 3.99% in 2008 and 5.09% in 2009. Overall, a large part of the Japanese society is still living off or surviving from the post-war rapid economic growth reserve. Shiroto no Ran’s criticism is of the consumer culture supported by the post-war economic growth.

Hybridity: Central for Sustainable Occupation

In our global era, it is even more important for social movements to learn and be empowered by one another from both our similarities and our differences. While there seemed to be ambivalence about violence among the Americans, there was complete rejection of violent action among their Japanese counterparts. Japanese experience of the recent past accounts for this difference. Violence against the police and brutal infighting among the activists during the late 1960s and 1970s in Japan not only isolated the movement from the larger society, but it also left a deep cultural trauma, creating a negative image of social movements for almost forty years. Violence was the beginning of the end of social movements in Japan, and it seems to me this is something our American colleagues, who may be attracted to the communicative power of violent projects, should bear in mind.

On the other hand, the Japanese movement can learn a lot from the Americans about consensus building. As Hajime Matsumoto, one of the members of Shiroto no Ran, has accurately pointed out during the dialogue, it is hard to build up consensus through the open assembly in Japan. Instead problems are solved during unofficial situations such as the drinking session after meetings. Of course, direct democracy, which is practiced by the OWS general assembly, is not perfect. Words are power and people who can use the words effectively tend to prevail. Thus, we should acknowledge that there are voices that are being suppressed. However, it seems to me that the consensus building tactics practiced by the OWS is based on the notion that people are different and have different opinions and this needs to be consciously worked on through a persistent effort as the precondition of common agreement. Compared to the U.S., Japanese society is less diverse, especially in terms of race and ethnicity, and therefore, people tend to think that others share similar ideas, although in many cases they may not. Since different ideas are an important source for creativity and since Japanese society is becoming more diversified, it is essential to self consciously create a more democratic and open way for building consensus. This does not mean that the tactics of direct democracy and its tools of human microphone and hand gestures can or should be directly transferred to and implemented in Japan as it has been practiced in the U.S., yet these technics can be modified and rebuilt by applying appropriate resources in a different culture. Tactical hybridity is inevitable and desirable.

Lastly, in order to achieve a social change within capitalist society, it is crucial for movements to endure without losing the support from the general population. To do so, the tactics of Shiroto no Ran that creates an alternative economy inside the capitalist society and maintains relationships with the existing and surrounding society is instructive. But to really make a difference, it is crucial for us to keep pushing creatively, to draw the attention of the media and to surprise, indeed astonish, the public at large, to provoke them to think that the way things are is not the way things must be. For such purpose, the practices of OWS can be adapted and used in many different ways by the Japanese movement when they try to expand their movement.

I believe the coming together of these “amateurs” from different cities and continents will be a source of creativity sustaining an occupation. I hope and think that this Flying Seminar session made its small contribution to an ongoing transnational relationship between the two significant movements.

Over the past week, big changes have occurred in the little virtual world of Deliberately Considered. We have put up a changed format that has been on the drawing boards for months. You will note that while now the text of only the most recent post is to be found on the home page, the titles and images of many more posts can be viewed and easily accessed. We have been thinking about doing this for quite some time, but rushed this week to get it going in response to events just south of my New School office in lower Manhattan, in Zuccotti Park and its neighborhood. We are part of the neighborhood and seek to have neighborly discussions.

The new format provides easier access to more of the unfolding reports, analyses and debates on our site, and allows us to bring forward posts past that continue to address pressing problems, particularly in the editors picks.  And most important now, it will permit us to highlight more intensive investigations of pressing political issues, hoping to inform debate about those issues. Thus, now you will find the continuing posts on Occupy Wall Street.

Elzbieta Matynia and I find the occupation movement to be of great interest. For her, it is a case where her ideas of performative democracy apply. For me, the occupation is a clear case of the power of the politics of small things. We proposed and are now coordinating the Flying Seminar with our intellectual interests  and our previous work together on the Democracy Seminar in East and Central Europe and beyond in mind. As we have already reported, it is off to a quick and extraordinary start. Occupy Wall Street and Shiroto no Ran on Tuesday, Adam Michnik on Saturday. And Deliberately Considered now has a space for the announcement of upcoming sessions of the seminar, for reports on the seminar sessions, including videos of the events, and for what I hope will be sustained ongoing discussions about the issues discussed in the seminar.

And please note how the everyday posting will quite often inform the discussions in the Flying Seminar and, I hope, the discussions and debates in various groups in OWS. This week, in addition to the posts that have directly related to the occupation, Malgorzata Bakalarz reflected on the problem of curatorial practice as it attempts to address large public issues, in her case what she calls nine-elevenism. How we remember 9/11 is key to how a social movement in lower Manhattan is understood. The need to “re-remember” (as Toni Morrison put it in Beloved) the attack of September 11^th may be one of the reasons why OWS is so powerful. Malgo is dissatisfied with how an art exhibition dealt with the problem. I sometimes think that the greatest significance of OWS is that it is a much more successful exhibition. And Anette Baldauf thought about her film on the tragedy of Victor Gruen, a progressive architect and urban planner who designed the shopping mall. He hoped to “combine commercial and civic spaces and counter the a-geography of the suburbscape with a cultural and social center” and instead he “integrated living into shopping.” As she walked downtown through Soho, an art center turned urban shopping mall, on her way to visit the occupation, she imagined the city where this tragedy is overturned, where “people come before profit.”

Deliberately Considered is still a place for informed reflection on the events of the day. Now, I hope, we are moving in the direction where we can deepen the reflection and get closer to the events.

It was a flash seminar that led to deliberate dialogue. The first session of the Flying Seminar was remarkable.

On Saturday, we had a teach-in, proposing the seminar. From the floor a proposal was made to have a meeting between activists in Shiroto no Ran (Amateur Revolt) and Occupy Wall Street. We contacted the Japanese activists, who were camping out in Zuccotti Park. They agreed to participate. It was later reported to me that this is one thing they hoped to do coming to New York. I met with Harrison Schultz, the sociology student here most involved in the occupation, about the event. He spoke to friends. I went to the park to talk up the seminar, particularly with the OWS Think Tank group. It seems that there will be an ongoing relationship between this group and the Flying Seminar. We asked Jonathan Schell, given his long term focus on direct action and issues nuclear, to join us. We hoped people would come. And a diversity of interested people did, taking part in a fascinating serious discussion. As the video of the proceedings posted here reveals.

The event was defined by the people taking part. The New School provided a space for free thoughtful exchange and much was discovered. I will post my sustained thoughts about the discussion early next week. For now, I will just outline what happened.

I opened the seminar with a brief statement introducing our project. Then we started with the seminar participants introducing themselves as individuals. After which, the activists of Shiroto no Ran gave an overview of their political engagement through a slide presentation.

It turns out that they are a group of self-styled misfits, non-conformists centered in a kind of second hand retail store, where some live along with others who eat, drink, dance, sing, and exchange goods, all supported by the kindness of neighbors. Their small countercultural world (I would describe it as a quintessential example of the politics of small things), engaged a large public when they organized mass demonstrations after the Fukushima disaster. They took us through their experiences, how they reached people, where they stand in Japanese society. They explained how the size and the spirit of the anti-nuke demonstrations repeatedly attracted popular support beyond expectations. The vast majority of the protestors were first time demonstrators. Shiroto no Ran is engaging, inventive and funny.

The OWS people compared and contrasted their experiences with Shiroto no Ran, as its activists reported their experiences in the Park. There was a discussion about violence and non-violence, the evils of capitalism, how direct action here and there presents alternatives. There was debate about whether the alternatives were material or symbolic, and much more. Mostly there was a sharing of a common spirit, a common attitude toward the order of things and the pressing need to constitute alternatives.

We closed by pondering two questions: how do we imagine democracy and act upon our imagination? And, what are the prospects for and the means of achieving sustainable social change? I was struck by how the common concerns and similar practical actions are now appearing in such different cultural contexts.

More from the participants and more from me in the coming days. And please do post your comments and thoughts about Shiroto no Ran, OWS and the Flying Seminar: your judgments about this seminar session, and ideas for future ideas.

The Flying Seminar is taking off! At the teach-in yesterday, Elzbieta Matynia and I presented our idea (described in my last post) to a group of Occupy Wall Street activists and New School colleagues. It was received with strong support and also with creativity. We are already working to turn the idea into a reality.

We want to create a setting for making intellectual and political connections. We recognize that OWS presents something unique. We hope to learn from it, and we also think that experiences “past and present,” and “from here and elsewhere,” can not only inform our understanding of the world wide occupation movement, it can also help the occupation and other social movements act in an informed fashion. Our seminar is dedicated to this learning and informed action.

Elzbieta and I worked together once on such an activity in East and Central Europe, the Democracy Seminar, which she describes in her book Performative Democracy and which is also described briefly in my bio here. The comparison excited great interest yesterday from OWS activists and New School students, as did other comparisons that were discussed around the room.

One seemed particularly pressing and interesting. Kei Nakagawa, a graduate student at The New School from Japan, informed us that a number of prominent Japanese activists from Shiroto no Ran are now in New York to observe and support OWS, and that they will be here until the middle of next week. Shiroto no Ran is a leaderless, network oriented social movement organization, which focuses especially on anti-nuclear issues, responding to the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. By using the tactics of sound demonstration and non-violent action, the movement successfully mobilized people, especially young citizens, who have never previously participated in political demonstrations. On September 11th, the half-year anniversary of the disaster, Shiroto no Ran played a key role in mobilizing more than 25,000 participants in Tokyo marking that fateful day.

Nakagawa suggested that the visiting activists would be particularly interested in a sustained exchange with participants in OWS. We were all intrigued by the fact that such a meeting might be arranged. Amazingly through the dedicated action of Matynia and her colleagues at The New School’s Transregional Center for Democratic Studies, and the engagement of Nakagawa, a the first meeting of The Flying Seminar has been put together, less than a day after our preliminary meeting.

I am happy to report that this meeting of The Flying Seminar will take place this Tuesday evening at 8:00 at The New School, exact location to be announced. Jonathan Schell, the distinguished activist and writer on non-violent action and nuclear power has agreed to moderate the meeting.

This is a good beginning. We at Deliberately Considered will report on the first session of the seminar and will provide a platform for serious deliberate discussion of the issues raised in this meeting and future meetings of The Flying Seminar. Also upcoming, Matynia’s reflections on Occupy Wall Street, presented at our meeting yesterday, and New School sociology student and OWS activist, Harrison Schultz’s reflections from Zuccotti Park.