Far better informed people than me have commented on the actual winners and losers associated with #GameStop and the #RedditArmy attack on the stock market (see @StephenPunwasi to start) but what fascinates me is the political angle. Which is real, but also completely absent. 1/9
This incredible movement of dollars, headlines, and memes is fundamentally driven by frustration with elites winning endlessly in a game perceived to be rigged. Leaving aside whether the response is productive or destructive, the motivating force is clear, pure, and real. 2/9
This movement has been compared to everything from Trump-inspired insurrectionists to violent Antifa activists. Such comparisons, from every side, are unfair and miss the point. Because this movement hasn't taken any side politically and hasn't come close to breaking any law. 3/9
Will the retail-investor-revolution end up wasting money? Maybe. Probably. But compared to the vast amounts of money poured into politics (especially in America) I can't see any valid argument that people aren't allowed to waste their money to make a point. 4/9
To me, the overriding message is this. Politicians on all sides have been harnessing anger at a system correctly perceived as rigged for a long time. Every side does it. And whether intentionally or not, by splitting that anger in half it's being used to neutralize itself. 5/9
The vast force of this movement isn't only due to stock market voodoo and the angry #RedditArmy. It's due to the fact that by staying politically agnostic, it really is about average people vs. the system. However muddy it may get from there, that much is pure. 6/9
Truly, the system IS rigged. And not just the stock market. I say that even as someone who - whether due to luck, hard work, or born-with privilege that goes beyond my working class upbringing - has been a moderate winner in this system. It IS rigged. 7/9
If it was ever the case that capitalism gave everyone a fair chance to be one of the winners in this game, that time is in the past. And there are far, far more people who know that's true than are still pretending it isn't. Which means that something's gotta give. 8/9
Leaving aside the stock market bingo, the real story is that everyone pissed off at the rigged game refused to be played off against one another and divided into rival political teams. And holy shit look what happened. The lesson must be applied elsewhere. We need it. 9/9
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