DAVID FRIEDMAN is a mathematician, educator and writer. He has been involved in struggles for free speech, civil rights, peace and trade unionism, and considers himself a democratic socialist in the tradition of Eugene V. Debs.
A statement, called an Action Plan by one of the people circulating it, seems to have emerged from the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, or from a working group set up by the people there. It's impossible to know how many people in and around OWS would agree with the thrust of this plan, but the two main points—if adopted and carried out—are extremely important. Even to get these points widely discussed would be a huge step forward. The details are less important than the main ideas.
1. Fiddling While Rome Burns