On Friday, 26 members of Occupy Albany were arrested, and another 13 on Saturday. Eight of those arrested were members of the Radical Caucus.

The following “Statement by the Members of Occupy Albany’s Radical Caucus Arrested Saturday and Sunday Evenings in Lafayette Park” was released today:

On Saturday evening 26 people were arrested and on Sunday evening 13 were arrested for remaining in Lafayette Park past a curfew. This curfew did not exist until days before the first General Assembly in Lafayette Park.  Among each night’s arrestees were 8 members of the Occupy Albany Radical Caucus.  While we took part in this action, we would like to make it known we are not of the view that occupying public spaces and appealing to the Bill of Rights is sufficient action for the creation of a just society. No government can grant us rights; they can merely take away our autonomy. This was demonstrated last night when we were arrested.

The privatization of public space and resources must be thoughtfully and effectively resisted. We feel it is essential to defend against this offensive by the 1% and their lapdogs such as Andrew Cuomo.  But we also recognize that it will be necessary to challenge the property rights system which forms the legal basis for many of the material injustices done upon the 99%.  Eviction of persons from their homes by banks and landlords, the idling and off-shoring of our productive capacity, falling wages for those who remain employed, and the elimination of an already miserly social safety net are all methods by which the wealth of our nation is being consolidated to the richest 1%. This extraction can only be ended by moving beyond a system which affirms the property rights of owners to act with profit driven self-interest and towards a system that holds people accountable for the shared costs they impose on society.

The Radical Caucus is united by the demands to “be intimately involved in all social aspects of our communities” and “to build communities that are ecologically and socially sustainable.” The first principle requires “participatory, direct democracy in all political and economic affairs that impact our lives.”

“The existing political and economic relations militate against participation, and must be radically transformed,” states the Radical Caucus points of unity. “Because capitalist, competitive markets entail exploitation of labor, the private ownership of the means of production, and a division of labor that prohibits true participation, we must move beyond the global industrial-capitalist system.” The caucus additionally stands against existing forms of racism, patriarchy, and colonialism.

“Our communities should function in ways that encourage full participation of all people […] in the affairs that impact their lives,” says the Radical Caucus. This applies to “not only those alive today, but also those who will live in the future […]. For future generations to participate to the extent we demand for ourselves, we must radically transform our modes of production and consumption, our relationships with one another, with ourselves, with nonhuman animals, and with our environment.”

The Radical Caucus has recognized an essential component for a sustainable, democratic community: “This transformation should lead to localized production that balances autonomy, self-reliance, and interdependence.”