Where is the Occupy Together movement going? Will it finally affect real politics and government? Can it?

These are relevant questions to ask as the day of Occupy Philadelphia dawns. Ezra Klein queried social movement historian Rich Yeselson and got some thoughtful, hopeful answers.

The protesters are angry. They have identified critical, critical problems but they don't always have realistic ideas for how to solve them.

The left has, in recent decades, largely floundered as a political force, with a few important exceptions.

The key, as Yeselson sees it, is for the existent left to help steer the new movement towards achievable goals. As Yeselson says:

The left does have something important however: a coterie of several thousand intellectuals, academics, writers, and engaged professionals who articulate liberal public policy, generate empirical and analytical expertise through the Internet, the media, and universities, and staff the offices of advocacy groups and progressive politicians on the local and national level

Yeselson says the left has always had good ideas and leadership, but it has never had enough troops on the ground.

Occupy Philadelphia and the other Wall Street protesters may help change that.

Check out the article and see if you find yourself enlisting in "Krugman's Army."