Ten Ways the Occupy Movement Changes Everything
Ten Ways the Occupy Movement Changes Everything
by Sarah van Gelder, David Korten and Steve Piersanti, YES! Magazine
10 November
2011
Before the Occupy Wall Street movement, there was little discussion of the outsized power of Wall Street and the diminishing fortunes of the middle class.
The media blackout was especially remarkable given that issues like jobs and corporate influence on elections topped the list of concerns for most Americans.
Occupy Wall Street changed that. In fact, it may represent the best hope in years that “we the people” will step up to take on the critical challenges of our time. Here’s how the Occupy movement is already changing everything:
1. It
names the source of the crisis.
Political insiders
have avoided this simple reality: The problems of the 99%
are caused in large part by Wall Street greed, perverse financial
incentives, and a corporate takeover of the political
system. Now that this is understood, the genie is out of the
bottle and it can’t be put back in.
2. It provides a
clear vision of the world we want.
We can create a world that works for everyone,
not just the wealthiest 1%. And we, the 99%, are using the
spaces opened up by the Occupy movement to conduct a
dialogue about the world we want.
3. It sets a new
standard for public debate.
Those advocating policies
and proposals must now demonstrate that their ideas will
benefit the 99%. Serving only the 1% will not suffice, nor
will claims that the subsidies and policies that benefit the
1% will eventually “trickle down.”
4. It presents a
new narrative.
The solution is not to starve
government or impose harsh austerity measures that further
harm middle-class and poor people already reeling from a bad
economy. Instead, the solution is to free society and
government from corporate dominance. A functioning
democracy is our best shot at addressing critical social,
environmental, and economic crises.
5. It creates a big
tent.
We, the 99%, are people of all ages, races,
occupations, and political beliefs. We will resist being
divided or marginalized. We are learning to work together
with respect.
6. It offers everyone a chance to create
change.
No one is in charge; no organization or
political party calls the shots. Anyone can get involved,
offer proposals, support the occupations, and build the
movement. Because leadership is everywhere and new
supporters keep turning up, there is a flowering of
creativity and a resilience that makes the movement nearly
impossible to shut down.
7. It is a movement, not a
list of demands.
The call for deep change—not temporary
fixes and single-issue reforms—is the movement’s
sustaining power. The movement is sometimes criticized for
failing to issue a list of demands, but doing so could keep
it tied to status quo power relationships and policy
options. The occupiers and their supporters will not be
boxed in.
8. It combines the local and the
global.
People in cities and towns around the world
are setting their own local agendas, tactics, and aims. What
they share in common is a critique of corporate power and an
identification with the 99%, creating an extraordinary wave
of global solidarity.
9. It offers an ethic and
practice of deep democracy and community.
Slow,
patient decision-making in which every voice is heard
translates into wisdom, common commitment, and power. Occupy
sites are set up as communities in which anyone can discuss
grievances, hopes, and dreams, and where all can experiment
with living in a space built around mutual support.
10.
We have reclaimed our power.
Instead of looking to
politicians and leaders to bring about change, we can see
now that the power rests with us. Instead of
being victims to the forces upending our lives, we are
claiming our sovereign right to remake the world.
Like all human endeavors, Occupy Wall Street and its thousands of variations and spin-offs will be imperfect. There have already been setbacks and divisions, hardships and injury. But as our world faces extraordinary challenges—from climate change to soaring inequality—our best hope is the ordinary people, gathered in imperfect democracies, who are finding ways to fix a broken world.
This article is adapted from the book, This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement edited by Sarah van Gelder and the staff of YES! Magazine and published November 2011 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
David Korten is co-founder and board chair of YES! Magazine and co-chair of the New Economy Working Group. He is the author of Agenda for a New Economy, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, and the international best seller When Corporations Rule the World. He is principal author of How to Liberate America from Wall Street Rule, which shows how America can restore economic health and financial integrity by rebuilding a system of accountable local financial services institutions much like the one that financed the achievements that made America the envy of the world.