The occupation of Wall Street | The Economist
- 5 years ago
Zuccotti Park has become home to protesters young and old. They are right to be frustrated, but finding a slogan will be difficult
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Three years after the financial crisis pushed the global economy to the edge, protesters have taken to the streets to voice their anger. In London they've targeted the stock exchange - setting up camp just outside sin Paul's Cathedral. Demonstrations have spread from Seattle to Sydney, from Santiago to Stockholm.
But the most widespread protests are in America, led by the Occupy Wall Street movement in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan - where it first began
The Zuccotti Park occupiers have become semi-permanent squatters directing a kitchen, a media center, first aid, and cleanup crews.
Due to a ban on amplification systems, messages are passed by a slow but effective innovation called the people's microphone. One person speaks and all those that can hear shout out the words.
In a way it's a surprise that such protests have taken so long to emerge. The young have a lot to be angry about. In the short term, a combination of high youth unemployment, student loans, and the difficulty of getting on the housing ladder. In the long run, a feeling that they will pay higher taxes, have lower benefits, and work longer than their parents.
Politicians need to take note of this anger since it's by no means confined to the young. What are their protesters against? The issues differ from country to country, but a common theme is a dislike of income and wealth inequality, the power of the financial sector, and the way that austerity is falling on the backs of the poor.
Broadly speaking the protesters are on the left - this is not the tea party.
But what are the protesters for? they have no clear agenda - indeed it doesn't seem like they want one. In some ways it's a cleaver move - it enables them to gather a broad mass of support. But to have success they either need to broaden their movement, bringing the union say, or like the Tea Party take the electoral root.
Unfortunately the kind of policies that might help young people may not appeal to the group. In Spain, for example, labour rules keep middle-aged insiders in work at the expense of youthful outsiders.
In the US eliminating tax loopholes and lowering marginal rates might improve the tax-take from the rich. Alas it's hard to boil such complex ideas down into a slogan.
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Three years after the financial crisis pushed the global economy to the edge, protesters have taken to the streets to voice their anger. In London they've targeted the stock exchange - setting up camp just outside sin Paul's Cathedral. Demonstrations have spread from Seattle to Sydney, from Santiago to Stockholm.
But the most widespread protests are in America, led by the Occupy Wall Street movement in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan - where it first began
The Zuccotti Park occupiers have become semi-permanent squatters directing a kitchen, a media center, first aid, and cleanup crews.
Due to a ban on amplification systems, messages are passed by a slow but effective innovation called the people's microphone. One person speaks and all those that can hear shout out the words.
In a way it's a surprise that such protests have taken so long to emerge. The young have a lot to be angry about. In the short term, a combination of high youth unemployment, student loans, and the difficulty of getting on the housing ladder. In the long run, a feeling that they will pay higher taxes, have lower benefits, and work longer than their parents.
Politicians need to take note of this anger since it's by no means confined to the young. What are their protesters against? The issues differ from country to country, but a common theme is a dislike of income and wealth inequality, the power of the financial sector, and the way that austerity is falling on the backs of the poor.
Broadly speaking the protesters are on the left - this is not the tea party.
But what are the protesters for? they have no clear agenda - indeed it doesn't seem like they want one. In some ways it's a cleaver move - it enables them to gather a broad mass of support. But to have success they either need to broaden their movement, bringing the union say, or like the Tea Party take the electoral root.
Unfortunately the kind of policies that might help young people may not appeal to the group. In Spain, for example, labour rules keep middle-aged insiders in work at the expense of youthful outsiders.
In the US eliminating tax loopholes and lowering marginal rates might improve the tax-take from the rich. Alas it's hard to boil such complex ideas down into a slogan.
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The Economist videos give authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science, technology and the connections between them.