Occupy Wall Street - An Anti-Capitalist Movement?

Case Code: ECON037
Case Length: 17 Pages
Period: -
Pub Date: 2012
Teaching Note: Not Available

Price: Rs.400
Organization : -
Industry : -
Countries : -
Themes: Economic Crisis

Introduction

The year 2011 saw popular protests by citizens, critical of the government in their respective countries. The 'Arab Spring'1 that began in Tunisia led to uprisings in Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and other Arab countries. Inspired by the Arab Spring, popular movements known as the "indignant" began in Spain at Puerta del Sol Square and in Greece at Syntagma Square in May 2011. The protestors raised their voices against the growing influence of powerful financial institutions and the deepening economic crisis. Inspired by the Arab Spring and the indignant movement, the Occupy Wall Street Movement began in the US on September 17, 2011, at Liberty Square in Manhattan's Financial District. The movement protested against the inequalities in the economic system4. Encamped at the Zuccotti park, a privately owned park, in Lower Manhattan, the protestors held demonstrations against what they described as "corporate greed" and income inequality in the US. They raised the slogan "we are the 99 percent," which referred to the economic disparity and discontent against the most serious contradictions in the US such as poverty, unemployment, social inequality, foreign wars, students' inability to pay for their tuitions, the government bailouts for financial institutions, and the huge bonuses granted to Wall Street corporate executives.

The traditional media in America downplayed the significance of the OWS protest. The New York Post described the protest as a futile idea, the New York Daily News reported that the protest had merely resulted in shutting down Brooklyn Bridge rather than in occupying Wall Street. Several political leaders too criticized the movement. The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg (Bloomberg), expressed sympathy with the protestors, but downplayed the movement by commenting that it was an opportunity for a group of protestors to complain or protest or do whatever they wanted. The mayor also had protestors forcibly evicted from Zuccotti Park. The New York Police Department arrested over 300 protestors and also imposed a media blockout as they evicted protestors from Zuccotti Park.

Though the traditional American media downplayed the OWS protest, it spread to other cities in the US such as Chicago, Boston, Memphis, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Austin, Louisville, Atlanta, and dozens of other cities that included Washington DC through social networking channels. However, the movement did get attention from the international press. The print media in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, and Denmark described the OWS movement as anti-capitalist. The People's Daily, mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, described the movement as the tip of the iceberg of accumulated social conflict, which had surfaced.

The movement also spread to London city, when the city was taken over by the protesters under the banner "occupy the stock exchange" on October 15, 2011. The movement became a global phenomenon with similar protests occurring in other countries such as Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Germany, Brazil, and Australia. The protestors vented their anger over financial and social inequality, and were critical of the government in their respective countries.

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