Days of Rage: "Occupy Wall Street" Goes Global
Occupy Wall Street. Occupy Madrid. Occupy London. Occupy Huntsville, Ala. Occupy Mumbai. Occupy Ulan Bator. Occupy your street, office chair, smart-phone. This is the autumn of our discontent -- economic protest is flaring around the world.
Demonstrations are planned Saturday from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Frankfurt, to Madrid, to more than 80 countries across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, according to United for #Globalchange, a group coordinating the protests. Attendance at the rallies could range from the thousands expected to turn out in Rome to, presumably, far smaller numbers. Said one young German:
"I've been waiting for this protest for a long time, since 2008," said Daniel Schreiber, 28, an editor in Berlin. "I was always wondering why people aren't outraged and why nothing has happened and finally, three years later, it's happening."Anger works
Although the protesters have different grievances reflecting local political and economic realities, there are unifying themes. In Mexico City, tens of thousands of people have filled the capital's famous central square, the Zocalo, to denounce economic inequality and government efforts to privatize the electrical system.
In Spain, the "indignados," or the indignant, have held sit-ins for months to push for greater popular participation in government. For Italians, the main target is government austerity measures. In London, groups such as UK Uncut are planning on Saturday to "occupy" the city's financial center to draw attention to social and economic injustice.
In some places, it's worth noting, such activism is making an impact. In India, the August arrest of social activist Anna Hazare triggered mass protests against government corruption, wounding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Indian National Congress Party.
Meanwhile, Israelis who have erected a massive tent city in Tel Aviv to complain about high housing prices pressured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into forming a government committee to reassess his government's economic policies. Israeli officials also have approved a reform plan aimed at boosting income, cutting taxes and lowering the cost of living, although activists who feel the plan doesn't go far enough are planning mass strikes later this month.
As journalist Deena Stryker has reported, fierce anti-austerity protests in Iceland, a country that effectively went bankrupt during the financial crisis following years of reckless speculation by its leading banks, have toppled governments. Thousands recently showed up in front of Reykjavik's parliament building to pelt the country's prime minister with eggs.
Back in New York, Occupy Wall Streeters camped out in lower Manhattan won a more modest victory on Friday when Mayor Michael Bloomberg relented on his threat to clear Zuccotti Park. That victory may be temporary. But it does highlight the growing pressure on politicians to take such demonstrations seriously.
Why? Because people are watching -- and coming aboard. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week found that a large majority of Americans have heard of OWS. Of that number, 38 percent approved of the movement, 35 percent were undecided and roughly a quarter disapproved.
How should business respond?
The international scope of the protests should come as no surprise. The financial crisis was, after all, global. When economies are wired together, it's not only capital that whips around the world -- so does anger.
If Americans are grappling with how to react to the ferment, how should the business community respond? Although some corporate executives have predictably attacked the protests, that's a mistake, say business professors Hari Bapuji and Suhaib Riaz in the Harvard Business Review:
The persistence of the "occupations" is a signal that there is authentic, deep-seated unhappiness with the failings of the U.S. economic system. It's an indicator that economic inequality is perceived as an important issue -- one requiring business's immediate attention.
The demonstrators are asserting that they are stakeholders in American business, and they're correct -- they are stakeholders, as consumers, as employees, and as citizens affected by the financial system in general. Businesses would do well to accept that fact and engage with the protesters, rather than trying to demonize or dismiss them.Nor is Corporate America's hostility to OWS preordained, they add, noting that members of India's business community have joined the anti-corruption drive. It's an obvious point, but one that isn't made often enough: Businesses need economic equity as much as their customers. Occupy that.
Image from Mikeyfaces via Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0; thumbnail from S51438 via Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0
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