Occupy Movement

The Occupy movement is a global justice undertaking, whose opposition to social and economic inequality, as well as the corrupt effect that money can have on political power, is captured by its slogan “We are the 99%.” This movement is considered to be an international branch of the Occupy Wall Street effort. It was motivated by events that unfolded after the advent of the Great Recession in 2007, including the financial and subprime mortgage crises, the Arab Spring uprising, student occupations at the University of California, and global antiausterity movements and protests. Described by activist and philosopher Cornel West as a “democratic awakening,” the Occupy movement reflects the belief that controls exerted by large corporations and the global financial system function to destabilize democracy, while ...