The Occupy movement has changed the global conversation, but what is the deeper meaning of the protests?
Book contributor Fran Korten hands out a copy in Zuccotti Park | Photo courtesy of Berrett-Koehler
The Occupy movement has changed the global conversation. As a result of the demonstrations, millions of people have started seeing the world through a 99%/1% lens. But what is the deeper meaning of the protests? Does the critique go further than the amply justified anger at the domination of the economy by Wall Street and large corporations?
We think it does. And because “we” are a publishing company (Berrett-Koehler Publishers) and a magazine (YES! The Journal of Positive Futures) we decided to publish a book on Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement, one that would combine reflections by sympathetic observers, contributions from Occupy activists, and documents from the protests. YES! has been covering Occupy Wall Street from the beginning so they had plenty of material to work with and knew where to find more. But we had to move fast, because that’s the way events are moving.
Printed books can seem ponderous compared to their nimble electronic cousins, but this book went from brainstorm to binding in two and a half weeks. This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement rolled off the presses on November 4 (and of course it’s also available in a variety of electronic formats). You can find out more here. You can see the table of contents online here or download it here. You can read an excerpt from the book, “Ten Ways the Occupy Movement Changes Everything,” here. We’re making the book available to Ode readers for $6.97, print or PDF ebook, a 30% discount off the already 99%-friendly $9.95 price. Yes! Magazine is donating royalties from the book to support the Occupy Wall Street/99% movement.
There are chapters by Naomi Klein, Ralph Nader, David Korten and Rebecca Solnit, among others. Occupy organizer David Greaber explains the principles behind the now-famed general assemblies; Occupy activist Marina Sitrin describes her experiences during the first month of the occupation; and Hena Ashraf, another Occupy activist, talks about efforts to address issues of race, an article that also shows the general assembly decision-making processes in action.
“This book captures an extraordinary movement, when people who have been sitting, frustrated, on the sidelines finally have a voice,” says Sarah van Gelder, cofounder and executive editor of YES! Magazine. Adds co-author Steve Piersanti, “I believe that this book will not only be immediately useful in helping people everywhere understand the far-reaching impact of this movement – how it is truly changing everything – but that it will also stand the test of time as a profound analysis of its meaning and significance. It does far more than you’d expect from an ‘instant book’.”
By Michael Crowley
