We are the 99 percent

The author analyzes the Occupy movement as a response to a systemic crisis driven by neo-liberal wealth redistribution and austerity in Europe. While praising the movement's concept of solidarity and its focus on the '99 per cent', the text warns that spontaneous protests are insufficient without a structured alliance of institutions, unions, and parties. The author calls for a new societal model that replaces consumerism with a vision of a 'good life' for all, incorporating fairer taxation and politically negotiated limits on resource use to prevent poverty and climate wars.

• The current crisis in the 'rich north' is a rupture caused by decades of neo-liberal policies that redistributed wealth to upper classes and promoted individualism through consumption, undermining social solidarity.
• The 'Brussels consensus' and right-wing governments promote a model of exclusion and austerity that targets the poor, unemployed, and dissidents, which the author argues will destroy the welfare state and middle-class society.
• The Occupy movement's primary contribution was the shift from paternalistic altruism to a concept of solidarity based on the '99 per cent', recognizing that the middle and lower classes are collectively paying for financial market deregulation and bank bailouts.
• Spontaneous political movements like Occupy are limited and prone to 'fizzling out' without formal organization; therefore, a pluralistic alliance of NGOs, trade unions, and political parties is needed to establish a sustainable and democratic society.
• A viable alternative to the current system must address both systemic inequality and the ecological limitations of capitalism, proposing a quality of life based on prudent economic activity and negotiated upper limits on resource consumption to avoid 'climate wars'.

APA

Novy, A. (2012). We are the 99 percent. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/we-are-the-99-percent/

Chicago

Novy, Andreas. We are the 99 percent. Green European Journal, 2012. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/we-are-the-99-percent/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Novy |first1=Andreas |title=We are the 99 percent |publisher=Green European Journal |date=22 March 2012 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/we-are-the-99-percent/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{novy2012are, author = {Novy, Andreas}, title = {{We are the 99 percent}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2012}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/we-are-the-99-percent/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }