By any standard, 2011 was a historic year of protest and revolution. In Tunisia and Egypt seemingly invulnerable regimes were toppled. In Wisconsin, citizens outraged over attacks on public workers, stayed at the state capitol building and camped and marched in the freezing cold. In August, more than 1,000 demonstrators were arrested protesting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, in the largest act of civil disobedience in decades. As a result of popular pressure, the project has been put on hold. Then, on September 17, in the heart of economic power, the Occupy Wall Street movement was born. Since then, it has spread and taken different shapes and forms. OWS has changed our vocabulary. 1% and 99% have entered the conversation and the focus is on the deep political, economic and social inequality in the U.S. and around the world.

Richard Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and currently a visiting professor at the New School in New York. He is the author of numerous books on economics including Capitalism Hits the Fan.