The Occupy Protests are succeeding. Just look at this paper

The Occupy movement, inspired by protest in Spain, made famous in New York and now a global phenomenon, is succeeding. On the face of it, this might seems to be an audacious claim. Indeed, some of you will be reading this and audibly scoffing; “They have no clear goals; what are they succeeding at?”

Actually (though I would firmly suggest you read their statement at occupylsx.org), that question is surprisingly valid. There is no single event that will definitively cause the protesters to say “right, job done”, and head home. Though the movement advocates some specific policies, such as the abolition of Tax Havens, the main focus is something more fundamental.

What these protests aim to do is to encourage public thought, discussion and debate over the social, economic and political issues that affect all of us each day. In short, they are trying to effect the end of societal apathy.

What the occupiers have recognised is that a movement will fail without wider support, especially when you seek to erode the concentration of power held by the 1%. As such, they have sought to include as many people as possible from day one. For example, the London protesters have set up Tent City University and the newly opened Bank of Ideas, holding daily free talks and discussions. Even the camps themselves welcome anyone, whether you’re a purposeful visitor or a curious passer-by.

For another example, consider the movement’s General Assemblies used to decide everything from appropriation of food to writing their political agenda. Totally ‘horizontal’ and once again open to anyone, the GA reaches decisions via collective agreement, and under the rules any spectator can vocalise their particular opinion or reservations.

When the protests began, many sceptics may have glibly remarked that for “the 99%”, the number of people demonstrating seemed somewhat small. But, through this focus on public awareness, it has taken less than three months for a single camp to swell into a global phenomenon.

It is with this in mind that I declare the Occupy movement is succeeding. You need only look to this, the student paper of a reputably apolitical institution, to see that it has managed to provoke a public debate. In the past month we’ve seen no fewer than three comment pieces on the Occupations and two features on public protest.

However, this success marks only the beginning. These protests have become more than simply clumps of tents; they have become an ideology, merging seamlessly with the wider public outcry that saw 61% of British people support the November 30 strike.

As @OccupyWallStreetNYC tweeted, “You Can’t Evict An Ideal”. Cheesy? Yes. But, in fact, already vindicated: two weeks ago, after 200 people were forced from Zucotti Park, more than 1000 took to the streets of New York, and the demonstrations show no sign of stopping.