Occupy fizzled, but made 99% a force

A participant in the Occupy Wall Street protest is arrested during a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the movement in New York on Monday, September 17.

Participants in Occupy Wall Street take part in a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the movement on Monday.

Participants in the Occupy Wall Street protest take part in a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the movement on Monday.

An Occupy Wall Street participant is arrested by police on Monday.

An officer warns people they will be arrested for blocking a sidewalk during the Occupy Wall Street protest on Monday in New York.

A protester is arrested during the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement on Monday.

A protester is arrested during the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement on Monday.

Protesters affiliated with Occupy Wall Street are arrested while attempting to form a "People's Wall" to block Wall Street on Monday.

A protester affiliated with Occupy Wall Street stands near Wall Street on Monday.

Protesters block a street near Wall Street during the one-year anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement on Monday.

A protester looks out from a police van after being arrested on Monday.

A man walks by a police blockade along Wall Street during Occupy Wall Street demonstrations on Monday.

Police on horseback stand guard along Wall Street on Monday.

Protester Etkar Surette is arrested during Occupy Wall Street demonstrations on Monday.

People have their identification checked at a police blockade along Wall Street on Monday.

Protesters are arrested during Occupy Wall Street demonstrations on Monday.

Protesters are arrested during Occupy Wall Street demonstrations on Monday.

An Occupy Wall Street protester is arrested by police on Broadway after a march from Washington Square Park to New York's financial district on Saturday, September 15.

Members of Occupy Wall Street march from Washington Square Park to New York's financial district on Saturday.

A police officer gives orders to Occupy Wall Street protesters on Saturday.

An Occupy Wall Street protester, who said she was not acting as part of the overall Occupy movement but as an individual, lights an American flag on fire during the march in New York City on Saturday.

Occupy Wall Street protesters check their cell phones in Washington Square Park on Saturday.

A member of Occupy Wall Street is arrested during a march from Washington Square Park to the financial district on Saturday.

Police keep watch after monitoring an Occupy Wall Street march in New York City on Saturday.

HIDE CAPTION

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

Occupy Wall Street: One year later

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

>

>>

Editor's note: Stephen Zunes, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco, is an editor of "Nonviolent Social Movements: A Geographical Perspective."

(CNN) -- It's been a year since the Occupy Wall Street movement sprang up. Since then, it has fizzled, but this does not mean that the underlying issues that gave rise to the protests have gone away.

Until last year, mainstream political discourse did not include nearly as much emphasis on such populist concerns as rising income inequality, tax policies that favor the rich, growing influence by large corporate interests in elections and the reckless deregulation of financial institutions that resulted in the 2008 crisis. It is hard to miss them now.

These concerns still impact 99% of Americans. Even if Occupy protests have petered out, the movement has affected the political narrative in our country.

Meet the original 'Occupiers'

Stephen Zunes

We can see Occupy's impact in the current presidential campaign. Whereas Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election strategy focused on the idea of "triangulation" -- taking centrist positions on key economic issues to isolate his Republican opponent on the right -- President Barack Obama has taken on much more of a populist stance, mobilizing his Democratic base and economically stressed independents against an opponent whom his campaign is depicting as the quintessential representative of the 1%.

Occupy activists justifiably express skepticism over how much to trust the president's left-leaning rhetoric when his actual economic policies have been decidedly centrist. Still, the fact that Obama's re-election campaign recognizes the advantage of decrying unfair tax laws and similar policies that affect middle class Americans is indicative of how the tone has shifted.

Unfortunately, much of the decline of the Occupy movement can also be attributed to the distraction from this year's election campaigns. Despite the Democrats' mixed record, the unions and many other potential allies necessary in building a real movement have felt obliged to focus their energy on re-electing Obama and helping other Democratic candidates.

Some police repression and serious violations of civil liberties by city authorities certainly crippled the Occupy protests as well, as did the media's tendency to focus too much on its more violent or flaky elements.

But, this does not mean that all is lost.

What was the point of the Occupy movement? Share your view with CNN iReport

The Egyptian Revolution and other unarmed civil insurrections that have swept the world recently did not start and end during a few dramatic weeks or months when millions of people were on the streets. They were the culmination of many years of struggle, often initiated by young radicals engaging in small but creative demonstrations.

The Occupy protesters, even at their greatest numbers, were never able to do what successful movements must do in terms of developing a well-thought-out strategy, clearly articulated political demands, a logical sequencing of tactics and well-trained and disciplined activists who don't vandalize property or fight cops. Indeed, the Occupy protesters never developed enough of the structural elements necessary to truly be considered a "movement."

Most importantly, those involved never recognized that colorful protests are no substitute for door-to-door organizing among real people.

A look back: Meet the 99%

The United States has a long history of popular social and economic struggles, from the abolitionists to the Populists to the suffragists to the civil rights movement and, throughout much of that history, the trade unions. As Thomas Jefferson once beckoned his fellow Americans: "crush... the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to trial and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

If the pressing concerns of the 99% are not addressed, don't be surprised if new incarnations of the Occupy movement emerge in the near future.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Stephen Zunes.