Opinion | Why are people protesting in Hong Kong and elsewhere? The 99 per cent are still angry and frustrated

In 1997, Subcomandante Marcos, leader of the Chiapas revolt in the jungle of southern Mexico, wrote the following: “Towards the end of the cold war, capitalism created a new military horror: the neutron bomb, a weapon which destroys life while sparing buildings. But a new wonder has been discovered as the fourth world war unfolds: the finance bomb.”

The subsequent two decades, with the global financial crisis of 2008 planted like a flag in the middle of it, seemed to have proved his warning correct.

As today’s world convulses in a series of street marches, protests and demonstrations, the shadows of the past two decades are deepening. Across five continents, common themes like income disparity, lack of access to government services and corruption at the highest levels have aggravated tensions to the point where many people are shouting, like Peter Finch’s character in the 1976 film Network, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this any more!”

The truth is that the global system has never really recovered from the biggest finance bomb: 2008. The 99 per cent are still angry.

Sure, some of the numbers may have bounced back. Many big businesses are thriving again. People are still getting rich. But financial markets still wield undue influence over the lives of ordinary people. Numbers and spreadsheets can still be valued over human lives. Many countries still have not got back on their feet, let alone communities, families or individuals.