2011年底，“占領運動”成為各方關注的焦點。美國民眾，尤其是年輕人，進行大規模抗議的情形，在越戰之后已極為少見。

占領運動最初從曼哈頓下城區開始，并迅速蔓延到美國各大城市和全世界，被普遍認為是政治運動的雛形。《時代》雜志（Time）（《財富》雜志（Fortune）的姊妹刊物）將“占領華爾街”運動的抗議者和阿拉伯世界的抗議者，提名為2011年的“年度人物”。

但在警方對占領運動的駐扎地采取一系列行動（最知名的是警方驅散曼哈頓下城區祖科蒂公園的抗議者）之后，運動基本以失敗告終。“占領運動”的聯合發起人之一邁卡?懷特也承認，從很多方面來看，運動最終迎來的是失敗的結局。

但占領運動的精神并未消失。

本周二，一個名為“占領華爾街”（Take on Wall Street ）的組織在華盛頓宣布，將發起一項運動，旨在限制金融部門對政治進程與經濟的影響，這一目標與占領運動非常相似。但占領運動基本上是一次草根運動，而“占領華爾街”背后有機構和財力支持。據《華盛頓郵報》（The Washington Post）報道，美國勞工總會及產業勞工組織（AFL-CIO）以及美國教師聯合會（American Federation of Teachers）均參與其中。

嚴格意義上來說，“占領華爾街”不屬于抗議運動。美國勞工總會及產業勞工組織主席理查德?杜姆卡對《華盛頓郵報》表示：“我們要將其變成國會選舉的一個議題。沒有人能夠回避這個問題。”

轉向選舉是聰明的舉動。佛蒙特州議員伯尼?桑德斯在民主黨初選中的成功，以及在一定程度上，唐納德?特朗普的成功，均證明占領運動的基本信息（金融和政治體系被1%的人操縱）在過去五年已經有大量支持者。

事實上，上世紀60年代因參與地下氣象（Weather Underground）組織而知名的激進主義者比爾?艾瑞斯告訴《財富》雜志，他認為當前民粹政治的突然崛起，正是起源于祖科蒂公園。艾瑞斯表示：“如果沒有占領運動，伯尼?桑德斯不可能有今天的成功。”

桑德斯競選總統提名的許多草根支持者，均與占領運動有關聯。彭博社（Bloomberg）今年早些時候的報告顯示，在線活動組織People for Bernie的聯合創始人溫妮?王，全程參加了在祖科蒂公園的扎營抗議活動。而《衛報》（The Guardian）報道，創立“African-Americans for Bernie”的斯坦?威廉姆斯，也是占領運動的參與者。

受占領運動影響的左翼仍要克服許多障礙——伯尼?桑德斯盡管在初選中有令人意料的出色表現，但在民主黨提名之爭中，他仍有可能敗給希拉里?克林頓。不過，與右翼的茶黨類似，奉行進步主義的左翼力量，似乎已準備好在民主黨內部發揮影響力。（財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

In late 2011, the Occupy movement was front and center. Americans, especially young people, were protesting in numbers that had scarcely been seen since the Vietnam War era.

The movement, which started in lower Manhattan but spread to cities all over the U.S. and the world, was considered a potentially seminal political moment. Along with protesters in the Arab world,Time (Fortune’s sister publication) named “The Protester” as its “Person of the Year” in 2011.

But following a series of police actions on Occupy encampments — most notably the dispersal of protesters from lower Manhattan’s Zucotti Park — the movement mostly fizzled. Micah White, one of the co-creators of the Occupy Movement, has admitted it was in may ways a failure.

But the spirit of Occupy lives on.

On Tuesday in Washington, a group called Take on Wall Street announced that it was launching a new campaign focused on limiting the power the financial sector exerts over the political process and the economy—very similar goals to the Occupy movement. Unlike Occupy, though, which was almost entirely a grassroots movement, Take on Wall Street has institutional and financial heft behind it. Groups like The AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Teachers are both involved,reports The Washington Post.

Take on Wall Street isn’t strictly a protest movement. “We are going to make this an issue in congressional races. No one will be able to run from this,” said Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, to the Post.

Turning to elections could be a prudent move. The success of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary race and, to a lesser extent, Donald Trump suggests that Occupy’s fundamental message—that the financial and political system is rigged in favor of the 1%—has gained ground over the past five years.

Indeed, Bill Ayers, the 1960s radical best known for his involvement in the Weather Underground, toldFortune that he believes the current surge of populist politics goes right back to Zucotti Park. “Bernie Sanders would not be where he is without Occupy,” Ayers says.

Some of the grassroots supporters behind Sanders’ bid for the presidential nomination have ties to Occupy. Winnie Wong, co-founder of online activist group People for Bernie, was in Zucotti Park for the entirety of the encampment, according to aBloomberg story from earlier this year. Stan Williams was an Occupier before he founded African-Americans for Bernie, reports The Guardian.

The Occupy-influenced left still has lot of hurdles to jump over—Bernie Sanders may have done surprisingly well in the primaries, but he is still on track to lose the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton. But, much like the Tea Party on the right, the progressive left seems poised to throw its weight around within the Democratic Party.