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From an activist perspective, the importance of the Panama Papers goes far beyond confirming what the 99% already suspected.
Yes, this gigantic leak provides more irrefutable evidence than ever
that many among the global political elite – the 1% – probably deserve
to be in jail (while paying their overdue taxes), not governing our
world. But that is not surprising news to many people. The real
significance of the Panama Papers is what the massive leak means for the
possibility of social change.
The
Panama Papers represents the coming-of-age of leaktivism. This is the
activist theory, most famously promoted by WikiLeaks, that leaking
truthful information is an effective form of social protest. Of course,
this isn’t a new idea – “you will know the truth, and the truth will set
you free” (John 8:32) – but with the rise of global whistleblower
activists like Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden,
leaking has become an increasingly celebrated tactic of contemporary
activism.
This
is a unique opportunity to test the effectiveness of leaktivism. The
Panama Papers is arguably the perfect leak. First of all, the size is
sublime: over 40 years of records, 11.5m files and 2.6 terabytes of data
from the world’s fourth largest offshore law firm. This is a full leak,
a leak that dwarfs all previous leaks in human history. Second, the
Panama Papers are being dissected via an unprecedented collaboration
between hundreds of highly credible international journalists who have
been working secretly for a year. This is the global professionalization
of leaktivism. The days of WikiLeaks amateurism are over.
So will the Panama Papers actually result in positive social change?
Clearly,
they have the potential to inspire street protests. Already in Iceland,
Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, who was implicated along
with his wife in the files, has been forced to resign after more than
10,000 angry protesters flocked to parliament. And given that the papers
contain information on 143 politicians, including Russia’s
president, Pakistan’s prime minister, the president of Ukraine,
Argentina’s president, the king of Saudi Arabia, six members of the UK’s
House of Lords, eight families associated with the supreme ruling body
in China and dozens of Brazilians, there is reason to believe that mass
demonstrations will spread to many more countries.
The
immediate consequence of the Panama Papers may be the destabilizing
effect it has on governments worldwide. Many of the most powerful
leaders may lose their legitimacy in the days to come. As Rana Foroohar
put it in an editorial for Time magazine, “The Panama Papers could lead
to capitalism’s greatest crisis.”
But
there is a fundamental difference between crisis and social change.
After all, crisis seems to be an essential part of capitalism’s nature.
The resignation of a handful of politicians may let off some steam, but
it doesn’t solve the core problem: our world is being mismanaged by the
hypocritical 1%.
So
let’s pause for a moment of critical reflection before rushing to join
the chorus that believes a big leak and big protests will necessarily
result in big change.
After
all, shouldn’t we be jaded, or at least a tiny bit skeptical, about the
potential of leaktivism to change the world? Haven’t we seen massive
information dumps from WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden come and go without
shifting the status quo? And haven’t we watched the rich and powerful
stay where they are after protesters in 82 countries occupied financial
districts in 2011 with the demand “get money out of politics”? Yes, yes
and yes.
The
proper lesson to draw from these past failures isn’t that we should
give up, or stop protesting, but instead that the people must break the
script of activism and protest differently this time. Here’s what that
could look like.
The
beauty of the Panama Papers is that the leak makes it abundantly clear
that the people in every country face the same globalized enemy. It does
not matter if you live in the UK, Brazil, Russia or Pakistan. The truth
is the ultra-rich wield their wealth to maintain a stranglehold on
power while simultaneously hiding from the taxman.
The
fundamental problem that the Panama Papers brings to light is a
question of global governance: the wrong people are in power. The only
way the 99% is going to solve that deeper problem is if a social
movement arises that is willing to use protest to swing elections in
multiple countries in order to take power and govern the world. The release of the Panama Papers will be a success if it brings us even just one step closer to realizing that higher goal.
— Micah White is the author of The End of Protest: A New Playbook for Revolution. This editorial originally appeared on The Guardian. | 
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