During the week of 17th – 22nd November, Johannesburg became the epicentre of two contrasting visions for our future — one that seeks to tinker and preserve a broken system, and another that dares to build a new system to replace it.
I joined comrades from across the world in two connected spaces of resistance and hope, building a future for the 99%, even as G20 leaders met just 10 kms away in a high-security bubble, cut off from the realities we were confronting:
Both gatherings were rooted in one truth: the crises we face — inequality, debt, climate chaos, patriarchy — are systemic. And so must be our response: bold, collective, and rooted in justice.
The G20 vs. The People
The G20 leaders issued a declaration that promised incremental reforms within the same broken system. In contrast, the People’s Summit unfolded with a radically different vision. It brought together voices from the 99% to imagine a future built on justice and solidarity, not profit and exploitation.
Participants spoke passionately about the urgent need to put life before profit and dismantle structures that perpetuate inequality and ecological destruction. They called for bold transformations, including:
Building a new global architecture beyond neoliberal and neocolonial control.
Taxing the super-rich and multinationals and ending tax havens.
Debt justice — exposing and cancelling illegitimate debts that rob nations of sovereignty.
Climate justice — making rich polluters pay and rejecting false ‘green’ solutions.
Valuing care work, defending cultural rights, and protecting civic space.
Ending all forms of occupation and genocide, and upholding the right of peoples to land, life, and liberation.
This is not just a list of demands — it’s a vision for a world where economies serve people and planet, not markets rigged for the 1%.
Why This Matters
The G20 continues to turn to the same elites who created the inequality crisis for solutions. But the answers lie with the Global Majority — the 99% who have endured inequality and survived against all odds. From Chiapas to Karachi, Nairobi to Soweto, Manila to Belém, the 99% are rising to reclaim our economies, our lands, and our futures.
Final Thoughts
Joburg reminded me that another world is not only possible — it is already being born. The question is: will we join the fight to make it real? What about you?
Join the movement: https://www.fightinequality.org/jointhemovement
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Deepak is the Head of Inequality, Economic and Climate Justice at Oxfam International. He is also a also a co-founder and Global Convenor of the Fight Inequality Alliance.
Check out this powerful op-ed by Deepak and Jenny Ricks arguing that while the world’s most powerful meet behind closed doors, a “People’s Summit” in Johannesburg brings forward real solutions from the 99%.
This article was first published on LinkedIn.
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