Publish Date: Dec. 26, 2011
Cover Story: The Protester
How TIME Covered the News: From the first bloom of the Arab Spring to historic protests in the West against the prevailing political and economic status quo, 2011 was a banner year for dissent. TIME captured the moment with its Person of the Year issue.
“All over the world, the protesters of 2011 share a belief that their countries’ political systems and economies have grown dysfunctional and corrupt — sham democracies rigged to favor the rich and powerful and prevent significant change. They are fervent small-d democrats. Two decades after the final failure and abandonment of communism, they believe they’re experiencing the failure of hell-bent megascaled crony hypercapitalism and pine for some third way, a new social contract.”