activism - openDemocracy (Page 40)

We need more humans, not more heroes

Exaggerated by the growing celebrity culture of social change, hero worship is on the rise. In the process we risk rendering ourselves perpetually mediocre.

By Robert Holtom

/ 23 Jul 2014

Why social movements need the radical imagination

Book extract: The radical imagination often emerges most brilliantly from those who encounter the greatest or most acute oppression and exploitation, and is often stunted and diluted in those who enjoy the greatest privileges.

By Alex Khasnabish and Max Haiven

/ 22 Jul 2014

Transforming anger into nonviolent power

Anger, rage and a desire for revenge are all reasonable and justified in the face of armed attacks, abuse and exploitation. What matters is what we do with these things.

By Stephanie Van Hook

/ 18 Jul 2014

The danger of fetishizing revolution

Revolution has become an empty word - a distraction from the real work of social transformation.

By Jonathan Matthew Smucker

/ 16 Jul 2014

Trigger warning: trigger warnings (towards a different approach)

The main point of trigger warnings is to open up the possibility for people to determine what they engage with, when and how.

By Meg Barker

/ 15 Jul 2014

Don’t wait for the revolution - live it

When pranksters and creative organizers create temporary utopias, the experience leaves us wanting more - and ready to work hard to get it.

By Andrew Boyd

/ 11 Jul 2014

Israel's wall: 10 years justice denied

"Operation Protective Edge" is under way, with air strikes in Gaza, 22 Palestinians killed and rockets fired at Israel. 10 years ago the International Court of Justice declared the Israeli separation wall illegal under international law. Has anything changed?

By Rafeef Ziadeh

/ 9 Jul 2014

What do you think of Transformation?

Transformation, openDemocracy’s newest section, turns one year old today. We want your help in evaluating our progress.

By Michael Edwards and Ray Filar

/ 8 Jul 2014

This is what life is like for an asylum seeker

Survival on £35 a week, the everyday boredom of waiting for a trial, and how the system needs to be humanised: a UK asylum seeker speaks out.

By Miranda Surama

/ 27 Jun 2014

Should we fight the system or be the change?

Short-term campaigns versus building the beloved community: what are the real costs and benefits of pre-figurative politics?

By Mark Engler and Paul Engler

/ 25 Jun 2014

No surrender: responding to the new breed of climate change in-activists

Waiting for death in the planetary hospice is not a convincing response to climate change: a response to Carolyn Baker.

By Shannon Biggs

/ 18 Jun 2014

Welcome to the planetary hospice

Surrendering to the implications of climate change is an act of courage not cowardice. This is the first article in a new debate on Transformation. Shannon Biggs responds here.

By Carolyn Baker

/ 17 Jun 2014