Everyday people must build social movements capable of creating a new society. These essays discuss the autonomy we’ll rely on to do so.
Published by Resilience.
This is a response to an article by Bill McKibben on the development of the climate movement. Activists must recognize that addressing the climate crisis requires economic and cultural transformation. We’ll need to cultivate a citizenry ready and willing to step into the role we’re currently denied: that of self-governing equals.
Strengthening the Climate Movement: A Response to Bill McKibben Read More »
Worker organizations have traditionally been at the forefront of movements for social change. Though widespread campaigns aimed at undercutting union participation have taken a toll over the past several decades, we cannot simply treat unions as relics of the past. An agenda for revitalizing organized labor comes to mind.
Revitalizing the Labor Movement Read More »
The recent youth organizing around national climate politics represents a serious step forward for the climate justice movement. Until now, there had not been a sustained, movement-driven push for federal climate legislation. These efforts have signaled activists’ desire for action at the scale of the crisis we face. But we should remain aware that the Green New Deal (GND) resolution is not legislation, and any climate policies discussed by political figures are just words until they are enacted and implemented. Whether we ultimately take action at the appropriate scale will be determined by how the movement continues to progress.
Limits and Liberation: The Next Steps of the Climate Movement Read More »
This is a response to an article by Michael Löwy on ecosocialism, which prompts us to have a deeper discussion and form a more detailed understanding of the outline of a sustainable society.
Ecosocialism: Deepening Democracy and Foregrounding Ecological Limits Read More »
This is a response to an article by Julie Matthaei on the contributions of feminism to our understanding and practice of solidarity. We explore concerns activists have had about the nature of identity politics—does organizing around identity-linked oppression lead to more people working together or fewer, promoting cohesion or division?
Feminism and Revolution: Reflections on Identity Politics Read More »
This is a response to an article by Kathryn Sikkink on the human rights movement. The historic struggle for human rights can inform current movements and calls us to finish the transition towards democracy begun in the Enlightenment.
Human Rights: The Enlightenment’s Unfinished Democratic Transition Read More »
This is a response to an article by Pablo Solón on the meaning of Vivir Bien and the experience of trying to implement it in Bolivia. This attempt to develop an ecological culture offers many lessons, highlighting the need to decolonize our worldview and keep movements going even after electing sympathetic political officials.
This site features a collection of writings that revolve around around the existential issues facing humanity—particularly climate change and other ecological crises resulting from overwhelming human demands on this finite planet—and how the public can mount a response at scale. These issues demand that we build an understanding of how a sustainable society would operate, but this is half the battle. The resulting vision will only be realized if we also develop the collective power to overcome corporate dominance and culture, which stand in the way. Ordinary citizens are not yet free enough to bring about a society that operates within ecological limits. To survive, we must gain the freedom to shape our own fate.
Welcome to Freedom and Survival Read More »