Abstract
What does it take to affect societal change, which I believe is what is required to meet the challenges of this climate and ecological emergency? History tells us that non-violent direct action is pretty much the only effective democratic way.
Whether one considers the suffragettes from the turn of the 20th century or Freedom Riders who deliberately drove interstate buses into segregated southern United States in the early 1960s, non-violent direct action can effect change – or to put it another way, it can speed up an evolution of thought into deed in a matter of years, instead of decades or even centuries.
Quite clearly, nobody who reads the scientific facts about our burning planet or the current mass extinction of species can feel complacent about the future.
Whether one considers the suffragettes from the turn of the 20th century or Freedom Riders who deliberately drove interstate buses into segregated southern United States in the early 1960s, non-violent direct action can effect change – or to put it another way, it can speed up an evolution of thought into deed in a matter of years, instead of decades or even centuries.
Quite clearly, nobody who reads the scientific facts about our burning planet or the current mass extinction of species can feel complacent about the future.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Type | Opinion Piece defending the direct actions of Insulate Britain |
| Media of output | Dezeen- Digital Magazine |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Oct 2021 |
Keywords
- Direct Action
- climate action
- climate activism
- Climate Change
- Retrofitting
- Insulation