Conclusion

This concluding chapter cautions that progressive change is not primarily about ‘us’ activists: it occurs when poor people and communities take power into their own hands; shifts in technology, prices, demography, and sheer accident can be far more important than the actions of would-be change agents. It argues that activists need humility despite their crucial roles in programmes of change. The chapter reiterates the ideal characteristics of activists on individual and organizational levels mentioned throughout this book, extolling the reader to work in ways that reflect an evolving understanding of power and systems. It is these characteristics, after all, that are vital to a successful campaign for change. Finally, the chapter (and the book) ends on an encouraging note by defining activism as a story of human development, as articulated by Amartya Sen’s definition, ‘the freedoms to be and to do’.

Environmental ethics · Humility · Ideal (ethics) · Political science · Power (physics) · Sociology · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Law · Political Economy and Marxism · Political Philosophy and Ethics