When a small number of individuals seek to effect major change in the societies in which they live, the success of their efforts depends on a variety of factors. Among them are the clarity of their vision (what precisely it is they "see," using that word with Sondheim's meaning), the degree of dedication they bring to their task, their imagination and passion, and the specific methods of advocacy and action they adopt. In terms of how successful they are, one factor can be of great importance: the alliances they are able to forge, and the segments of society to which the different parts of that alliance appeal. Such alliances can be determinative in the success of the overall effort.Essay touches on the struggle to end slavery and the agenda of "teabaggers" (political version).
Saturday, November 7, 2009
New Series
Arthur Silber begins a new series somewhat related to the series on Tribalism.
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4 comments:
That's very well said and an interesting concept. Thanks for the pointer. I need to go read Silber's stuff when I have more brain.
I'm writing some things at my political blog these days (like this and that) that relate to the notion of systemic change and are parts of a larger gestalt of issues dealing with effecting change.
Fascinating subjects.
[Pardon this complete non sequitur, but I had to post this somewhere: In the "one degree of separation" realm, I just noticed you link to Roadnotes at LJ through your blogroll. I've been linked to her for years at my LJ blog too.
Mutual friends in cyberspace. Figure the odds. :)]
Hi!
I very much enjoy Arthur Silber's POV (anarchism crossed with Alice Miller's theory on childrearing). Your authoritarian essay looks particularly crunchy, and I'd like to link to that, if it's all right.
Oh, yes (one of the fun parts of Live Journal/Dreamwidth/journaling services generally is reading random journals for a while and figuring out that you know who the person is; I had started reading Roadnotes [under the previous name] for a while before I knew who it was [I know her in real life]. Odds are less than you'd think. [Although my mom doesn't have a blog yet. But give her time...])!
Happy to have links to my authoritarian essays, so yes, please, link away. :)
I am frequently baffled about who cyberfolks are in meat life, if they aren't in my actual immediate circle, but I still keep stumbling across these connections. Roadnotes' partner knew of me/my work through his job, for instance. '6 degrees of separation' seem much smaller when we're online, maybe because our overlapping spheres of interest and association cut some corners.
I think it's kinda neat...
More thoughts on Silber, perhaps, after I've had a chance to read & digest.
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