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>that's like, three orders off from the kinds of problems that actually happen when you try to do political activism I think this just goes to show how people
by pcstl 5y ago
>that's like, three orders off from the kinds of problems that actually happen when you try to do political activism
I think this just goes to show how people who live in places with stable political institutions take them for granted and don't value what they have.
That you believe that political agitators who aim to destabilize institutions will face no problem greater than issues with fundraising or movement-building just goes to show that the conditions you live in are exceptionally stable.
In most of the world, movements for change being taken over by malicious, self-interested players is a very real, very serious risk.
- Uehreka 5y agoSo, political activism doesn't necessarily mean ending capitalism and demolishing the system. Like, granted, when you play with matches you risk getting burned. But a lot of effective political activism is more about getting petition signatures and pressuring the state legislature to pass an ordinance banning factories from pumping heavy metals into the water table. Stuff that makes a difference, but is monumentally boring (and admittedly, stuff I personally haven't done enough of). [Edit - And before someone makes a dig about environmentalism-for-its-own-sake: In the above hypothetical, the factories are near an aquifer and there are concerns about drinking water.]
- solveit 5y agoAnd EA isn't against this kind of thing, but political activism often tends not to be low-hanging because people are very invested in political activism. If you can set up an organization that can consistently identify low-hanging, high-impact activism, then EA will be all for it.
- pcstl 5y agoWell, political activism doesn't have to be about that, but EA isn't opposed to activism per se. EA is just, by its very nature, opposed to political activism that believes the only way we might make things any better is demolishing the current system and somehow building the perfect one from scratch - because this kind of activism tends to entail the belief that any kind of charity-based solution is a bad thing because it might make people stay longer under the unacceptable system instead of revolting as they rightly should.