A woman holding a megaphone

Searching for Radicalism in a Corporate Age

Gus Speth

Gus Speth

Distinguished Next System Fellow more

Movement Strategy & History

In this article for the Tellus Institute, distinguished fellow and co-chair of the Next System Project Gus Speth takes a close look at the triumphs and pitfalls of the book Protest Inc: The Corporatization of Activism. Speth details the book’s foundational ideas about activism and the headwinds pushing against the rise of current radical activism. He notes where authors Peter Dauvergne and Genevieve LeBaron make strong arguments to back their opinions and where they fall short on the future of activism.

As national and international challenges mount across the full spectrum of human affairs, and as more and more acute observers conclude that the problems we face trace back one way or another to our system of political economy—the corporatist, consumerist capitalism that we have today—it is timely to ask, where is the activism that might change the system?

Read the full article at the Tellus Institute.

Gus Speth

Gus Speth

Distinguished Next System Fellow more

More related work
Default Image: Fire

Can transformative change come to America?

by Gus Speth

The good news is systemic change may happen more rapidly than once seemed possible. But how the US and the world address the climate crisis will be a powerful determinant of what is possible. read more
Movement Strategy & History Environment & Energy
Nenad Stojkovic via Flickr

Gar Alperovitz on how change happens over “pizza and some beer”

by Gar Alperovitz

Gar Alperovitz talks about how the democratic economy can come into being much as movements did in the 1960s: “Six friends get together and get some pizza and some beer.” read more
Movement Strategy & History Democratic Ownership
Election celebration outside White House, November 7, 2020

After Trump, before Biden: What’s next for the American left?

by Joe Guinan

Trumpism—whether or not it morphs into a new form, with a new leadership or strategy—is something we still don’t understand properly. The outcome of this election shows we have a lot more work to do to ensure the Trumpers don’t have a continuing path forward. read more
Movement Strategy & History Democracy & Governance