Effective activism doesn't try to persuade politicians or stage a revolution. Instead, it should 'inject a retrovirus': build and run privately-funded alternative institutions (like citizens' assemblies) that operate on a different logic. By demonstrating a better way of doing things, this strategy creates demand and allows new institutional 'DNA' to spread organically.
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To drive transformation in a large organization, leaders must create a cultural movement rather than issuing top-down mandates. This involves creating a bold vision, empowering a community of 'changemakers,' and developing 'artifacts of change' like awards and new metrics to reinforce behaviors.
While national politics can be divisive and disheartening, city-level initiatives offer hope. In a local context, people are neighbors who must collaborate, respect each other's humanity, and work towards a common goal of improving their community. This forced cooperation creates a positive, inspiring model for progress.
Major societal shifts, like universal childcare, don't start with national legislation. They begin when communities model a different way of operating. By creating local support systems and demonstrating their effectiveness, citizens provide a blueprint that can be scaled into state and national policy.
Individuals feeling helpless about global problems can leverage their employer's institutional power and resources. Even without being a CEO, an employee has access to a platform for organizing, campaigning, or innovating solutions that an average citizen lacks, turning helplessness into action.
The most effective way to spread a new idea is not through expert lectures but through peer inspiration. Kate Raworth found her model gained momentum when teachers showed other teachers how they used it, and mayors showed other mayors. This led her to create an action lab focused on unleashing peer-to-peer learning.
The focus of billionaire philanthropy has shifted from building physical public works (like libraries) to funding NGOs and initiatives that aim to fundamentally restructure society, politics, and culture according to their ideological visions.
In siloed government environments, pushing for change fails. The effective strategy is to involve agency leaders directly in the process. By presenting data, establishing a common goal (serving the citizen), and giving them a voice in what gets built, they transition from roadblocks to champions.
Forcing innovations to "scale" via top-down mandates often fails by robbing local teams of ownership. A better approach is to let good ideas "spread." If a solution is truly valuable, other teams will naturally adopt it. This pull-based model ensures change sticks and evolves.
Activism isn't binary. A 'covert' approach involves expressing values through business decisions like partnerships, hiring, or amplified voices. This is a valid, often safer, alternative to direct 'overt' public statements, allowing for a spectrum of engagement based on comfort and capacity.
Richard Thaler realized he couldn't convince his established peers of behavioral economics' merits. Instead, he focused on 'corrupting the youth' by creating a summer camp for top graduate students and writing accessible journal articles. This new generation then populated top universities and changed the field from within.
