Ambivalent Activism

Working with Contradiction, Hesitation and Doubt for Social Change

Abstract

Who hasn’t felt unsure or confused or conflicted about their involvement in work to change the world? Too often we bury these feelings, believing they are signs of our own weakness or that they will lead to division. And too often, when they surface, they can indeed result in hurtful division or burnout or nihilism.

But what if instead of burying them or blaming ourselves for feeling them, we find different ways of dealing with them? This is what this collection of articles from a range of social movements in different parts of the world argues.