Peter Dauvergne

In a time of what seems to be a rise in global activism, this book presents a very different view.

Things are not at the point of "Greenpeace/Pepsico" or "Amnesty International (A Division of Unilever)," but a person could be forgiven for thinking that such a day is coming. Major NGOs have entered into multi- million dollar partnerships with corporations like Shell, Coca-Cola or Walmart (they certainly have more global reach than the United Nations). These corporate partners are going to expect more business-like behavior out of what, twenty years ago, was a rag-tag bunch of activists. Groups like the Sierra Club or World Wildlife Fund now have multi-million dollar annual budgets, boards of directors, offices all over the world and hundreds (or thousands) of employees. A growing number of organizations are interested in "corporate friendly" activism.

The consumerizing of activism is another growing trend. Purchase a certain item (usually made in China) and a portion of the money will be donated to some worthy cause. It helps the retailer to look good, and the worthy cause may get a small amount of extra money in their bank account. On the other hand, is more consumerism really the answer for world hunger or cancer research?

When dealing with the police or city officials, taking the streets has never been easy. Post-9/11, new laws have been passed which make it nearly impossible. Almost any public protest or disruption of daily activity can be equated with terrorism. Facing a police force that dresses and acts like the military, courtesy of surplus equipment from the Defense Department, certainly doesn't help.

In the middle of the 20th Century, there was much more of a social interest in getting together, like at the local union hall, to discuss the state of society. Those days are gone. Today, society is much more atomized. People are working two jobs, just to make ends meet, or they are spending their free time playing video games, so getting together to better society is low on the list of priorities.

This is a gem of a book, though also rather disheartening. It is a huge eye-opener, and should be read by all parts of society, including activists and non-activists.… (lisätietoja)

Let me begin with the only negative remark that I have about this book: they say that Britain and America are two countries divided by a common language, this work seeks to prove the point. It seems that there is not a noun that is not transformable into a verb by the addition of three letters; I,Z,E. This can lead to some ugly and rather difficult reading but, I urge the reader to grit their teeth and press on - the content makes it worth while.

This book explores the growing links between activists and big business. I was certainly unaware of some of the companies financing Greenpeace,the WWF and other NGO's. The most pleasing aspect of this tome is that the authors do not feel the need to force their opinions upon the reader. They report, fairly, and leave the reader to decide upon the rights and wrongs of this he case. The book brings up some important questions and, if we are to hold a sensible conversation, then it is vital that we have the facts to hand.

I am pleased to have this work upon my bookshelf and am even more pleased that, at least some of it, will remain in my head.… (lisätietoja)