DeepSummary
The episode is a conversation with Vincent Bevins, an award-winning journalist and author of the book 'If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution'. Bevins discusses the global mass protest movements that took place from 2010 to 2020, exploring their impact, successes, and failures in various countries like Brazil, Chile, Tunisia, and the United States.
They delve into the role of social media in amplifying protests, the challenges of horizontal organizational structures, and the importance of clear messaging and representation in harnessing the power of mass movements for progressive change. Bevins also examines the consequences of political vacuums and the need for effective strategies to fill them with progressive leaders and policies.
The discussion touches on topics like the global financial crisis, austerity measures, and the rise of right-wing populism, providing insights into the complex dynamics that shape the outcomes of mass movements. Bevins emphasizes the need to learn from the past decade's experiences and find ways to make mass protests more effective in achieving their goals.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Mass protest movements have the potential to drive progressive change, but their effectiveness depends on various factors, such as clear messaging, representation, and effective strategies.
- Social media played a significant role in amplifying mass protests during the 2010s but also contributed to the spread of misinformation and the weaponization of these platforms by repressive governments.
- Horizontal organizational structures, while promoting inclusivity, can present challenges in decision-making and pivoting strategies during rapidly evolving situations.
- Political vacuums created by mass protests can be filled by either progressive or regressive forces, underscoring the importance of having effective representation and leadership from within the movements.
- The global financial crisis and subsequent austerity measures contributed to the rise of mass protests and right-wing populism during the 2010s.
- Learning from the successes and failures of past mass movements is crucial for the climate movement to effectively harness the power of protests and drive progressive change.
- The privatization and corporatization of the internet, originally a public good, have had significant implications for the dynamics of mass movements and the spread of information.
- Despite setbacks and tragedies, the individuals involved in mass protest movements remain committed to the struggle for a better future, highlighting the enduring human desire for change.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Tactics are easy to shift, right? It's easy to learn from, to tinker with strategy. It would be very difficult to put together the humanity necessary to change the world. I think it's already there.“ by Vincent Bevins
- “So the Internet was the creation of the common labor of not only thousands of years of humanities technological advancements, but really, like, it was like the United States government using taxpayer money to put together a system. And it was handed over in the nineties to a set of private concerns. And what we saw throughout the nineties and through the 2010s, like Naomi Klein calls it, like, the enclosure of the digital commons, right?“ by Vincent Bevins
- “Like, sort of everybody believed that necessarily the apparent democratization of media, the affecting of a kind of transparency, and the way that giving every single person in the world potentially a microphone, was just necessarily going to move the world in the right direction.“ by Vincent Bevins
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Episode Information
The Climate Pod
The Climate Pod
1/17/24
"From 2010 to 2020, more people participated in protests than at any other point in human history. But we are not living in a world that is more just and democratic as a result." In Vincent Bevins' new book, If We Burn, with this argument comes a central question: Can mass protests and uprisings actually lead to progressive change?
The answer is complicated and certainly varies greatly from situation, cause, and nation-state depending on an array of existing realities. However, in the mass protest decade of Bevins's focus, 2010-2020, we saw the enormous impact climate protests could have on raising global awareness. Recent uprisings across the globe have often resulted in more interest in progressive solutions, but not always in results. But there are critical examples that show it is possible to harness the power of protest to deliver justice. So how do we do it?
Bevins joins the show to discuss what he learned about the last decade and how the climate movement should use recent history to power greater change. He is an award-winning journalist and correspondent, having covered Southeast Asia for the Washington Post. He also served as the Brazil correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and before that he worked for the Financial Times in London. He is the author The Jakarta Method and his most recent book If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution.
Read If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution
Other episodes referenced:
An Optimistic Case for a Sustainable Future (w/ Dr. Hannah Ritchie)
How Are Progressives Transforming US Climate Policy? (w/ Ryan Grim)
Brazil's Election, Deforestation, and Violence in the Amazon (w/ Terrence McCoy)
How The Pandemic Is Reshaping Our World (w/ Felix Salmon)
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