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T he U se of J oyfulness as a C ommunity O rganizing S trategy
Author(s) -
Shepard Ben
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
peace and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1468-0130
pISSN - 0149-0508
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0130.2005.00328.x
Subject(s) - pleasure , cornerstone , democracy , economic justice , community organizing , sociology , convention , law , political science , public relations , politics , psychology , history , archaeology , neuroscience
In the last decade, there has been a resurgence in organizing for global peace and economic justice. Many of the innovative strategies propelling the new activism are borrowed from the activist project born between the birth of ACT UP and the protests at the Republican National Convention in 2004. A cornerstone of this approach is a rejection of the hair shirt, anti‐pleasure Left. The result is a new generation of activist groups struggling to oppose war and corporate influence while offering a compelling image of the democracy which honors difference in its countless forms. A respect for the interrelations of joy, justice, pleasure, and a use of culture as an organizing tool is at the core of this approach. The new organizing offers fresh approaches to organizing diverse communities while struggling for justice for all. Three specific elements of the new community organizing—humor, culture, and carnival—are considered.