We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Echoes from Tunisia and Egypt: Revolutions Without Self-Proclaimed Revolutionaries

 by Horace Campbell from All Africa.      









About Horace Campbell
















This scholarly specialist in African affairs examines the current African revolution now in progress and argues that they have some unique 21st century characteristics that have been built upon the legacy of 20th century revolutions.
 1) The revolutions are made by ordinary people independent of vanguard parties and self-proclaimed revolutionaries

2) The nature of independent networks of networks and the sophistication of the tools of the revolution

3) The leadership of ordinary people who displayed self-mobilisation for the revolution

4) The building of revolutionary non-violence for self-defence

5) The revolutionary ideas of the people whose ultimate goal is to be dignified human beings and not to be dictators' robots or zealots.
at
Labels: , ,