If We Burn

Mass Protest, Major Setbacks, and Vital Lessons for the New Resistance

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If We Burn (2023, PublicAffairs)

English language

Published April 30, 2023 by PublicAffairs.

ISBN:
9781541788961

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4 stars (1 review)

4 editions

Read if you've helped with mass protests

4 stars

This was a great book! On a large scale, it made me appreciate that the 2010s were a decade with uniquely many protests, that these protests all developed in reference to one another, that they converged on a style of protest that comes with predictable benefits and weaknesses, and that all in all, most of the protests failed, often leading to something even worse than what was protested against in the first place. And that we can and should learn from these failures!

On smaller scale, it drove home that a protest without a plan will always be co-opted because there can be no political vacuum, and the most organized, not-discredited group around in chaos will end up taking power or pushing through the reforms they like. In a direct conflict, and that’s what a protest becomes if it’s at all successful, the more hierarchical, disciplined, and authoritarian group will …