Quick Take: We Are the Antidote to Authoritarianism

Some light weekend reading and podcasts on how we go from an authoritarian hellscape to the world of our dreams

The intertwined crises that are generating uncertainty and fanning the flames of authoritarianism are alarming - but they should not be disarming. The good news is that the antidotes to authoritarianism are in every community and available to be activated right now.

I wrote this in 2023. Still feels right.

The Confederate Battle Plan, as Steve Phillips calls it, was exposed this week. I’ll have more to share next month on this in a multi-book review that brings together Steve Phillips’ How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good (2023), Hahrie Han’s Unvidided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church (2024), and Marshall Ganz’s People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal (2024). Suffice to say, we have work to do on what Phillips calls our Liberation Battle Plan.

Folks — I hope you find some rest, solace, hope, and joy this weekend as we gear up for what’s next. Here’s three things that you might find helpful this weekend:

First, the Anti-Authoritarian Podcast from 22nd Century Initiative and Convergence Magazine is a platform to explore strategy questions with Scot Nakagawa, Sue Hyde, and pro-democracy leaders in the U.S. and globally for audiences interested in fighting authoritarianism and strengthening democracy.

Second is the podcast To See Each Other. This podcast that explores how people are fighting for the future of rural and small-town America, and why writing it off hurts us all. Hosted by long-time organizer George Goehl, this documentary serial podcast complicates the narrative about Americans in our most misunderstood, and often abandoned, communities.

Third, is a white paper from People’s Action Institute and endorsed by more than a dozen community and worker organizing networks and intermediaries — The Antidote to Authoritarianism: How an Organizing Revival Can Build a Multiracial Pluralistic Democracy and an Inclusive Economy (2023).

I leave you with the rest of the words from the conclusion to the Antidote to Authoritarianism:

The intertwined crises that are generating uncertainty and fanning the flames of authoritarianism are alarming - but they should not be disarming. The good news is that the antidotes to authoritarianism are in every community and available to be activated right now. While there are several interdependent strategic pathways that involve government, business, and civic action to build a multiracial pluralistic democracy and inclusive economy, a revival of community organizing will supercharge this work and provide a foundation of support for related strategies. 

The vast majority of people in the United States and around the globe want peace, fairness, freedom, economic security, and an end to political violence. They are ready to be organized in their communities and across differences. Someone has to knock on their doors, listen to them with curiosity and compassion, and invite them to meet with neighbors, co-workers, and fellow congregants to talk about their common values, interests, and issues.

This is the essential work of community organizing. This is the promise of an Organizing Revival.