George Lakey

George Lakey has been active in direct action campaigns for six decades. Recently retired from Swarthmore College, he has facilitated 1,500 workshops on five continents and led activist projects on local, national and international levels -- most recently with Earth Quaker Action Team. Among many other books and articles, he is author of “Strategizing for a Living Revolution” in David Solnit’s book Globalize Liberation (City Lights, 2004). His 2016 book is "Viking Economics," and in December 2018 Melville House will release "How We Win: A Guide to Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigning."

Nonviolence

Can nonviolent Struggle defeat a Dictator? This Database emphatically says Yes

George Lakey

The Global Nonviolent Action Database details some 40 cases of mass movements overcoming tyrants through strategic nonviolent campaigns. ( Waging Nonviolence ) – With Donald Trump set to take office after a fear-mongering campaign that reignited concerns about his desire to become a dictator, a reasonable question comes up: Can nonviolent struggle defeat a tyrant? There […]

Authoritarianism

What Trump’s claim of a ‘stolen election’ means for activists today

George Lakey

( Waging Nonviolence ) – I’m encountering a great deal of alarm among progressive activists regarding continued Republican claims of a stolen election. Do these anti-democratic efforts mean a coup attempt is under way? Despite being among the first to write about the possibilities of a coup, I have to say (as of this moment) […]

Authoritarianism

We need a plan to prevent a Trump takeover — and this anti-coup research shows the way

George Lakey

( Waging Nonviolence ) – I’m hearing a range of views on the likelihood of President Donald Trump refusing to leave office if Joe Biden wins in November. Some don’t believe that even the reckless Trump would go that far, no matter how messed up mail-in ballots become and how close the vote is. Others […]

Food Security

The US Public Now Wants Medicare for All and the Nordic Model– But a Social Movement is Needed

George Lakey

( Waging Nonviolence) – Surprisingly, for a mainstream daily newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer ended its March 22 editorial on the coronavirus by calling for system change, writing, “This crisis has laid bare some hard truths: that we’ve built a society that has removed protections for workers, supported the creation and growth of the gig economy, […]

Democratic Socialism

Social Democracy has made Nordic Countries Happy and Prosperous: Americans should Learn from Them

George Lakey

( Yes! Magazine ) – The U.S. opioid crisis has been unfolding for years and shows no signs of stopping. As we reach for solutions, we can do more than regulate the pharmaceutical companies. Fresh research provides the clue: we can tackle a root cause of opioid deaths while creating a greener and more just […]

Democratic Socialism

The World’s Happiest People Already have a Green New Deal, and they Love It

George Lakey

(Waging Nonviolence ) – Green New Deal advocates in the United States should look to the Nordic countries for inspiration on how to overcome the 1 percent and address climate change. According to the latest report from the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the Nordics are once again in the top tier of the […]

Immigration

Defeating Fascism: What a Danish Woman Imam and Swiss Progressives can teach us

George Lakey

(Waging Nonviolence) – The growth of white supremacy and fascism has been noticeable in a number of countries lately, prompting the question: What can we learn from each other? Each country might find “best practices” elsewhere that could be applied at home, in addition to learning from its own past successes. Americans might be especially […]