1.
John Emerich Edward
Dalberg-Acton, an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer said, "Power
tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost
always bad men.” I could not help but think of Fred Krupp who took a strong
environmental group, EDF, and twisted its purpose for financial gain. This is not the first agency
or corporation where this has happened.
Can you think of others?
2.
Harvard University
sociologist Theda Skocpol indicated that a major barrier to success in the
fight against climate change is an “absence of a mass movement applying
pressure from below.” That may be true but who or what triggers that
mass movement?
2. The story of 350.org is quite remarkable. It appears to have been triggered mainly by the resolve of an impassioned and tireless organizer, Bill McKibben. I imagine most successful grassroots movements center initially on a charismatic and persuasive leader whose example of sacrifice inspires emulation. But there has to have already been a receptive army of potential movement inductees awaiting inspiration.
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