we are not an arm of the state
TRANSCRIPT
We are not an arm of the state.
www.independentaction.net
www.independentaction.net
Power is….
Finite?or
Infinite?Or
Either / both
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(Em)powerment is
A fig-leafand
A confidence trick
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‘Capacity building’….
Misses the point aboutPOWER
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Try being oppositional…
And you will soon be confronted byThe ‘politics of power’
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Hirshman’s framework…
Exit Voice
Alienation Loyalty
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What’s happening right now?
• Dismantlement of the welfare state• Contracting out what’s left• Decline in living standards• Look after yourself and the devil take the
hindmost• Entrenchment of power and money• Continued conspiracy of consensus amongst
the political class
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Or put another way…..
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Time to take sides
“Watching everything demolished – youth services, Sure Start, libraries, post offices, the arts, museums, forests, the waterways – there is a point when public servants and charities alike need to set aside self-interest and speak up for the public good.”
(Polly Toynbee: The Guardian 7th February)
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Activists say they want…
• To exchange with other activists• Find their allies• Understand the landscape• Learn from experience elsewhere• Gauge the results and share the lessons
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Questions for you
• Whose views & what knowledge influences or dominates your research practice?
• How does your research deal with or expose the hegemony of the establishment in the ‘politics of power’?
• What is your own experience of being on the wrong side of power imbalances?
And…..• Whose side are you on?
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You are not alone!Keep on keeping on.