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What drives activists?

Published 27th October 2009 - 10 comments - 1152 views -

If I ever had to use one word to describe myself, I would pick ‘Entrepreneur’. My definition of an entrepreneur is not somebody who takes advantage of a business opportunity. An entrepreneur is somebody who solves problems, if she/he doesn’t like something they go ahead and attempt to change it without waiting for somebody else to do it. So I’ve previously founded a microfinance company to provide loans to the poor, started a rural women’s cooperative to provide them with supplementary income and been part of numerous other failed startups. I see myself as a leader and a problem solver.

As a businessman I see incentives to be the driving force of every action. Human beings need incentives to make them act. So every time I meet somebody I try figuring out what their incentives could be, I’m not judging but just wondering what makes them do what they do, since you are defined by your actions.

The flaw in my theory lies in assuming that every human being is rational and is unconsciously acting to maximize his benefits. I already knew that all reason is suspended for a person in love, but I’m also realizing that this theory doesn’t apply to activists either.

I always wondered if I had been born during India’s freedom struggle, what section of the society I would have fall in. Would I be the arm chair intellectual in the likes of Rabindranath Tagore or an intellectual who would take radical action like Subash Chandra Bose or a moderate intellectual like Jawaharlal Nehru or a businessman like GD Birla doing his bit for the nation by increasing its wealth?  I would have probably been the businessman, lost in the annals of history.

Activists Poznan

Image from Ruchi Jain

The past few months I’ve for the first time ever come in close contact of activists, people who take to the streets and are the loudest people in the room. In fact you might say I’ve even become an activist myself. Today I would gladly take the street calling for the government to act for climate change or even give up food to make a point. If you know me a bit, you would realize how much out of character doing so is for me. I’m the silent leader; I don’t make statements or try to change people’s way of thinking. If I have to do something, then there better be some benefit for me in it. I act on incentives.

All this has happened because of I’ve been closely involved with the Indian Youth for Climate Network. IYCN has some of the most exceptional Indian youth I’ve ever met. Everybody seems to be over dosed with unbridled passion for climate change. These are people who get tattoos to show their commitment or travel for months across India in solar powered cars or wait for hours outside offices of ministers or give up food for 40 days. Their passion for climate change has infected thousands on other Indian youth to make IYCN the largest youth organization for climate change in the world. In fact my journey in the renewable energy sector began when I met one of the founders of the network two years back at a conference. I can positively say that meeting changed my life.

Check out 350.org’s homepage of pictures from across the world. Tens of thousands of people decided to stand up and make a statement. I’m fortunate that I can say that some of them were my friends. But a year back I would have wondered, who are these crazy people? I study at a highly selective university but I don’t see any of them ever acting out of their passion for climate change. They instead focus on developing technologies that decrease emissions or starting businesses which do so. If you are an activist, you would find it hard to understand that I really didn’t know any activist from my university or among my close friends. So it is hard for me to understand activists.

I decided to write about this after I read Climate Justice Fast, which is a 40 day fast for climate change. I don’t see how it would make any significant contribution to saving the world, but people have their reasons and will not eat anything for 40 days. It sounds both stupid and brave.

What makes you an activist? Why would you decide to give up so much for something that few other people care about?


Category: International Action, | Tags: climate change, activism,



Comments

Benno Hansen on 27th October 2009:

A forty day fast would save lots of CO2. A bit too far for me personally too, though. So, I’m with you, Abhishek Nayak.

The little detail about activists not fitting old fashioned economic theory is very interesting. A lot of others do not either. Let us return to this subject later wink

Ujjwal Bhaskar on 02nd November 2009:

nice

Ruchi Jain on 02nd November 2009:

Great Post !

Activists agitate because they to something that is not normal and instead of just sitting and not doing something about it , they take direct action. It could be anything from implementing solutions to having a fast for climate change.

A fast for Climate Change brought together a group of people influencing other people. You and me have read about it and are connecting the activity to the CO2 emissions that every individual creates. There are other individual members who have had several interpretations.

Fasts have achieved a lot in the past. When you talk about the Freedom struggle , Gandhiji went onto a fast unto death during the partition to restore the situation back to normal. A lot can be implemented with a single minded goal to achieve something through fasts.

Ruchi Jain on 02nd November 2009:

Sorry I meant ” Activists agitate when something is not right , instead of just sitting and not doing anything about it and staying silent. ”

Nakul on 06th November 2009:

The other analogy that I can think of is the 1 hour lights off initiative. I can only derive a conclusion that - you could have 1 more hour of lights / electricity. Nothing more.

Moreover, probably someone in New york and London still enjoyed the lights on ... ensuring that people in Lucknow or Dhaka still suffered further. ( you may call me a classic cynic)

The awareness caused is great but still could we have put our efforts into something more constructive?

I guess, everything is not meant for everyone and it has to be .. to each one his/her own.

Keerthi Kiran on 07th November 2009:

I strongly feel activists play a huge role in gathering support and momentum to the movement. If Abhishek, you or I hear about climate change more times than not it’s because of activists.

@Nakul: So are we competing with New york or London on who uses more electricity. Or even better, are we modelling ourselves on them to be hated as much by the other world countries.

Your conclusion on 1 hour light off initiative is so very short sighted. I know many people who got to know about climate change through Earth hour.

Nakul on 07th November 2009:

@Keerthi Kiran - I never denied the awareness created. All I was saying was, of all the people ( I know, who were ignorant &) who were enlightened about the issue by the initiative ... just got enlightened and never bothered to take any action.

It would have made more sense, if I suggested a better way, the right way of doing things and making it sound cool instead of making - ‘switch off lights’ cool, it aint the solution nor practical and not COOL !

We aint competing. But this is exactly what I had to fight with and clarify with people, even in Mumbai. People still believe, that they haven’t even enjoyed the slightest of the luxuries in life ... like their more privileged counter parts in NY and London, and still they are being asked to go GREEN - with so many restrictions ! And as much as I feel, it aint correct - I believe, the punishment or corrective measures/responsibility we take need to be accordingly balanced.

Why should I force a friend to go to office on a bicycle, when he knows so many people are guzzling down gas in their SUV?

and do not give me - you need to do what you can ... it all starts with one person et al.

Anne-Sophie Novel on 13th November 2009:

I have the feeling that fast is a way to be an activist, and I do not find it stupid in fact. It has a symbol, and I think that the one doing it have well explained their action…

Will you be in Copenhagen in December then?:-)

Adela on 13th November 2009:

I think an activist is first and foremost driven by passion.

Either you choose not to eat for 40 days or bungee jump to take a pic of a crowd forming 350 or fight against 80+ people to prove climate change is not man made ... when coming from the heart it’s called spirit and passion.

Belinda Scheider on 05th January 2010:

Well, I do agree. I met many activist who work not even for themselves but for others. Some of them have sense of justice that really make others really want to join them.
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