Ideas

We believe that fundamental social change is not only possible, but deeply necessary.

We live in a time of escalating and interlocking global crises, and deep changes in all sectors of our society are needed to address the ecological crisis, social injustice, oppression and war.

Grassroots organizing is most effective at making long-term change when it targets the root causes: the unjust institutions and systems of power. SmartMeme is strengthening this strategy by targeting another essential component: the narratives of power.

Memes & Smart Memes
Shifting Culture with Contagious Thoughts...
Memes are everywhere – rituals (from handshakes to birthday cakes), ideas (from Green Jobs to the theory of relativity) to advertising slogans (I'm lovin' it) and political buzzwords (swing states, surge, axis of evil)...

Narrative Analysis of Power
Beyond the Era of Outdated Stories...
Stories are embedded with power—the power to explain and justify the status quo, as well as the power to make change imaginable and urgent...

Story-Based Strategy
How changing the story changes the world...
Humans process the information we encounter as stories. Narrative is the filter for our personal experiences and political ideas...

Why Now? (Situational Analysis)
Ours is a moment of social and ecological crisis, when change is inevitable...
To deal with these overlapping crises, we must understand the histories and institutions that underlie the contemporary economic and political manifestations...

Glossary
The Pragmatic Dreamer's Glossary
A few cognitive stepping stones towards a lexicon for transformative action…

De-Colonizing the Revolutionary Imagination
Essay by Patrick Reinsborough
This ten part essay explores a wide range of innovative social change strategies and ideas including post-issue activism, direct action at the point of assumption and the politics of reality.