Strategies to Defeat Fascism*
Movements succeed by deploying multiple strategies simultaneously and sequentially.
Personal Transformation - inner work (self-care, learning, skills, interdependence with nature), helping others (neighborhood connnections, emergency preparedness)
Base-Building / Unite Underdogs — deep relationship-based recruitment - empathic conversations, engage passive defenders of democracy to become active defenders.
Narrative Shift/ Story-Telling — win hearts & minds by offering a new, shared story; weaken pillars of support for overdogs; culture-jamming & pranktivism ("trillionaires for Trump").
Disruption— non-violent protests, strikes, boycotts with production or distribution chokepoints; use OODA Loop (Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action for tactical agility) .
A Positive Vision - economic democracy (wealth taxes, anti-monopolies), political reforms (address money in politics & voter suppression, abolish filibuster in Senate, Supreme Court reform), institutional transformation (universal basic services, de-militarization, support democratic allies & foreign aid / global health), address the polycrisis (climate, environment, pollution), prefigurative actions - live out alternative solutions.
Electoral Change — year-round organizing to win governing power.
Inside-Outside Campaigns — coordinate progressive leaders and grassroots initiatives.
Momentum Model / Movement Cycles— combine protest and narrative to capture upsurges and crises; given this moment in time, what should we be doing.
Collective Care — mutual aid and support networks that sustain movements.
Five Tests For Transformational Strategy
Vision - Do we maintain clear, aspirational goals, not just critique the status quo?
Conjuncture - Are we reading the current landscape accurately?
Division - Does this action divide & weaken overdog power structure?
Toolkit - Are we layering base-building, disruption & narrative structure?
Empathy - Are we telling a compelling story, rooted in shared values?
The Decentralized Leadership Network
Distributed leadership — harder to decapitate.
Autonomous local pods — act without central permission.
Shared political compass — unified anti-fascist, pro-democracy framework.
Book Clubs
Book clubs are a way to build shared analysis. Here are four active groups you can join:
Third Act WA — Seattle Climate Conversations; book club in September: Climate Wayfinding.
350 Seattle — long-running club; recent pick: Polemic For Democracy.
Wallingford Indivisible— theme-based discussions (e.g., social revolutions, voting rights).
Communities Rising — studied Beautiful Trouble and Practical Radicals; new book in September.
*Adapted from the book Practical Radicals, the website Beautiful Trouble, and the video Movement Ecology.
Beautiful Trouble Strategies
Strategies for Practical Radicals