So, the election of Donald Trump and likely coronation of Pierre Poilievre have you thinking there’s no point in pushing back so you might as well can your political activities and spend all your time hunkered down in a defensive crouch? Think again. If we take the long view, we see that the common people have a long history of overthrowing their oppressors, even when objectively the possibilities for change look hopeless. Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners Everyone on Your Holiday List Will Love These BC Books Get some gift-giving inspiration to ease your holiday shopping with these nine great titles.
Humans lived in equal, peaceful societies for the 97 per cent of our existence as a species when we were exclusively foragers. Some would have you believe that we’ve been descending to barbarism ever since. Beware of what they leave out — the persistent spark of resistance throughout recorded history, in service of visions of more humane, egalitarian societies.
Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari helped reverse the argument that humans have progressed from savagery to civilization in his book Sapiens . But he did largely leave out some key actors, by focusing on the technologies and ideologies of the ruling classes rather than on the activities of the masses. Harari doesn’t mince words.
He proclaims that “the Agricultural Revolution was history’s biggest fraud,” the destroyer of equality. He regards the Industrial Revolution as a close seco.