The trouble with 'activists'

Back in 2018 I wrote a book called ‘Radicals’ - about various fringe movements that I thought might one day become extremely important. (Just between us, I think it’s my best work). One of the groups I spent a lot of time with was radical environmentalists - including a day trying to disrupt activity an open cast coal mine in Wales. The recent Just Stop Oil actions - especially at Stonehenge last week - reminded me of this, and in particular the way professional ‘activists’ can often limit the appeal of a movement. Below is an article - which I’m not sure is still available online - about this problem. Given it’s relevance, I’ve republished here, below: