An inspiring collection of stories about brave people who organize, fight back, and prevail against corporate greed and government injustice, to learn from the tactics of how they won.
Includes illustrations and graphics.
An inspiring collection of stories about brave people who organize, fight back, and prevail against corporate greed and government injustice, to learn from the tactics of how they won.
Includes illustrations and graphics.
As the world slides further toward authoritarianism and the prospects for advancing social justice through electoral democracy narrow, the power of communities to prevail against strongman politics and corporate domination becomes increasingly crucial. In Movements That Win, long-time activist Aric McBay urges readers to remain hopeful, connected, vocal, and strong. He champions the creative innovations, bravery, and persistence of those who take risks to organize their communities to confront injustices imposed on them in the name of greed, militarism, and racism.
Building on the analysis presented in his two-volume set, Full Spectrum Resistance, McBay showcases a wide range of attainable victories that-wins we can and should emulate through solidarity and direct action. Among the triumphs McBay describes are
Indigenous groups' successful effort to shut down a pipeline and remove colonial statues, neighborhoods repelling gentrification and a nuclear waste dump in Australia, residents halting the construction of a parking garage in Boston's Chinatown, American disability rights activists' use of direct action to pave the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act, farmers preventing the construction of a nuclear reactor in rural Germany, and multiple neighborhood networks in the US preventing Wal-Mart from setting up shop in their community.
Along the way, McBay provides boots-on-the-ground insights into the key factors that inspire people to join local movements, how to persevere during backlash and repression, and how to build momentum through small victories.
By:
Aric McBay
Imprint: Seven Stories Press,U.S.
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 210mm,
Width: 140mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9781644215081
ISBN 10: 164421508X
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 16 December 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Introduction Shut Down Canada Canada: Shut Down “Claim No Easy Victories” Graves and Statues Revolution of the Heart Why Study Victories? Why these Stories? Patterns of Resistance, Ecologies of Struggle A Gentle Warning My Hopes Stories in this Book One: The Green Bans Background The Green Bans Multiply Why the Builders Labourers’ Federation? Repression The Legacy How to Build a Strong Alliance Black Bans and International Solidarity Sidebar: Green Bans and Green Parties Two: Parcel C The Campaign and Coalition The Referendum After the Referendum Victory and Aftermath Movement-Building and Intersectionality Chronology of Parcel C Three: 504 Disability Sit-ins The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 The Sit-Ins A Powerful Full-Spectrum Coalition Logistics and Communication Organization and Decision-Making Further Escalation What Next? Victory Factors Four: Brent Spar Background The Seizing of the Spar The Boycott The Strike Force Why They Won Five: Spies for Peace & the Committee of 100 The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Committee of 100 The Bunker Heist Victories and Legacy Comparing Capacities Six: Wyhl Reactor Site Occupation The Occupation Victory Factors and the Aftermath Seven: Standing Strong gainst Nuclear Waste Nuclear Weapons on Indigenous Land Uranium Power Grows The South Australia Nuclear Waste Dump Victory Sidebar: Hotelling’s Law Sidebar: 1984 Day of Action for a Nuclear-Free Australia Eight: Umbergaon Port The Megaport Why They Won Nine: Phantom Victories, Pipelines, and Gas Plants Line 9 Energy East Line 9 and Energy East Doug Ford’s Gas Plants Ten: The Richmond Dump Getting Organized Escalation The Mohawks and the Quarry Victory Factors Movement Capacities Chronology of Events Eleven: Anti-Walmart Site Fights & Alt-Union Campaign The Site Fights Community Impacts How Did They Win? The Legacy of Site Fights The Alt-Union Struggle Begins OUR Walmart Union Wins in Chile The Foothold and the Beachhead Conclusion: Patterns of Resistance 1) A Tangible Common Goal 2) Positive Vision 3) Urgency 4) A Common Enemy 5) Initiative & Escalation 6) Disruption & Direct Action 7) A Common Tactic & Collective Action 8) Diversity of Tactics & Radical Flanking 9) Coalitions across Difference 10) Movement Capacity 11) Participatory Decision-Making and Democracy 12) Persistence & Endurance The End of the Beginning Discussion Questions Further Victories Endnotes Index About the Author
ARIC MCBAY is a community organizer, organic farmer, and author of eight books, including the speculative fiction novels Kraken Calling and Inversion. His book Full Spectrum Resistance is a two-volume guide to building more effective movements. He writes and speaks on numerous social justice issues and has organized successful campaigns around fossil-fuel pipelines, Indigenous solidarity, unionization, prisoner justice, and other causes. He is also an award-winning digital game developer. You can find his work at www.aricmcbay.org.
