How to Resist: Turn Protest to Power
When social change and protecting those in need are rejected and rolled back, fundraising isn’t always enough. Sometimes you need to take a stand, and to do so effectively.
How to Resist is about what you can do after the march. In seven practical principles, Matthew Bolton outlines a method for how we can enact real and lasting change in our communities. This is the method he used in leading the Living Wage campaign, which resulted in pay rises for millions of people in the UK, and in building the Citizens UK alliance of tens of thousands of community campaigners.
Rooted in the tactics of the American Civil Rights era, How to Resist reminds us that history’s greatest social movements have been driven by ordinary people demanding that their voices be heard. This is the approach that Barack Obama used as a community organiser in Chicago – an approach that has been used to fight injustice and resist oppression for centuries.
Author Matthew Bolton says: “This book is for people who are angry with the ways things are and want to do something about it; for people who are frustrated with the system, or worried about the direction the country is going. Maybe they’ve been on a march, posted their opinions on social media, or shouted angrily at something they’ve seen on the news but don’t feel like it’s making any difference. It is for people who want to make a change but they’re not sure how.”
Reviews
“This extraordinary book is the roadmap for a new kind of effective activism”
Brian Eno
“I talk about the Big Society; you are the Big Society”
David Cameron, then Leader of the Conservative Party, to Citizens UK
“If you’re worried about the state of the world, Matthew Bolton’s brilliantHow to Resist shows how each of us can do our bit to fight populism”
Rohan Silva ― Observer
“If there’s anyone worth listening to about the politics and strategy of protest, it’s Matthew Bolton. After all, this is the man who led the hugely effective campaign for the living wage, and here he sets out a persuasive case for being proactive, rather than moaning about the state of the nation on social media. How to Resist is genuinely a “how to” guide”
Observer
