We Are Power: How Nonviolent Activism Changes the World

Organized human society has undergone change since its inception. Some changes have been gradual, others abrupt. Some militant, others amicable. One usually thinks of non-violence as being amicable, but this book shows the militant side of non-violence; it shows that it is possible to resist and fight without the use of violence.

The book showcases five historical figures—Mahatma Gandhi, Alice Paul, Martin Luther King Jr., Hugo Chávez, and Václav Havel—as well as contemporary activist Greta Thunberg. The book’s objective is not one to chronicle history, but to focus on the strategies these individuals used to get their message heard through non-violent means. The chapter on Gandhi, for example, focuses on his fight in South Africa against the Asiatic Law as well as in India against the Salt Tax. The narrative focuses sharply on the tactics he and his supporters used, the sacrifices they made, and the hardships they endured.

Apart from effective use of militant non-violence, the book encourages readers to find their uncomfortable truth and organize to right the wrong. Greta Thunberg is used as a model of someone who confronted a truth of climate change and decided to do something about it through non-violent means. While the book does advocate militant action to combat injustice, it also promotes non-violence.