Post by Bennett Freeman

I want to share the text of the talk I gave on February 21 at the UC Berkeley Institute of International Studies. It was an unusually personal talk for me given the moment and the place.  I tried to characterize the assault on liberal democracy and liberalism—the twin pillars of my convictions and commitments—one month into the new Administration. I also tried to offer hope to students at Berkeley— still a bastion of idealism and activism—and my intellectual home where I began to study for my first History degree nearly 50 years ago.   “So You Want to Change the World” attempts to offer hope amidst despair and opportunity amidst the disruption, especially for those pursuing careers as activists in the public, private or non-profit sectors. I pointed to several lodestars that have guided me and lessons that I have learned from my study of history and subsequent career. I also highlighted some rays of hope as resistance has been emerging in the three arenas that have been my focus for the last 25 years: human rights and worker rights; poverty and inequality; climate and environmental sustainability.   I hope that others find this text timely and useful as we try to find resolve in our personal, professional, and political lives. Daniel Sargent Susan Hyde Claudia Gey (she/her) Morelia Chihuaque Christian Gordon Deirdre Mulligan Michael Posner Scott Busby Michelle Breslauer Philip Yun Cindy Cohn Alison Taylor Richard Stazinski Raymond Offenheiser Richard N. Dunstan Allison-Hope Eric Schwartz Nina Gardner Elizabeth Doty Dafna Hochman Rand Gare A. Smith Brad Brooks-Rubin Christopher Avery Phil Bloomer Harriet Moynihan Creon Butler Benedetta Lacey CBE Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson Jason Pielemeier Sewell Chan Sir Geoff Mulgan Sue Hendrickson Kernaghan Webb Robert McCorquodale Richard Howitt Salil Tripathi Michael Pates Stephen Davis