Ideas For Action

Written in an engaging and accessible style, Ideas for Action gives activists the intellectual tools to turn discontent into a plan of action. Exploring a wide range of political traditions--including Marxism, anarchism, anti-imperialism, postmodernism, feminism, critical race theory, and environmentalism--Cynthia Kaufman acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of political movements and the ideologies inspired by or generated through them. Kaufman incorporates elements of her own activist experiences and presents a coherent analysis without pretending to offer "the final word" on complex issues. Instead, she helps orient a critical understanding of the social world and a glimpse of the excitement and rewards of serious intellectual engagement with political ideas. Fully updated to confront pressing issues of today--from mass incarceration to climate change, from the war on terror to the national security state, from rising inequality to a global shortage of care, Ideas for Action also examines the work of diverse thinkers such as Adam Smith, Paulo Freire, Grace Lee Boggs, and Stuart Hall. Kaufman's insights break the chains of cynicism and lay a foundation for more effective organizing.

Written in an engaging and accessible style, Ideas for Action gives activists the intellectual tools to turn discontent into a plan of action. Exploring a wide range of political traditions—including Marxism, anarchism, anti-imperialism, postmodernism, feminism, critical race theory, and environmentalism—Cynthia Kaufman acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of political movements and the ideologies inspired by or generated through them. Kaufman incorporates elements of her own activist experiences and presents a coherent analysis without pretending to offer “the final word” on complex issues. Instead, she helps orient a critical understanding of the social world and a glimpse of the excitement and rewards of serious intellectual engagement with political ideas. Fully updated to confront pressing issues of today—from mass incarceration to climate change, from the war on terror to the national security state, from rising inequality to a global shortage of care, Ideas for Action also examines the work of diverse thinkers such as Adam Smith, Paulo Freire, Grace Lee Boggs, and Stuart Hall. Kaufman’s insights break the chains of cynicism and lay a foundation for more effective organizing.

This book offers a guide, for companies, pension funds, asset managers, and other institutional investors, on how to commence the legal, governance, and financial strategies needed for effective climate mitigation and adaptation, and to help distribute the economic benefits of these actions to their stakeholders. It takes the reader from ideas to action, from first steps to a more meaningful contribution to the move towards a net zero carbon world. It can serve as a helpful guide to everyone implicated in a corporation's activities - employees, pensioners, consumers, banks and other lenders, policymakers, and community members. It offers insights into what we should be expecting, and asking, of these fiduciaries who have taken responsibility for effectively managing our savings, our retirement funds, our investments, and our tax dollars.

Contemporary political theory has become alienated from politics. It often neither discusses concrete political events nor touches the world of political action. Stephen Eric Bronner wants to change that, and Ideas in Action takes a bold step in that direction. With elegance and power, Bronner surveys 20th century political traditions. In the process, he places theories and thinkers in their social, historical, and political contexts. His sweeping presentation is organized into four imaginatively articulated phases that signal the direction of political thinking in the twentieth century. Offering distinctive interpretations and criticisms, presenting a new internationalist perspective, Bronner imbues the text with original voices and primary sources from Adorno to Zetkin.

Ideas for Action is a youth competition on initiatives to implement the Sustainable Development Goals launched in November 2014 by the World Bank Group and the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The 2019 winners (3 top teams, 4 runners-up, and 11 honorable mentions) were selected from more than 3,000 proposals submitted by more than 21,000 team members from 142 countries. This year witnessed an unparalleled level of growing recognition with a 50 percent increase in proposals over 2018. The winning proposals were selected through a rigorous selection process that judged the projects on depth and clarity, significance of impact, originality and creativity, and feasibility. The teams had to showcase a strong proposal that presented a potential for impact on a large number of people with a practical roadmap for implementation. In addition to young staff members, reviewers included executives from Firmenich, Flour Mills of Nigeria, the German†“Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, PepsiCo, the Wharton School, and the World Bank Group. Other competition partners included the International Labour Organization, Hemofarm, the World Bank Group’s Youth to Youth Community (Y2Y) and Youth Summit, Knowledge @ Wharton, and the United Nations Youth Assembly. Youth participation in the 2030 Development Agenda is crucial. This initiative is a knowledge-sharing platform that empowers young professionals with the support and tools needed to engage in the conversation with leading professionals in the global development industry and the private sector. Through their use of technology—such as rainwater harvesting, reusable plastics, mobile apps, and devices—young people have ideas to make an exponential impact. The goal is to support truly workable and actionable results by connecting leading schools of finance and management with governments around the world to build partnerships that bolster these ideas into effective implementation. This book recognizes the incredible talent and spirit that these young people bring to the global development conversation.