In the sociological sense, recuperation is the process by which politically radical ideas and images are twisted, co-opted, absorbed, defused, incorporated, annexed or commodified within media culture and bourgeois society, and thus become interpreted through a neutralized, innocuous or more socially conventional perspective. More broadly, it may refer to the cultural appropriation of any subversive symbols or ideas by mainstream culture.
Respectability politics
Respectability politics, or the politics of respectability, is a political strategy wherein members of a marginalized community will consciously abandon or punish controversial aspects of their cultural-political identity as a method of assimilating, achieving social mobility,[1] and gaining the respect of the majority culture.[2]
Towards Eldering
by Cash Ahenakew Part of the work of the GTDF collective has been around “growing up”. The term is used with reference to sobering up, to owning up and to showing up differently in the world. Previ…
Denizen
What are the narratives and paradigms that need to shift to facilitate a transition to a just, regenerative future? How do various mediums such as music, art, and film enable such changes to occur?
Grow like Trees: An Organic Approach to Societal Regrowth
2026 is the year that system breakdown became impossible to deny. Democratic norms, societal norms, rule of law, the fabric of the social contract tearing as we watch. Or hide, unwilling or unable to face the unravelling. The hopeful among us see opportunity through the dark. Tentatively or boldly we
Developmental Spaces: Cultural incubators for a time of transformation | Developmental Spaces
The system transformation needed to address our interconnected crises requires a shift at the level of collective worldview. Towards such a shift - and the resilience and flourishing needed to navigate societal breakdowns wisely and create the new - we offer a model of Developmental Spaces (DS):
Regenerative economics
Regenerative economics is an economic system that works to regenerate capital assets. In standard economic theory, one can either “regenerate” one's capital assets or consume them until the asset cannot produce a viable stream of goods and/or services. Regenerative economics accounts for and gives economic value to Earth and the Sun. Most of regenerative economics focuses on the earth and the goods and services it supplies.
Our Overfitted Century
Cultural stagnation is because we're stuck in-distribution
Reimagining Ourselves at the End of Our World: Kinship, Interconnection, and Spirituality in the Metacrisis - The Great Simplification
Over the past decade, the world has become increasingly chaotic and uncertain – and so, too, has our cultural vision for the future. While the events we face now may feel unprecedented, they are rooted in much deeper patterns, which humanity has been playing out for millennia. If we take the time to understand past trends, we can also employ practices and philosophies that might counteract them – such as focusing on kinship, intimacy, and resilience – to help pave the way for a better future. How might we nurture the foundations of a different kind of society, even while the end of our current civilization plays out around us?
The Road to Resegregation by Alex Schafran - Paper
Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.
RadicalxChange
We are a community of activists, artists, entrepreneurs, and scholars committed to using mechanism design to inspire radical social change.
Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology
A witty, often terrifying that chronicles our transform…
'The Drama' and the microgenerational digital divide
PLUS: The "forklift model" of A.I. education
Failure of Charisma: The Cultural Revolution in Wuhan 0195859502, 9780195859508
Drawing on extensive archives and interviews with more than 80 activists, this book by a former Red Guard sketches the h...