Be civil about fighting tyranny

Just Stop Oil! used to reinforce globalist agenda

- SHANE FUDGE

SURFING in on the back of the resurgent climate change agenda are the various activities of Just Stop Oil!, Money Rebellion, Extinction Rebellion et al.

They raise interesting issues around the role and influence of civil society.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines civil society as 'a community of citizens linked by common interests and collective activity'. The groups mentioned above are seemingly credible because they allegedly draw from grassroots concerns for humanity.

This article looks at the activities of Just Stop Oil! and considers whether it and its sister organisations are legitimate civil society movements or if they are part of the great reset itself.

The term 'civil society' itself gained popularity in political science as a working concept through which to understand different types of political participation that emerged in response to accelerating globalisation and the growing influence of market forces during the 1980s.

Significantly, this was a period which saw the decline of state interest bargaining and grassroots economic representation.

Observing the dismantling of trade unions, the marginalisation of social collectives, and the diminishing power of the workingclass, commentators such as John Keane (1988) instead began to highlight and champion the role of NGOs, new social movements, and other third sector groups in providing the democratic checks and balances in a new era of market dominance.

Today, as we stand on the brink of a fourth Industrial Revolution, where the successful implementation of Schwab's Great Reset will constitute a total transformation of society as we know it, it is worth revisiting this conceptual map.