There are probably more than a billion people who are now awake to the reality that our global community is in crisis. They might not see all the problems nor understand the causes, but they know that we have never been in such trouble since we first appeared on Earth. People are following their instincts and using their skills to shape a wiser future that breaks the bad habits of our past.
One example of the ‘armchair activism’ that is now emerging on social media is the Instagram video referenced in the image above. The video explains in a few minutes how developed countries lure less-developed countries into debt, so that they can control the extraction and exploitation of the natural resources. The video itself is exceptionally clever in the way that so much understanding is imparted in such a short space of time. Then the comments add to the impact of the original post and show us that many of the viewers are also armchair activists.
An animation like this is not cheap to make. Someone has invested in making this helpful propaganda. It is just one example of the many examples of people who are now challenging the rules that relate to the dominant wealth hierarchy which we all serve.
In this article I have collected together some samples of work by other armchair activists that have helped me on my journey. There are many imaginative paradigm shifters who are busy challenging the mindset that protects the global wealth hierarchy and the injustice that arises from it.
Satirical Comedy
This Muppet take on Trump takes the music for Supercalifragalistic and substitutes the words: ‘Super callous, fascist, racist, sexist, Nazi, POTUS, …’; The POTUS acronym stands for President of the United States.
The Trumpty Dumpty story read by John Lithgow is four years old now — how prescient that story was!
Nicole Jenes — offers superb satire on the Gaza starvation. She plays a telephone helpline worker answering an entitled Israeli calling for help.
PissedMagistus enlightens us on Colonisation and Ignorance. I love his sardonic delivery, and I always learn from his explanations.
VictoriaComedian offers a well-deserved a stab at the Prime Minister of the UK, in this animation showing Keir Starmer transitioning to Kid Starver.
Boy_combs — Animation revealing how debt diplomacy operates and secures long-term colonialism: How to control third world countries
A little bit of light relief from the chores of the activism is offered by
Longlivenewro; who delivers a non-religious blessing for anyone who has survived another week.
Poetry Power
Journey of the Soul — We are the species that writes lullabies and builds bombs.
Harry Baker — Everything’s impossible, until it isn’t… delightfully innocent delivery
Ansyaw — The Void — People keep asking me, why have you gone quiet? A Muslim challenging his leaders for their role in our failures.
Mrs Roundhouse — The Blood-soaked flour, shares her anguish about Gaza
Gil Scott-Heron — describes the miseducation system in the USA
Pomegranates — poem from a Palestinian child — “I am like the resurrection on a day that will come”
lucassjoness — ‘It’s just so complicated’, I love his throw away delivery of such powerful ideas.
Educational Communicators
Albert Allen Barlett spent a whole lifetime explaining the damage that arises from annual growth. Thank you Albert for your legacy.
JustHaveAThink offers this brief video explaining that the planet is warming twice as fast as we expected.
Gary’s Economics in this video, explains ‘why debates don’t work and how to talk to your friends about taxing wealth not work’. Gary explains that the exponential growth in wealth inequality is transferring all assets into the hands of the very wealthy. He advises listeners to try and understand the perspective of the other person in a debate. He is absolutely right. We all have the potential to do good and evil depending on our perspective. We have a flawed socio-economic model that creates sociopaths. This earlier article of mine might help you see where Gary’s work fits into the bigger picture of global ecocide.
JamesGerrard offers evidence of the asset transfer to the very rich that is on-going in the UK. This is the phenomenon which Gary Stevenson is warning us about.
Philosophy of existence — Explains why capitalism creates sociopaths
The Middle Nation — In this video Shahid Bolsen explains a regrettable difference between Western and Eastern culture.
Greg J Stoker interprets Trump propaganda on food aid to Gaza.
Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, article comparing Gaza to the Holocaust.
Inevitablelogic explains How medicine was highjacked. It seems that Rockefeller understood that if you can control public perception you can control the narrative.
100 day mask — Trump was diagnosed by 27 psychiatrists as a sociopath
Philosopheirs — Plato quote — The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. My own comment on this: ‘We all have the potential for good and evil. Right now, we have a flawed socio-economic model that often creates sociopaths.
sara-afroug — Shows an Israeli teaching his very young child entitlement to the occupied territories.
alburujpress — Ilan Peppe, the anti-zionist Israeli historian explains how Zionists lobby for the genocide of Palestinians.
alexxandrasniders — Malcolm X, Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi all connected Palestine with the global fight for freedom, in different ways.
Music driving change
Llunr — Wake up! This Palestine support anthem — so powerful it has made me cry many a time when I have heard it.
ris example — Tiken Jah Fakoly is an artist emerging from West Africa’s original music scene. He is of Ivorian origin and is known for his reggae music. His songs often address social injustice, colonialism and global imbalances. His music blends traditional African melodies with reggae rhythms to create a deep emotional impact.
In this song, Fakoly draws attention to how the world is divided by powerful states and the negative impact this has on the people. With its critical lyrics, it invites listeners to think about justice, equality and awareness. The song leaves a strong impression on the audience with both its melody and its message.
Seth Staton Watkins — Let the people unite
Martin Kerr — I can hear you lying on the news tonight, Donald
nesoxlewelder — We will never rest again until every Nazi dies
Missusket — We ain’t gonna fight no war
Art Activism
This video about ‘the art of letting go’ by Sidrah Hakim resonated with me. Letting go is very necessary for those who are clinging to the wealth hierarchy. It fascinated me that her painting of the ‘Whisper’ began with such a complex set of colours and ended so simple and subtle, much more like the reality of a whisper. I think our problems will begin to look much more solvable if we can let go of our dependence on the wealth hierarchy to solve them.
In the same way that Sidrah’s painting instincts took to dark and shadowy colours to express the idea of a whisper in a painting, I am following my instincts in this shift. Each one of my articles is born from my growing understanding of the many perspectives that are out there. Each one is written in the hope that I might reach some more minds and shift them out of complacency.
Grow up Art and the Turd Reich posters. These posters combine art with satire in a powerfully expressive manner. Installed in central London they have had huge impact.
Bite Back — This group had purchased some billboard space to challenge the advertising of fast food. However, the UK advertising industry have now boycotted their efforts. This article explains further: We’ve been silenced by ad industry giants — Bite Back
Myreligionisrap — A pithy and thought-provoking post ‘When the rich rob the poor its called business. When the poor fight back it’s called violence.’
Fiction
Marcus Neves’ book The Jackson’s Debate and his substack series Can Fiction Help Us Thrive employs fiction and satirical humour to challenge our dismissive attitude to non-human life forms. In this chapter, the alien race called the Jackson’s plan to interview an Earthling billionaire to try and discover why a species with a perfectly serviceable planet decided to turn it into a landlord-dispute and garbage-fire.
Stephanie Fox author of the imaginative Nae-Nee series. Nae-Née is a dystopian science fiction story. It is a cautionary tale of a loss of liberty along with our ecosystem due to human overpopulation. Stephanie wrote this article offering her reflections of Earth Overshoot Day 2025.
We all have a role to play
We all have a role to play in this evolution of humanity from the self-destructive model that dominates right now. We all have different skills and different perspectives. This video about Japan’s low-desire economy is a helpful guide to rediscovering our true inner purpose. Here are a few highlights:
Buddha said — ‘The end of desire is the end of sorrow’
Socrates said — ‘So many things I can do without’
Diogenes embraced a minimalist lifestyle; when Alexander the Great offered to grant him a wish he simply requested that Alexander move sideways to allow the sun to shine such that Diogenes would no longer be in his shadow. Alexander concluded ‘If I weren’t Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes’.
We are all different, and we are all condemned to be ourselves. It is important that we each follow our authentic desire and destiny. Education and advertising teaches us to crave all sorts of things that may not be the right direction for us, especially in escalating collapse. Many of us have been side-lined and distracted from our true purpose.
‘The One-Straw Revolution’ by Masanobu Fukuoka is a well-known work in environmental literature. The book advocates for a ‘do-nothing’ approach to farming, emphasizing natural cycles and minimal human intervention. Fukuoka said — “I do not particularly like the word ‘work’. Human beings are the only animals who have to work, and I think that is the most ridiculous thing in the world.”
Trump and his supporters are playing a leading role showing us the authoritarianism that we really do not want. Trump is not the problem, he is just a symptom of a very sick system.
Consider your own skills and life experience when you ask yourself how you personally might contribute in this most exciting of times. Humanity is already reshaping itself into a wiser society. The transition is not yet visible in the mainstream media, but these Armchair Activists are all helping to shift the Overton Window. The safest way to protect our unborn from the collapse that is now unfolding is freely delivered contraception globally, coupled with education about ecological overshoot.