The dark side of community activism

Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket. This quote is attributed to Eric Hoffer, an American social philosopher.

We all recognize that sometimes we need to stand up for what's right, stand up to injustice, and stand up to unfairness. As a result, many activist groups are formed. The most prominent one these days is of course Black Lives Matter (BLM), another is the MeToo movement, but that has lost its steam. Whether you believe in the legitimacy or the justness of the beginnings of such groups, a trend exists among them that puts a bad taste in our mouths. To quote Eric Hoffer, they end up as rackets. Looking at BLM, we can all see the signs of a dishonest group that works to sow strife and division rather than bring healing and peace. Why? Thomas Sowell, a great American philosopher, economist, and freelance photographer provides an answer.

We must look at the incentives. What will happen when peace is achieved, when there is no more bitterness between groups? The answer is that groups like BLM become irrelevant. BLM took in over $90 million in 2020. It's leaders, to say the least, are well off. Will they make this much money if all problems are solved? No they will not. Therefore, groups like BLM always end up as rackets because they are incentivized to keep wounds from healing, to keep bringing up new problems, and to never accept nor honestly strive for peace.