
#8 Boycotts as Tools of Resistance and Reconstruction
From THRIVING IN TIMES OF STRUGGLE by Michael C. Patterson
March 30, 2026 · 20 min · Season 7 · Episode 8
About this episode
The episode explores how collective withdrawal of cooperation serves as a powerful tool for ordinary people against those in power, drawing on historical examples.
Comments? Send me a text message. What gives ordinary people power against those who hold it? One answer is as old as democracy itself: the deliberate, collective withdrawal of cooperation. The Power of Withdrawal draws on three examples spanning twenty-four hundred years to ask what actually makes collective refusal work — and what each teaches us about the art of resistance. In ancient Athens, Aristophanes' Lysistrata understood that power flows from cooperation — and that withdrawing what ...
People in this episode
Host: Michael C. Patterson
Topics covered
- boycotts
- resistance
- cooperation
- democracy
- collective action
Keywords
- boycotts
- resistance
- cooperation
- democracy
- collective refusal
- Athens
- Aristophanes
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Lysistrata
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