activism
Organized push for change
Activism is organized effort to bring about political or social change.
Activists campaign, protest, march, and advocate for causes—civil rights, environmental protection, labor conditions.
The word can carry positive connotations of principled engagement or negative ones suggesting disruptive agitation, depending on the speaker's sympathies: Her activism got her arrested twice.
Keyboard activism or armchair activism dismisses online advocacy as inadequate substitute for real-world action.
Public expression of disapproval
- demonstrationPublic display of opinion
- marchRhythmic group walk
- boycottOrganized economic protest
- rallyGathering for a cause
sit-in · strike · civil disobedience · picketing · vigil · blockade · occupation · nonviolent resistance
Advocating to decision-makers
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
- petitionFormal written appeal
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
- coalitionTemporary alliance for action
endorsement · testimony · briefing · platform · outreach · engagement · pressure · representation
Guaranteed individual legal protections
- human rightsInalienable personal freedoms
- equalitySame status for all
- fairnessJust and equal treatment
- liberationRelease from constraint
emancipation · suffrage · abolition · reparations · desegregation · enfranchisement · due process · injustice
Advocacy for sex equality
- environmentalismAdvocacy for nature protection
- pacifismAntiwar moral stance
- anarchismPhilosophy rejecting state authority
- progressivismPhilosophy advocating societal reform
anti-capitalism · socialism · abolitionism · animal rights · climate justice · labor rights · anti-apartheid · decolonization
Collective local civic engagement
- volunteersUnpaid willing workers
- door-to-doorDirectly between residences
- neighborhoodResidential area nearby
- bottom-upStarting from fundamentals
decentralized · mutual aid · empowerment · town hall · workshops · forums · phone banking · leafleting
Giving service without pay
- philanthropyGenerous giving for others
- mutual aidCooperative community support
- charityVoluntary aid for others
- community serviceUnpaid labor benefiting society
nonprofit · NGO · fundraising · donation · benefit · relief work · aid distribution · food drive
Systematically putting in order
- mobilizingAssembling for action
- consciousness-raisingIncreasing social or political awareness
- teach-inEducational protest gathering
- agitpropPolitical art for causes
civil resistance · guerrilla theater · hacktivism · whistleblowing · naming and shaming · divestment · sanction · embargo
protest
Public expression of disapproval
- demonstrationPublic display of opinion
- marchRhythmic group walk
- boycottOrganized economic protest
rally · sit-in · strike · civil disobedience · picketing · vigil · blockade · occupation · nonviolent resistance · banner
lobbying
Advocating to decision-makers
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
- petitionFormal written appeal
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
coalition · endorsement · testimony · briefing · platform · outreach · engagement · pressure · representation · stakeholder
civil rights
Guaranteed individual legal protections
- human rightsInalienable personal freedoms
- equalitySame status for all
- fairnessJust and equal treatment
liberation · emancipation · suffrage · abolition · reparations · desegregation · enfranchisement · due process · injustice · oppression
feminism
Advocacy for sex equality
- environmentalismAdvocacy for nature protection
- pacifismAntiwar moral stance
- anarchismPhilosophy rejecting state authority
progressivism · anti-capitalism · socialism · abolitionism · animal rights · climate justice · labor rights · anti-apartheid · decolonization · queer liberation
community organizing
Collective local civic engagement
- volunteersUnpaid willing workers
- door-to-doorDirectly between residences
- neighborhoodResidential area nearby
bottom-up · decentralized · mutual aid · empowerment · town hall · workshops · forums · phone banking · leafleting · community meeting
volunteering
Giving service without pay
- philanthropyGenerous giving for others
- mutual aidCooperative community support
- charityVoluntary aid for others
community service · nonprofit · NGO · fundraising · donation · benefit · relief work · aid distribution · food drive
organizing
Systematically putting in order
- mobilizingAssembling for action
- consciousness-raisingIncreasing social or political awareness
- teach-inEducational protest gathering
agitprop · civil resistance · guerrilla theater · hacktivism · whistleblowing · naming and shaming · divestment · sanction · embargo · street theater
- civic engagementcivic engagement, citizen participation, civic participation, civic responsibility, civic values
- life goalscareer, get married, world peace, purpose, aim
- social causesfeminism, charity, environmentalism, volunteering, pacifism
- voluntary participationvolunteering, donating, charity work, community service, opt-in
- youth idealismideals, dreams, passion, protest, causes
- collective actionunite, join forces, team up, mobilization, movement
activismapathy
Absence of feeling
passivity · indifference · inaction · disengagement · complacency
activismslacktivism
Effortless digital cause support
armchair activism · virtue signaling · hashtag activism · clicktivism · lip service
activismconservatism
Preference for existing institutions
traditionalism · status quo · conformism · reactionism · preservationism
- church activitiesOrganized congregational programs
- political activistsPeople organizing for causes
- women's rights activistsAdvocates for gender equality
- civil rights activistsChampions of legal equality
- physical activityBodily movement expending energy
- activity trackersWearable movement-monitoring devices
activity, activities, activist, activists, reactivity, interactivity