New Column: Weekly Dissident Spotlights
Every Wednesday, Applied Knowledge will publish short summaries of dissidents from around the world.
Dissent is harder than taking the opposite opinion of everyone else. New facts have to be included that have been overlooked or excluded. Those facts also have to be true. They can’t be made-up claims about imaginary worlds. Saying the moon landing was faked doesn’t make it so.
But the analysis has to be great too. The dissident must offer a vision based on their opinions. That new vision must be as workable as it is inspiring. It can’t be unrealistic, and it can’t be worse than the world the majority has embraced.
It’s easy to dissent but difficult to do well.
However, we can learn from great dissidents from around the world. Their disagreements threaten their rulers, and these dissidents risked their lives to speak anyway.
What to Expect from Each Wednesday’s Dissident Spotlight
Each week, we’ll feature a new dissident. Some of them have had books written about them. Others are active on messaging apps organizing activists, making information about them sparse. Some may be harder to find than others, but each spotlighted dissident has a few things in common:
They formed a baseline to compare their imperfect worlds against.
They spoke out against what they thought was wrong.
Their dissent risked or cost them their lives.
Beginning on May 15, Applied Knowledge subscribers will get short summaries of great dissidents. Some will have books and blogs, and some will be known by their work rather than what’s been written about them. All of them offer lessons in principled dissent driven by values, vision, and a clear idea of what a better world could be without falling into utopian traps.
In an age when contrarianism is mistaken for intelligence, we must relearn intelligent dissent. Understanding great dissenters is as important as healthy reading habits — and healthy reading diets.
If nothing else, readers will get weekly summaries of someone whose name they should know.