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Nature and Society June-July 2006 edition How to deal with activists Ronald Duchin worked as a special assistant to the US secretary of defence before becoming a public relations executive. Activists, he explained, fall into four categories: radicals, opportunists, idealists, and realists. In a 1991 speech to the National Cattlemans Association convention titled Take an Activist Apart and What Do You Have? he presented a three-step strategy to neutralise activists: (1) isolate the radicals; (2) cultivate the idealists and educate them into becoming realists; then (3) co-opt the realists into agreeing with industry. According to Duchin, radical activists: “want to change the system; have underlying socio/political motives [and] see multinational corporations as inherently evil....These organisations do not trust the...federal, state and local governments to protect them and to safeguard the environment. They believe, rather, that individuals and local groups should have direct power over industry”. Idealists are also hard to deal with. “Because of their intrinsic altruism, and because they have nothing perceptible to be gained by holding their position, they are easily believed by both the media and the public, and sometimes even politicians.” However, idealists “have a vulnerable point. If they can be shown that their position in opposition to an industry or its products causes harm to others and cannot be ethically justified, they are forced to change their position.... Thus, while a realist must be negotiated with, an idealist must be educated.” Opportunists and realists, says Duchin, are easier to manipulate. Opportunists engage in activism seeking “visibility, power, followers and, perhaps, even employment....The key to dealing with [them] is to provide them with at least the perception of a partial victory.” Realists are able to “live with trade-offs; willing to work within the system; not interested in radical change; pragmatic. [They] should always receive the highest priority in any strategy dealing with a public policy issue.... If your industry can successfully bring about these relationships, the credibility of the radicals will be lost and opportunists can be counted on to share in the final policy solution.’’ More information on Duchin and his activities for the tobacco lobby can be found here. June-July 2006 edition accessible here
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