Political humor is as old as politics itself, and satire and jokes have been used to speak truth to power for centuries. But the laughtivists of the modern age have taken humor to a new level. Laughter and fun are no longer marginal to a movement’s strategy. In many cases, they are the strategy. Today’s nonviolent activists are launching a global shift in protest tactics away from anger, resentment, and rage and toward a more powerful form of activism rooted in fun. And, surprisingly, all of this works even better the harder dictators crack down on it.
