The following is excerpted from Activating Change, a booklet I produced as part of a Brown University course taught by Alice Plane and inspired by a lecture by MIT professor Huma Gupta.

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Economic systems uphold colonialism, even after colonies have been nominally freed. Colonialist ideas live on in the invisible assumptions we make about what constitutes a "high standard of living."

If you want to combat colonialism, rethink the conveniences we take for granted and the superiority we assign to “modern” life (cars, roads, landfills, stocked shelves, packaged food, online shopping, bottled water).

We must rethink the “conveniences” we take for granted:

• Why do we feel entitled to them?
• What makes us think they are superior to the alternatives?
• What could be gained if we let them go?