"Professional Activists"

[Pawn Power]

What is your opinion of "profession activists"? That is, people who "make a living" off of "activism" be it working for a NGO, Non-Profit, Union, etc.

The obvious contradiction is the finical livelihood one gets from an institution while working individually for structural change. I do not doubt that there are "radical" individuals that desire revolutionary change that work in such institutions however I do think the inherent contradictions within such work might make it ineffectual in the long run.

Also, what about activists that do not work in "wage-labor" or are "independently wealthy" ?

Lastly, there are other sort of activists that are becoming more prominent which seem to make a living off providing "trainings" and giving other sorts of strategic or info sessions to activists groups and conferences. Can there role be revolutionary or progressive?

What is the role of these individuals and do we benefited from "professional activists"?

[Wanted Man]

Slightly off-topic, but: a newspaper here recently reported that a lot of people who do street work for NGOs (Oxfam, Greenpeace, etc.) are part of specialized companies. Meaning, the NGOs don't send volunteers, they just outsource the work. Interesting to know next time you see a long-haired guy handing you a flyer about poverty: he's a trained employee of a company that does this stuff for NGOs because it's easier.

They're getting more persistent, too. In the past, a simple "not interested" was enough to shut them up, but now they insist on asking "why not?" and guilt you into becoming a paying member, because that's the only way to do something for the environment/Africa/Asia.