Just in It for a Paycheck?: On Philanthrocapitalism, Petro-States and Paid Protesters
Fabricating Authenticity - Jason W.M. Ellsworth
Stacie Swain [+]
University of Victoria, PhD candidate
Stacie Swain is a Ukrainian-British doctoral student in the Department of Political Science and the Indigenous Nationhood Program at the University of Victoria, in lək̓ʷəŋən territories (Victoria, B.C.). Her research considers the intersection of Indigenous ceremony with the categories of religion and politics, particularly in relation to settler colonialism, Indigenous legal orders, and the governance of public space.
Description
Swain furthers Newton’s argument from musicians to anti-extractive industry movements to consider how concepts like philanthrocapitalism, petro-states, and paid protesters help to make visible the material realities that underlie authenticity discourses. Contending that philanthrocapitalism creates a socially stratified society, Swain argues that within a petro-state, society relies on the profits generated by corporations and shows hows these same corporations, lobbyists, and media deploy the rhetoric of “paid protestors” to challenge the authenticity of the motivations of people who challenge extractive industries and related investments.