Careerism

Careerism is certainly a draw to political non-profits, but an even greater appeal, I think, is the prestigious identity associated with activism. Radical NGOs, as opposed to conventional non-profit social workers, even identify spiritually with the image of organic anti-authoritarianism exemplified by autochthonous autonomies like the Zapatistas.

What I find fascinating about this--and it very much applies to my alma mater and the plethora of Bay Area producers of moral theatrics--is that they actually believe they inhabit the symbiotic universe of the indigenous movement, while simultaneously conforming to the capitalist framework of social discontent. A very predictable, very controllable, very ineffective commodity.