Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change

Preface
Introduction: Beyond War and Peace
Two fundamental drives
Our full world
Two pitfalls
An imperative
Chapter 1: The Two Sides of Power
Generative power
Degenerative power
Love is what makes power generative
Chapter 2: The Two Sides of Love
Generative love
Degenerative love
Power is what makes love generative
Chapter 3: The Dilemma of Power and Love
Chapter 4: Falling
Improving child nutrition in India
How to fall
Chapter 5: Stumbling
Bridging divides in Israel
Building democracy in South Africa
How to stumble
Chapter 6: Walking
Growing sustainable food in Europe and the Americas
Mitigating climate change in Canada
How to walk
Conclusion: To Lead Means to Step Forward
Becoming aware of both our power and our love
Balancing ourselves
Practicing moving fluidly
Stepping forward
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
About Reos Partners
About the author and the artist
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"Adam Kahane gradually builds his own proficiency at balancing empathy (love) and resolve (power), and thus raises the game for all of us."
Art Kleiner, Editor in Chief, strategy+business, and author of The Age of Heretics

"In this rare and valuable book Kahane unfolds a simple and penetrating insight: that power and love are two axes that delineate our individual and collective journeys. Either we master the balance of power and love, or we will fail in our efforts to realize deep and lasting change."
--Peter Senge, Founding Chair, Society for Organizational Learning; Senior Lecturer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and author of The Fifth Discipline

"This exceptionally brave book pierces to the heart of how we must act in the world we so want to change. Kahane's willingness to look honestly at his experiences--working on the world's most difficult issues and in its most difficult places--is a model of courageous inquiry."
--Margaret J. Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science
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Adam Kahane is a partner in Reos Partners, an international organization dedicated to supporting and building capacity for innovative collective action in complex social systems.
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