We need Pirates, Philosophers, and Prophets.

Work with anyone 🤝 wait on no one

I think it helps to remember that our moment in history is peculiar, not because we feel ourselves sliding toward authoritarianism, but because it took so long to return to it. Democracy, after all, is not the natural condition of politics, but a rare and fragile one.

And moments like this call forth new kinds of people. Such people are not always liked, though being disliked is not the aim.

Democracy is less like a monument and more like a fire. It must be fed, watched, and tended. Left alone, it does not stay warm. It goes out.

I want to give three categories for people who rise in times of seeming darkness and are urgently needed. After all, with authoritarianism being the default of most of history, we have examples of characters that helped in that history.

My work is grounded in the built environment and the public realm. If it seems to gesture toward broader unrest, that is not my aim, though it is unavoidable. Like strands in a web, what happens in a public space is always true beyond it.

The three people we need:

Every movement that has ever bent the world, even slightly, has relied on a familiar trio, whether it knew it or not. There are:

The Prophets who speak about the future as if it were already knocking, insisting that things do not have to remain as they are. They are the moral accountability speaking to power, warning that even if people are unable to follow through now, there will be a reckoning.

The Philosophers who pause long enough to ask whether the rules we are following were ever good rules to begin with. They question presuppositions.

The Pirates who grow tired of waiting and quietly test the future in the present, building small, undeniable proofs that change is possible.

Let’s expand what this might mean.

The Prophet: plays the long game

What they do
Prophets articulate a vision before it is popular, profitable, or politically safe. They name the problem clearly and insist that a better future is possible, even when the evidence is thin. Their job is not implementation. Their job is orientation. They say what needs to be said, regardless of consequences.

Prophets help people see what does not yet exist, and once seen, cannot be unseen. Prophets are often ignored early, dismissed as unrealistic, misquoted later, and credited long after the fact.

What they influence
Culture, language, values, and the outer edges of what feels thinkable. They said things we agree with today. They also might have had strong opinions that were also wrong.

People (not endorsing these people wholesale)

• Jane Jacobs
  “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

• Lewis Mumford
  Warned that cities could either nurture human life or mechanize it out of existence.

• Jan Gehl
  “First life, then spaces, then buildings. The other way around never works.”

Examples from history: the Biblical prophets, Rachel Carson with her work in Silent Spring, George Orwell.

The Philosopher: questions the box itself

What they do
Philosophers challenge assumptions that professionals no longer see. They ask why things are done the way they are and whether the frame itself is broken. They’re there to interrogate more than to optimize. They are less interested in answers than in better questions.

Philosophers are often dismissed as impractical until their ideas quietly reshape policy and practice.

What they influence
How problems are defined, which tradeoffs are acknowledged, and which solutions are even allowed into the conversation.

People

• James C. Scott
  Showed how schemes that look efficient from above often fail on the ground.

• Christopher Alexander
  “A city is not a tree.”

Examples from history: Socrates asking inconvenient questions, Hannah Arendt on systems and responsibility, Ursula K. Le Guin using fiction to test alternate worlds.

The Pirate: acts with urgency

What they do
Pirates build before permission, test ideas in the real world, and create facts on the ground. They are not reckless, but they are impatient with paralysis. Their work proves what is possible faster than debate ever could.

Pirates turn theory into something you can trip over. They prototype instead of waiting, use temporary tools to reveal permanent truths, exploit gaps in systems, move faster than institutions.

Pirates make opposition feel irrelevant by making change visible.

What they influence
Practice, momentum, and public perception.

People

• Mike Lydon
  “Short-term action can lead to long-term change.”

• Janette Sadik-Khan
  Installed bike lanes first and debated them later.

• Cross Walk Collective
  Doing it themselves.

• Dan Burden
  Took walkability from theory to curbside.

Examples from history:

The Black Panthers, tactical urbanists, punk music.

Where are they?

I don’t mean to make heroes or examples out of any of these people. They are all human and prone to error, and their philosophies, taken to their end logic, will eventually break.

If society is a ship heading for an iceberg, their roles are beyond actually steering the ship; the Prophets, Philosophers, and Pirates are not the ones standing at the wheel. They are not captains; when a ship is headed toward disaster, the most important work often happens far from the bridge.

The Prophets are the ones on deck, staring into the dark, pointing at the horizon and saying there is ice ahead. They are mocked for ruining the mood, for speaking too soon, for sounding alarmist. They cannot turn the ship, but without them, no one even knows there is a problem.

The Philosophers are the ones before and after the tragedy asking the big questions, studying the ship itself. They ask questions that make people uncomfortable, questions that reveal the disaster was designed in long before the iceberg appeared.

The Pirates are the ones savings lives on a sinking ship. They are the ones unbolting lifeboats early, testing ropes, lowering a few into the water before anyone gives permission. They break rules not because they enjoy chaos, but because procedure is useless when time runs out. They cannot save everyone, but they make survival imaginable.

Who are these people within the city contending for the public realm? The prophets are those showing up and speaking directly to the people in power, not just sharing posts on social media; they are showing up. The philosophers are asking questions that are challenging even for the true believers to contend with. And the pirates are the ones doing things. Placing bus benches, painting crosswalks, and even getting into trouble.

The best part about these people is you could be one of them. It takes showing up IRL, but none of them require certifications. The best part about this is because they will never be given permission to do what they do, you never need to wait for permission.