During the reign of Catherine the Great in Russia, one of her closest advisors was field marshall Grigori Potemkin, who used numerous wiles to build her image. When she toured the countryside with foreign dignitaries, he arranged to have fake villages built in advance of her visits so as to create an illusion of prosperity. Since that time, the term "Potemkin village" has become a metaphor for things that look elaborate and impressive but in actual fact lack substance.
Today, the public relations industry has become adept at creating its own Potemkin villages, such as the supposed "green showcase" that Olympics promoters in Australia are building atop a toxic waste site.
The effort to create a "green Olympics" arose in response to activist criticisms of environmental damage caused by past Olympics games. "The black list includes vast gashes opened up in forests for various events, walls erected for bob runs and the imposing stature of ski jumps, to cite just a few examples," admitted a 1993 publication of the International Olympic Committee. The following year, a committee involved with the games in Norway warned that "Confrontations with environmental interest groups and an antagonized local public will increase unless steps are taken to implement a pro-active environmental strategy."
It was activism that prompted Olympics organizers to even consider addressing environmental concerns. By contrast, the strategy of collaboration that environmental groups adopted in Australia enabled Olympics organizers to go ahead with their plans while ultimately escaping their environmental obligations.
The lesson we can learn from this sorry fiasco is that activists should not allow themselves to be led into helping society construct more Potemkin villages. The world does not need more facades. We need real progress, and real activism in order to attain it.
