no. breaking the law and going to prison doesn't cost anybody anything at all, except the person getting arrested, who now has legal costs.

do you know what the balance of probabilities is? it's that roger hallam is actually a police officer, an agent provocateur, which is a tactic that was invented by bismarck to trick the communists of the time into getting arrested. once they arrest you, you'll be under surveillance for the rest of your life.

there is a core of truth in what he's saying - the reason that the sit down strikes were effective was that it crippled production, forcing management to negotiate. i haven't read this research directly, but i've made these arguments independently. writing letters and marching peacefully doesn't work, but getting arrested doesn't either, or at least it doesn't without something worthwhile attached to it.

one thing that's been effective in canada, and to a lesser extent in the united states, is launching litigation against the oil companies. that is something that really hits them at the bottom line. if you make the cost of business so high that there's no longer any profit, they will withdraw voluntarily. we've had a lot of serious victories in canada by pushing litigation as a political tactic.

but, if you want to go out of your way to get arrested on the basis that you're trying to disrupt the system, make sure that you're actually disrupting the system! blockade a refinery. sabotage a train (and tell them before they use it). reverse the flow of a pipeline.

you need to think bigger than sitting in the streets and smoking drugs and getting arrested for the sake of it. that's just walking into a trap.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/12/20/21028407/extinction-rebellion-climate-change-nonviolent-civil-disobedience