is design activism?

we touched on this topic a bit in class today and it reminded me of a couple of awesome articles that discuss what role design plays in instigating real change. can the designed artifact itself do much to directly address an issue, or is more needed?

"how do design activists cope with fear, risk, and danger?"

also, the article it's based on, which i thought was excellent in its frank assessment of creating change.

"forget shorter showers: why personal change does not equal political change"