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“You must be the change y ou wish to see in the world.”. -Gandhi. “Power c oncedes n othing w ithout a d emand.”. -Frederick Douglas. Social Movements. Things change when people make things change. What are Social Movements?.
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“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” -Gandhi
“Power concedes nothing without a demand.” -Frederick Douglas
Social Movements Things change when people make things change.
What are Social Movements? • Loosely or tightly organized collective efforts by relativelypowerless groups to affect social or political change operating outside of institutionalized political channels. • (e.g. Civil Rights, Global Justice, Women’s Movement, Environmental, Labor, etc.)
Key Characteristics ofSocial Movements • Operate primarily outside institutional political systems • Arise due to a group’s exclusion from “normal” institutional political channels • Are always resisted by those in positions of power and privilege (when it is a movement that threatens said power and privilege) • (People in power prefer protesters go through institutionalized channels because the people in power run those channels)
Goals of Social Movements • Redistribute material resources more equitably • E.g. Labor Movement, Global Justice Movement • Gain full citizenship • E.g. Civil Rights, Women’s, Gay Rights Movement • Re-define society’s values, norms, and priorities • E.g. Environmental and Anti-War Movements
Source of Social Movement Power • How do powerless people exercise power? • By withholding their consent! • Refusing to participate in everyday life • Denying others their labor (your labor) • Most effective when done collectively
Why is withholding consent or compliance powerful? Powerful people only have the power we allow them to have when we comply.
Movement Tactics and Strategies • Civil disobedience • Purposefully and openly violating the law • Street protests • Marches, parades, rallies, etc. • Strikes • Refusing to work to force employer to concede • Boycotts • Refusing to shop, buy, or patronize a targeted enterprise • Property destruction • Intentional damage done to public or private property • Violence • Use of physical force or power against another
Elite Responses to Social Movements • Repression • Using violent and non-violent means (e.g. arrests, intimidation, military force, etc.) • Co-optation • Taking over issues or leaders by adopting movement issues or recruiting its leaders • De-legitimizing Strategies • Applying labels like “communist,” “terrorist,” or “radical” to leaders or movement goals to undermine legitimacy of movement demands • Covert Efforts • To infiltrate or sabotage through use of FBI, CIA, or paid informants to undermine movement organizations
What do/can Social Movements Accomplish? • Specific policy changes • Changes in legal codes • Shifts in attitudes, norms and values • Often inspire counter-movements • (e.g. Conservative backlash to Women’s Movement)
Why are Social Movements Important Sociologically? • Represent efforts to re-define social reality from the bottom-up • Expose the normally hidden dynamics and structures of power in society • Demonstrate that otherwise powerless people are able to “act back” and influence society