Discussion

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8SocialMovements.pptx

Political Linkage: A Type of Public Interest Group

Social Movements

What Are Social Movements?

Definition: loosely organized collections of people and institutions who act outside established institutions to promote or resist social change

Significant role in the struggle for democracy

Political instruments of political outsiders

Mass grassroots phenomena

What Are Social Movements?

Social movements

Are populated by folks who share a sense of grievance

Tend to occur when a significant number of people define their own problems in general social terms

Form when aggrieved people believe that the government can be moved to action on their behalf

Factors That Encourage The Creation of Social Movements

Mostly structural in nature

Social distress

Resources for mobilization

Supportive environment

Sense of efficacy among participants

Catalyst

Tactics of Social Movements

Collective action: involves masses of people acting together

Unconventional tactics

Mass demonstrations

Strikes & boycotts

Civil disobedience: disobeying a law that one thinks is in violation of a higher law (think of natural rights here) and being willing to take the punishment for one’s disobedience

What Are Social Movements?

Why these type of tactics rather than the insiders game?

Outsiders usually lack the financial and political resources that insiders have, so

They take advantage of what they do have: energy, numbers, and commitment

Major Social Movements in the United States

Abolitionist

Populist

Women’s suffrage

Civil rights

Anti-war (Vietnam)

Environmentalism

Women’s rights

Abortion rights/Pro Life

The Temperance Movement

Women’s Suffrage

Civil Rights Movement

Militant Civil Rights Movement

Occupy Movement

Social Movements in a Majoritarian Democracy

How are they democratic?

Encourage popular participation

The scope of conflict makes them highly participatory and democratic

The politics of the many rather than of the few

How are they anti-democratic?

They could be a minority phenomena

Disruptive

First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances

Social Movements in a Majoritarian Democracy

Overcoming Political Inequality

Allows those without resources to enter the game of politics

Collective-action and mass mobilizations can

Serve as a substitute for economic and political resources

Help increase political equality

Social Movements in a Majoritarian Democracy

Social movements and gridlock

Often takes the energy of a movement to overcome the anti-majoritarian aspects of American government

Movements of which we are very proud have been more often the result of disruptive minorities

Examples?

Why Social Movements Succeed or Fail

A social movement will have little impact if it

Has few followers

Has little support among the general public

Is unable to affect significantly everyday life or the election prospects of politicians

Stimulates the formation of a powerful countermovement

Why Social Movements Succeed or Fail

Why some movements are repressed

Those committed to radical changes in society threaten widely-shared values and interests of the powerful

Examples

Labor movement in early 19th and 20th centuries

Radical wing of the anti-war movement

Black Power wing of the civil rights movement

Why Social Movements Succeed or Fail

Characteristics of successful social movements

Many supporters

Widespread public sympathy

Does not challenge the basic social & economic order

Wield some electoral clout

Measuring the Success of a Social Movement

Legislative action and constitutional amendments are indicators that

The social movement in question has made a major impact on politics and policy

Members of the movement are well respected

There have been changes in fundamental values in America

There is increased representation in decision-making bodies

Critical Thinking

Given that social movements are often quite disruptive and are full of conflict for the participants and for society, do they do more harm than good?

Critical Thinking

Is American politics so dominated by interest groups that social movements are the only hope for preserving democracy?