Chapter 8: Social Movements or,

							The Struggle For Democracy

  Chapter 8: Social Movements
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? Be
    prepared to defend your answer!
Critical Thinking
   Is American politics so dominated by
    interest groups that social movements
    are the only hope for preserving
    democracy? Again, be prepared to
    defend your answer
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?
   Tactics
       Unconventional and disruptive
       Why?
            Outsiders usually lack the financial and political
             resources that insiders have, so
            They must 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
   Religious (the two Great Awakenings)
   Abortion rights/Pro Life
Social Movements in a
Majoritarian Democracy
   How are they democratic?
       Encourage popular participation
       Scope of conflict
            E. E. Schattschneider
            The politics of the many rather than of the few
Social Movements in a
Majoritarian Democracy
   How are they anti-democratic?
       Minority phenomena
            Majority rule
       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
            Pullman strike of 1894
            Radical wing of the anti-war movement
            Black Power wing of the civil rights movement
Why Social Movements
Succeed or Fail
   Partially successful social movements
       These have enough power and public
        support to get a favorable response that
        tends to land somewhere in the middle
       The government responds to the
        grievance, but not in a radical way
       Examples?
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 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
The End

  Chapter 8: Social Movements