Key Characteristics of a Social Movement - Essay Example

Characteristics of a social movement Introduction A social movement can be defined as an expansive and informal group of individuals or of organizations concerned with a particular social or political subject. It assumes the powers and responsibility to make or correct a social change in the society. They are mostly affiliated to the democratic political party systems. In a few cases, we may find a social participating in promoting democracy in various countries. However, social movements tend to operate better in nations in which democracy already exists. Most social movements today involve themselves in solidarity with people who express dissatisfaction with status quo all over the world Ballard, et al, 2005, p.615). Various social movements have different motivation for their actions, depending on their surrounding social, economic, and political environments. However, there are some key features that are common or at least applicable to most of them. My essay seeks to identify these key features as well as cite a few examples to explain the various theoretical concepts within the dynamics of a social movement. There are different types of social movements which have been identified by sociologists all over the world. These types are categorized depending on their scope; the type of change they advocate for or bring; their target groups; and how they operate. Considering scope, we can classify social movement as a reform or radical. A radical social movement aims to change certain value systems in a fundamental way. A good example of such a movement is the American Civil Rights Movement whose main aim was to fight for maximum civil rights for all Americans irrespective of the race they belonged to. There is also South Africa’s Shack Dwellers Movement, popularly known as ‘Abahali baseMjondolo,’ which fights for shack dwellers’ place in the city life. Reform social movement, on the other hand, works to change some norms and laws. Trade unions and green belt movements fall under this category (Ballard, et al., 2005, p622, Kendall, 2011, p. 540). A social movement may also be categorized depending on the type of change it intends to make. Under this we have innovation movement which aims to introduce or amend a given value. For instance, we have singularitarianism movement which fights for safety of technological singularity. We also have the conservative movement concerned with the preservation of current values and norms. A good example is the current movement against the introduction of genetically modified organisms. In addition, social movement may be classified based on it target group. Here we have group-focused and individual-focused movements. Group-focused aims at values affecting the community at large, for instance, the amendment of a political system. Individual-focused deals with matters affecting people at individual levels, for instance, religious groups. Moreover, social movements may be categorized considering the methods they apply. Here we have peaceful movement which use non-violent forms of protest like the non-violent civil wing of the Indian Independent Movement. Violent movements, on the other hand, use violence as a tool for justice. They include terrorist groups like Al Qaida and Al Shabaab (Macions and Gerber, chapter 23). Key features of a social movement: Social movement do not fall down from heaven but happen as a result of social actions and social interactions. For a social movement to occur there has to be stimuli within the society. These stimuli depend greatly on how innovative the minds of the founders are. For example, those who participated in various social movements during the feudal period realized that the owners of capital were greatly exploiting the workers. Their efforts to fight for the rights of the workers are what gave birth to Marxism and Communism we so much talk about today. One interesting thing about social movements is that the strongly rely on inventions so as to be effective. The ideologies advocated for by various movements are able to reach as many people as possible due to various technological inventions that have made the world a global village. In fact, improvements in the field of technology have made possible for ordinary people to access the internet, a privilege that only belonged to the military in the past. The most important thing to note about social movements is that they are highly fluid, easily adapt to changes, and can easily decentralize ideologies (Smith, 2008, p. 120). A social movement is also very dynamic in nature. It is formed as a small entity but has the ability to grow bigger. As it grows, it may achieve successes or even succumb to failure as well. With time it dies or may give rise to another stronger one. A social movement also needs a social movement friendly environment in order to flourish. Perhaps this can help us explain why they succeeded in the nineteenth century when there was a constant fight for fundamental human rights as well as various organized civil disobedience. The movements tend to find a fertile ground in both free and dictatorial society, even though they take totally different shapes. In fact, a social movement counts so much on conflicting societal interests. In the past these movements counted on the wide gaps in poverty and wealth distribution within a society. Today they may thrive because of our lack of consensus ion matters pertaining to not only ethics but also values and customs (Gusfield, et al., 1994, 236). According to sociologist Neil Smelser (quoted in Smith, 2008), the foundation of a social movement depends on an “initiating event,” that is, an event that can illicit a series or reaction to the event in a given society. The reaction grows to form a social movement. A good example is the American Civil Rights Movement, which broke out because of a black woman known as Rosa Parks had decided to take a sit in the whites-only side of a bus. However, claims have been that she was acting on behalf of a behind-the-scenes group of people who had organized the whole thing. Therefore, social movements have leaders who work underground but who are quite essential in igniting the protests. An event like this may be referred to as a “volcanic model,” that is, a social movement thrives only the moment a large number of people discover that there other people with common desires like theirs, especially for a given change. The leaders involved tend to be generally charismatic and can easily pull a crowd. The leaders then embark on recruiting people with a desire to see the primary goals achieved so as to make the movement appealing to those who are only ready to join already successful movements (121). Theories of social movement: Many people, especially sociologists, have come up with various theories to offer a deeper insight into the dynamics of social movement. One of such theories is the Marxist theory of social movement. It banks on the fact that Marxism as an ideology gets its basis on the interactions among various social classes in the society. It actually developed from the conflict between the owners of capital and the workers of the nineteenth century. In the last century, neo-Marxists came up with issues surrounding other societal dynamics like race and gender to help them study the changing political and economic conditions. The Marxist view point has been adopted as a very important approach for understanding how social movements utilize political economy and inequalities among social classes as a point of motivation (Kendall, 2011, p.236). Another theory is the deprivation social movement theory. Social movements find a fertile ground among people who feel that they have been denied some fundamental rights. These people with a common grievance have a high possibility of organizing themselves into a social movement to fight for not only their space in the society but also their rights. There is also the mass society theory, which claims that it is people who feel detached from the society that will in most cases come together to form social movements. In the movements, they feel empowered and it is also the place they can easily find their peers. Those who have not yet joined feel attracted by the fact that their friends are already there. In addition, there is the social strain theory, which tries to predict the essentials for a social movement. This theory sees structural conduciveness as a determinant for the development of a social movement, that is, people get a feeling that their community is full of problems. They then notice the things that they lack though they should have. The solution they are looking for is what the social movement promises. The people are then mobilized to rise to the occasion (Kendall, 2011, 540). There is also the resource mobilization theory, which sees resources as a very vital tool for a social movement. These resources come in form of social capital, money, knowledge, network, and labour. Social movements emerge when people have the resources necessary for rising to the occasion. No wonder some aggrieved groups fail to unite against their oppressors while others do. Then there is the political process theory, which sees political opportunities as a crucial ingredient for social movement. Under this, there is insurgent consciousness, that is, a feeling that people are being exploited, and this acts to motivate them to participate in the movements. There is also a need for a strong leadership for easier mobilization of people to join the course. Finally there is the culture theory, which states that social movements count on people’s shared values and beliefs. These beliefs and values promote collective responsibility, thereby making the people to rise against the social ills as a unit (Klandermans, 2002, 265). The main features of a social movement revolve around the movement’s objectives. In addition, we have to put in mind that social movement changes with time and the particular features identified above will move with the changes. On the social movement theories, it is evident that all of them view social movement as a thing developed by groups with common interests, and as such, social capital is vital for a social movement’s development. Works cited Ballard, Richard, et al. Globalization, Marginalization, and contemporary social movement in South Africa, 2005. Pp. 615, 634 Gusfield, et al., (1994). New social movements: from ideology to identity. Temple University Press. P. 23 Kendall, Diana (2011). Sociology in our time: the essentials. Cengage Learning. Pp. 236, 540. Klandermans, Bert (2002). Methods of social movement research. University of Minnesota Press. Pp. 26 Macions, John J., and Linda, Gerber M. Collective behaviour and social movement. Chapter 23. Accessed on 9 December, 2011 www.prenhall.com/ca_ph_macionis_sociology_5/23/6034/1544830.cw/index.html Smith, Jackie (2008). Social movement for global democracy. JHU Press. Pp. 120, 121 Read More