New Social Movements: Changing America one Step at a Time

New Social Movements: Changing America One Step at a Time

Politicians and government officials in the United States are supposed to represent the voices in society that strive to better economic, social, and environmental conditions. We have elected representatives that are chosen to present the desires of individuals, groups, and organizations that fight for a just cause. These officials are not using their political power to the full extent to make a difference within society. Rather, they use their status to comply with the best interests of multi national business tycoons. Therefore, the people must fight back and make their voices heard in order to make the differences that are desperately desired. The "New Social Movements" (NSM) are the revival of historical movements, which have inspired many people today to step out and change societal dysfunctions. I would like to examine the factors that account for the rise of new social movements and look at the effect they have on contemporary society.

In order to fully comprehend the concept of New Social Movements I will begin by defining and examining the constructs. To follow I will break down a few movements in more detail, first discussing what they stand for, and then examining how they originated and matured. In the latter section I will try to determine the scope and boundaries of their influence on contemporary society.

Strict guidelines have emerged as to what a New Social Movement is, and the kind of characteristics a political movement must have to classify as an NSM. Russel Dalton and Manfred Kuechler suggest : 'A set of opinions and beliefs in a population that represents preferences for changing some elements of the social structure and/or the reward distribution of society.' However, by this definition anyone with any concern for any aspect of pollution, nuclear power, the quality of life and many other issues is a member of the social movement. Most writers agree there are more definitive ways of identifying an NSM.

The ideological side is the most comprehensive explanation of what NSM involves. Ideologically: social movements are challengers, which seek to change the agenda of the system in which they work. They advance ideas which, to be realized, would require fundamental and widespread change in policies and in values - change which may be partially achieved through government action and legislation, but can not be wholly achieved in this way. They raise issues, which question the dominant values that constitute the political culture of their society, and hence have a 'political' and 'cultural' dimension. They aim to change peoples' attitudes on a personal as well as public level.

The organizational side is more practical, referring to the 'administration' side of action. This may be formal or informal, but the key element is network. Networks must successfully organize strong turnouts for activities, exchange information and show solidarity. The stronger the networks, the stronger the movement.

The tactical characteristic is the aspect, which sets social movements apart from other forms of political action. All movements must engage in at least some action outside of the institutional or legal channels of political access.

There is a diverse range of NSMs fighting for causes that include women, the elderly, African Americans and even the environment. For the purposes of this essay I will inspect only a couple in detail, but it should be retained that they are examples of a bigger wave. The two most recognized movements are the environmental or 'Green' movement, and the Women's movement. Both have evolved over the past hundred years into strong and extremely influential political leagues. Both have the ideological aspect, wanting to change the general public's approach to their respective causes - the environment and equality between sexes. They also have the organizational factor, with now impressive and extensive channels of communication. And finally they have the tactical factor, having utilized many different methods of expressing and arguing their opinions.

The Green movement has distinct personal and public fields. The movement campaigns for specific issues such as pollution and renewable energy sources; while also questioning the basic values of a developed industrial society, which assumes the innate desirability of economic growth and technological progress.

In the women's movement there is also a clear double tier effort. Equal opportunities and parity of representation in the everyday is a clear objective. Not to take away from equally important issues as the struggle against patriarchy and the desire for the differences of women to be recognized. Equality in contemporary society is far from the only struggle woman face.

There is speculation that these gallant movements fighting for a better world are actually not so angelic after all. RM or rational choice theory states that: " . . . political dissatisfaction and social conflict are inherent in every society. Therefore, the creation of a social movement organization is not primarily a reflection of political grievances in society; instead, it depends on the presence of sufficient resources and entrepreneurial expertise to create and sustain the movement." (Dalton 1994). However, reassuringly for humanity, this is insufficient for describing the movements. Why? Because of the non-centralized nature of NSMs and further because they are fighting for social, cultural and quality of life issues which run more deeply than basic political dissatisfaction.

It is clear that an unusual combination of social ferment and political events are required to create new political organizations. If you are looking for social ferment and unusual political events, then the sixties are an obvious contender. And indeed, it was in the sixties when New Social Movements appeared with vigor, although it was not the beginning of various social movements themselves. Both the Green and Women's movement have their roots around seventy years earlier, about the 1890s to the 1900s. However, these waves are not classified as NSMs. They existed more as elite pursuits of small groups than widely encompassing ideological movements. The fact that a number of NSMs emerged at the same time points to the conclusion that it was a particular coincidence of many external factors necessary for expression that made NSMs able to take such a hold generally. Opposed to simply support for one particular cultural aspect being outstandingly strong.

There was an upsurge in the interest in revolutionary socialism in the late 1960s. This is loosely referred to as the student movement, and it could be said this was the foundation