Social movements in industrialised and
developing countries
• Intro: Social movements involve collective struggle aimed at bringing social
transformation questioning prevailing order , power relatoins, struggle for
justice etc.
• Developed countries-
◦ Old left- against exploitative nature of capitalism,
inequalities(monochromatic)
▪ These were working class movements in the developed world.
▪ In the developing world these were peasant movements against
feudalism, anti colonialism movements.
• New left- started in 1960s .
◦ Herbert marcuse is known as father of new left .
◦ Based on the ideas of Young Marx, hence the aim of these movements is
“human emancipation.”
◦ Unlike the old social movements that talked of basic necessities of life,
the new social movements focus on the “quality of life.”
◦ These movements exhibit plural ideas and values and hence difficult to
compartmentalise as socialist, capitalist,right or left.
◦ Post materialist movements and focus more on developmental issues
like sustainiablke devellopment, disarmament, LGBT, social media
movements like metoo, change.org
•
•
• Developing countries
1. Distinction between old and new is not distinct
2. Huge overlap between old and new as they are societies in transition. In
india we see movements against corruption along with working class
movements
• New social move:
◦ Give theory of legitimation crisis that gives rise to pressure groups and
new social movements .
◦ These erupt when citizens think that the govt has violated terms of social
contract.
◦ The new social movements offer an alternative social imaginary to both
capitalism and socialism as they were both the systems to be retaining the
elements of domination and unfairness
◦ Taking a cue from focoult and Laski, they argue that social power can no
longer be seen a centrally located in the state or the economy but instead
it is exercised as well as resisted at the societal level.
◦ The new social movements are indicators of the pulse of the people that
they are no longer ready to accept the developmental paradigms that keep
them out and preclude their participation.
◦ Ex-
▪ occupy wallstreet mov in USA
▪ yellow vest mov in France
▪ recent protests in Hong kong, Algeria, sudan
▪ India against corruption, #metoo, pathalgai, env movement like
Tuticorin
▪ Recent protests in Kazakhstan due to high inflation
• Critical marxists like Habermas
call politics of movement an example of radical democracy where people
engage in communicative action in ideal speech situation, thus enlarging
“public sphere.”
• there is a rising deinstitutionsalisation of democracy and political parties
and a growing disconnect between the leaders and the people . This has
given importance to pressure groups.
• New social movements are welcomed so long they represent democratic
upsurge
• these movements are primarily socio-cultural as elaborated by habermas
who called it “new poliitcs” concerned with human emancipation and
individual self realisation, as opposed to old politics focus on economic and
political security.
• acc to melluci, the concern has shifted from sole production of economic
resources to cultural production of social relations,symbols and identities.
• The organising mechanisms, collective activism and leadership of social
movement provide the required space not only to develop a critique of the
society but also for transformative politics within the given structure
• Responses to globalisation
1.
Shashi in his "two backlashes against globalisation." Says there is rise of anti
economic globalisation and anti cultural globalisation
2.
David Goodhart has called it fight between anywheres(those who consider
themselves globalists) and somewheres(those who consider themselves
localists).
3. Due to increasing globalisation,power is shifting from govts elected by
people to intl institutions that are manned by unelected bureaucrats (post
sovereign governance/super territoriality). This has led to crisis of
democracy(Huntington) in many nations
4. In developing countries, due to identity factors the socially dominant groups
have reaped the benefits of globalisation and now we see a backlash against
globalisation in the form of grassroot movements.
•
Joseph stiglitz- book- “globalization and its discontents” -
◦ Says need for transparency in global institutions
◦ Says globalisation was oversold, the gains in GDP were over estimated and
the distributional effects of globalisation were underestimated
◦ The consequences of this overselling has been undermining of
confidence in the elites that advocated globalisation.
◦
In his book “people, power and profits” he talks about growing
resentment against globalisation the world over. Calls for “progressive
capitalism” that is less profit and more people centric.
Conclusion- social movements bring otherwise divided humans on one
platform around a single issue and mobilise them to struggle for one cause – the
defence of all living beings, born and unborn.
