Empire, Power, and People with Andrew Gavin Marshall- Episode 31
Thursday, 9. August 2012
Understanding Social Movements
No matter your specific ideological stance, beliefs, hopes, passions or activism, there is a need to better our understanding of each other and different social movements, a need to adopt a more adaptive and accepting discourse and method of communication, not designed to dismiss those who do not adhere to our own ideology, but to criticize with the intent to inform and strengthen, as opposed to disregard and undermine. With various resistance movements erupting around the world, it is important that we allow our interpretation of these movements to evolve along with them, so that we may find common ground to work with each other and against the real powers of control. Social movements are complex organisms which change and evolve, which have mainstream and co-opting components but also radical and hopeful elements. This is the basis upon which we should examine, criticize, inform and analyze other social movements, to properly assess what elements are worthy of support, and what elements are worthy of subversion.
Our major flaw in social movement analysis is painting entire movements with the same brush, and placing them firmly within our own ideological frame of reference, instead of seeking to understand their own. We must advance the analysis and raise the discourse, because only together can we have any true hope of changing the world for the better.
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