Marxism Social Movements And Collective Action

This book makes a relevant contribution to a Marxist critical explanation of social conflicts, social movements and protests. There is abundant literature on social conflict and social movements from Marxist perspectives. However, rigorous criticism, both theoretical and methodological, is scarce. The objective of this volume is the collection of works developing a critical reflection on the categories of theories about contentious collective action and social movements from a Marxist perspective. In order to better understand these phenomena and go beyond their mere case description, the theory needs to be improved. To that end, the book also promotes the debate between Marxisms and the collective action and new social movements in a renewed way. Here different Marxist arguments consider not only their methodological and ideological bias, but also the specific conceptual contributions of those theories.

Marxism and Social Movements is the first sustained engagement between social movement theory and Marxist approaches to collective action. The chapters collected here, by leading figures in both fields, discuss the potential for a Marxist theory of social movements; explore the developmental processes and political tensions within movements; set the question in a long historical perspective; and analyse contemporary movements against neo-liberalism and austerity. Exploring struggles on six continents over 150 years, this collection shows the power of Marxist analysis in relation not only to class politics, labour movements and revolutions but also anti-colonial and anti-racist struggles, community activism and environmental justice, indigenous struggles and anti-austerity protest. It sets a new agenda both for Marxist theory and for movement research. Contributors include: Paul Blackledge, Marc Blecher, Patrick Bond,Chik Collins, Ralph Darlington, Neil Davidson, Ashwin Desai, Jeff Goodwin, Chris Hesketh, Gabriel Hetland, Elizabeth Humphrys, Christian Høgsbjerg, David McNally, Trevor Ngwane, Heike Schaumberg and Hira Singh.

First published in 1990, Ideology and the New Social Movements provides an incisive and much-needed assessment of debates concerning the nature and motivation of social movements and collective action. In particular, Alan Scott focuses upon the competing theoretical explanations of the rise and character of the ‘new social movements’ in North America and Europe. After introducing the major themes in the debate about new social movements, the book reviews mainstream theories, both functionalist and neo-Marxist, then moves on to a discussion of sociological, economic and political writings. Specific examples, most notably the rise of the West German Greens, are used to assess the value of the different approaches. Alan Scott argues that theories of long-term change, such as the transition to the ‘post-industrial’ society, give insufficient attention to the political and organizational aspects of social movements, and exaggerate the differences between older, class based, movements and ‘new’ politics. He concludes by arguing that the idea of social closure that can accommodate questions of allegiance and identity, and control of resources has considerable explanatory power, and can encompass the cultural and political aspects of social movements. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, political science and urban studies.

Social Movements and Social Classes asks how integrative and expansive collective action is in the constitution of modern societies, and how we can articulate issues of collective action, social movement practices and class action within this integrative understanding.

In Marx Matters noted scholars explore the way a Marxian political economy addresses contemporary social problems, demonstrating the relevance of Marx today and outlining how his work can frame progressive programs for social change.

Drawing from research and insights from both fields, this text provides an integrated framework for looking at both collective behavior and social movements. KEY TOPICS: It covers the study of collective behavior; collective behavior process; collective behavior in culturally tolerant and maladaptive settings; collective behavior in oppositional settings. For sociologists and all those interested in collective behavior and social movements.

We are living in the twilight of neoliberalism: the ruling classes can no longer rule as before, and ordinary people are no longer willing to be ruled in the old way. Pursued by global elites since the 1970s, neoliberalism is defined by dispossession and inequality. The refusal to continue to be ruled like this - "ya basta" - appears in an arc of resistance stretching from rural India to the cities of the global North. From this movement of movements, new visions emerge of a future beyond neoliberalism. We Make Our Own World responds to this experience. The first systematic Marxist analysis of social movements, it reclaims Marxism as the theory born from activist experience and practice. It shows how movements can develop from local conflicts to global struggles; how neoliberalism operates as collective action from above, and how popular struggles can create new worlds from below.

The Playing Self is a groundbreaking new work from influential cultural sociologist and clinical psychologist Alberto Melucci, best known for his work on social movements and collective identities. In this book, he delves deeper into questions about the self as both a psychological and socio-cultural entity, particularly in the context of a global society for which information has become a basic resource. His phenomenological approach accounts for the self both as a site of highly subjective and intimate experiences, such as crying, laughing and loving, and in relation to social structural dynamics, through more impersonal experiences, such as the experience of time, and links of the self to politics. Melucci explores the critical search for meaning at the boundary of visible collective processes and individual day-to-day experience.