‘Like an ox yoke’: Challenging the intrinsic virtuousness of a grassroots social movement

Chollett, Donna L.

doi:10.1177/0308275x11420114

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Some hail it as a harbinger of a better and more democratic world order (Mason, ; Scott, ; Sitrin, ; Graeber, ; Mason, ; Sitrin, ). Others see it as dangerously utopian and destructive development (Roelofs, ; Chollett, ).…”

Section: The Anti‐hierarchical Nature Of the Protest Movementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Donna Chollett challenges the view of many horizontalists who assert the intrinsic virtuousness of grassroots social movements and their natural inclination towards democracy. She shows that networks develop their own hierarchies and forms of inequality (Chollett, ). Woody van Olffen and George Romme discuss the role of hierarchies in networks and point towards their complementary relations (Van Olffen and Romme, ).…”

Section: Restructuring the Public Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

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Rethinking Democracy: A Systems Perspective on the Global Unrest

Shkliarevsky

2015

Syst. Res

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The paper seeks to make a contribution towards a better understanding of the current global political unrest. It argues that this unrest reflects ongoing tensions between hierarchical and non-hierarchical interactions. It also argues that the opposition between hierarchical and non-hierarchical interactions is not ontological but rather is rooted in the way we approach reality and is, therefore, subject to our control. The tendency to exclude the process of construction from our frame of vision is characteristic for the view of reality that is dominant in our civilization. Contemporary theoretical perspectives that include, but are not limited to, systems theory, complexity theory, theory of self-organization, emergence theory and autopoiesis have much to offer in addressing and resolving this problem. The paper outlines some general organizing principles that should be part of this solution. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Keywords systems theory; hierarchies; networks; horizontalists Over two decades ago, communism collapsed and the Cold War ended. Francis Fukuyama hailed this development in his book The End of History and the Last Man as the beginning of a new era in which liberal democracy and capitalism would reign supreme. All that would be left for humanity to do was to enjoy the fruits of this remarkable victory that would bring peace, freedom and prosperity to the entire world.Long gone are the days of triumphalism. Today, the prophecy that Fukuyama made in the wake of the demise of the Soviet bloc 'that liberal democracy, combined with market economics, represented the direction in which the world would inevitably evolve ' (Fukuyama, 1989) rings hollow; today, we hear a very different tune. It warns us about the retreat of democracy, the rise of authoritarian regimes, economic uncertainty and prospects of growing violence and hostility in the world (Kurlantzick, 2013).At the time of its publication, many welcomed Fukuyama's book as a prophecy and a revelation of the world to come. Now, more than two decades later, few ever mention or quote this book and even fewer hold the predictive powers of its author in high regard. The world has turned out to be very different from what Fukuyama divined. It is turbulent, dangerous and extremely uncertain. Many * Correspondence to: Gennady Shkliarevsky, History, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, Red Hook, NY, 12504, USA. E-mail: shkliare@bard.edu 1 I want to use this opportunity to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their very careful and nuanced reading of the earlier drafts of this paper. Their comments and suggestions are very valuable and accepted with gratitude.

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Section: The Anti‐hierarchical Nature Of the Protest Movementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Restructuring the Public Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking Democracy: A Systems Perspective on the Global Unrest

Shkliarevsky

2015

Syst. Res

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“…However, the sugar mill was declared bankrupt in 2009. 27 Nonetheless, student councils in the universities who have absolute independence in the selection of their rector candidates may create new hopes to infiltrate even the hierarchical organizations. The students of the University of Glasgow made a promising decision by electing Edward Snowden as the new Rector for three years on 18 February 2014.…”

Section: Conclusive Remarks: Hope and Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ravages of social catastrophe

Cayli

2015

Philosophy & Social Criticism

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The social order of the current system has brought an increase in the public dissents and turned to a ‘normalized sociological pathology’ of the postmodern world. The unyielding public resistance examples in different cultural geographies, which are fragmented, limited and yet significant and expanding struggles, convey the message that the global order of the Powerful has entered the age of stagnation. This article aims to shed new light on the relationship between the social protests and global order that has given rise to new identities of local and global injustice. I argue that social protests in the last years display discernible patterns of a change in cultural perceptions of the activists in different public spaces. On the one hand, this signals the emergence of a new public order in the 21st century. On the other hand, the ravages of social catastrophe shape the very dynamics of the same public culture. ‘Enduring and resisting public cultures’ is introduced in this article as a benchmark to identify ethnographic struggles of the activists for the quest of a new public space, which represents ‘Another World’.

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Cooperation in Practice: Successes and Shortcomings of the International Cooperative Movement Today

Ratner¹

2012

International and Cultural Psychology

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‘Like an ox yoke’: Challenging the intrinsic virtuousness of a grassroots social movement

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

Rethinking Democracy: A Systems Perspective on the Global Unrest

Rethinking Democracy: A Systems Perspective on the Global Unrest

The ravages of social catastrophe

Cooperation in Practice: Successes and Shortcomings of the International Cooperative Movement Today

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