Man is a social being that cannot exist absolutely separately and be outside of society. That is why throughout the entire historical process of our development and to this day there is such a phenomenon as mass social movements.

Before proceeding to the consideration of their features, let's reveal the content of the term itself in more detail. Modern social movements are a special type of collective associations or actions, the attention of which is focused on a topic that is relevant to them. It can be both a political kind of problem, and some social phenomena.

Social organizations and social movements

New social movements are able to direct collective efforts in a certain direction, which can lead to significant changes in the established order of life, up to changes in the social structure of society.

Causes of social movements

Today, many sociologists believe that the increase in the number of social movements is associated with the development of the importance of education in people's lives. Personality and social movements are in continuous interaction. A person engaged in self-education and the development of a “free personality” in himself begins to expand the boundaries of his horizons, as a result, this leads to the fact that people with several higher educations consider those norms that exist in society today to be outdated or unacceptable. They strive for transformation, to reach a newer and higher quality level of life.

Types of social movements

Experts distinguish several classifications of types of social movements, the most frequently spoken of which is according to the scale of the proposed changes.

1. reformist- public efforts are aimed at changing only some of the norms of society, and as a rule, by legal methods. Examples of such social movements are:

• trade unions fighting for workers' rights;
• green, fighting for the preservation of environmentally friendly living conditions, etc.

2. Radical- are in favor of changing the system as a whole. The purpose of their efforts is to change the fundamental foundations and principles the functioning of society. An example of radical movements can be.

Mass action is a form or method of resolving social problems and contradictions, which are based on a clash of interests and needs of individual social groups in this society.

It is customary to refer to the forms of mass behavior and mass action mass hysteria, rumors and gossip, panic, pogrom, riot.

mass hysteria- a state of general nervousness, fear, an increase in emotional excitability (example: "witch hunt" in medieval Europe, international tension during the so-called "cold war", "gold rush" in the USA in the 19th century, etc.).

Gossip- unreliable or partially reliable reports of any events coming from one person or group, not confirmed by anything else, orally transmitted from one person to another.

Most often, rumors affect the central nervous system, causing increased tension, stress, hysteria by creating an unbearable, psychologically extreme situation.

There are the following types of rumors:

1) in terms of information characteristics:

a) completely unreliable;

b) unreliable with elements of likelihood;

c) believable;

d) reliable with elements of improbability.

2) taking into account the expressive characteristics and types of the evoked reaction:

a) hearing-desire;

b) frightening hearing;

c) aggressive hearing.

3) by origin:

a) natural;

b) deliberately fabricated.

Sometimes a rumor is born spontaneously, but, once it hits a certain ground, it finds interested distributors who are ready to embellish the information in accordance with their interests.

The main reasons for the emergence and spread of rumors are:

1) unsatisfied audience interest in a certain topic;

2) lack of reliable information, which is determined by the ratio of two variables:

a) the number of official communications on a given subject at a given time;

b) the degree of trust in the source of official information.

The intensity of rumor circulation is directly proportional to the interest of the audience in the topic and inversely proportional to the number of official messages at the moment and the degree of trust in the source of the message.

The circulation of rumors facilitates interpersonal contacts, as if giving them an additional impetus. The oral transmission of "unofficial information" sometimes emphasizes the socio-psychological status of the transmitter, the prestigious proximity to the source, so the unsatisfied need of individuals for socio-psychological self-affirmation contributes to the spread of rumors. Spreading rumors (especially frightening ones) in some cases can reduce emotional stress in a large group (according to the “everyone is bad” principle), which means that emotional stress in itself serves as an additional factor in the emergence of rumors. It should be noted that in an emotionally depleted environment, devoid of significant events for a long time, the need for impressions is satisfied due to the circulation of rumors.

A variety of rumors based on curiosity are gossip.

Panic- an uncoordinated reaction of people to danger, when fear paralyzes thinking and will, prevents the ability to concentrate and make the decision necessary in this situation. In case of panic, a chain reaction becomes especially dangerous, emotional contagion: when one person realizes the seriousness of the situation, he still tries to look for a way out of the situation, makes efforts, there is a chance for the success of his actions, but when a person sees the confusion of the people around him, he convinces himself that the situation is critical and there is no way out, which finally paralyzes his will.

Pogrom- a collective act of violence against property or person, fueled by passions.

Riot- a number of spontaneous forms of protest: rebellion, unrest, confusion, uprising. The cause of a riot may be the mass dissatisfaction of people with something (the activities of someone, as a rule, a representative of the authorities). A rebellion is always associated with an act of disobedience to official authority or its representatives in a given territory.

Pogroms and riots are spontaneous forms of protest that can have serious social consequences, therefore, as a rule, official authorities react to their manifestation in a harsh manner, taking adequate (sometimes inadequate) measures to restore public order. At the same time, one should take into account the fact that these measures can cause an increase in “rebellious” moods in society.

Varieties of social behavior include social movements, collective behavior and social behavior of the individual.

A social movement is a mass collective action of one or more social groups (strata) associated with ensuring group or public interests, satisfying material and spiritual needs, and aimed at social changes or resistance to them in conflict confrontation with other groups..

It is customary to distinguish the following main types of social movements.

1. Political movements: aimed at the conquest, strengthening or overthrow of political power, the existing political system, state bodies or are expressed in demands addressed to the state and other authorities.

This type of social movement can be classified according to composition of the main body of participants(peasant, proletarian, feminist, etc.); motivation(religious, sociocultural); goals(resistance movements, national liberation movements, etc.); features of a subjectively accepted or objectively established strategy(revolutionary, reformist, etc.); action tactics(extremist, legalist, civil disobedience, etc.).

2. Expressive movements - more or less mass movements of people who relatively clearly understand the unattractiveness and viciousness of the existing social reality, but seek to modify, change not it, but their attitude towards it (movements of hippies, rockers, punks and other youth groups seeking to create their own subculture and distance themselves from alien, unloved and despised by them society with its, according to their views, anti-human and repressive culture).

3. Revolutionary movements- mass actions aimed at a deep and complete change in the existing social reality, the structure, functions and content of the activities of most or many social institutions - the state, the education system, etc.

Revolutionary movements seek to destroy the existing social system, overthrow its inherent social order and power structures, and establish a new social order, a new system of power, fundamentally different from those that existed before.

4. Reformist movements- mass political actions focused on the gradual transformation of the socio-political system through thoughtful reforms, changes that do not undermine the foundations of the existing social order, but are designed to improve it.

5. Regressive movements- mass actions aimed at returning to the past, idealizing this past, rejecting the positive nature of any innovations in a particular area of ​​social life.

6. Utopian movements- relatively massive actions related to the promotion of ideas for building an ideal social order, the development of its projects and models, and attempts to implement them.

7. Ecological movements- mass actions aimed at interpreting the conditionality of human activity not only by economic, social and cultural, but also by environmental factors. The role of these movements is growing in the face of growing environmental problems.

8. Youth movements - mass actions in which young people are involved, advocating for the creation of conditions for a decent life, autonomy, freedom to choose a profession, place of residence, way of life and style of life.

9. Feminist (women's) movements- mass actions for the equalization of women's rights with men, for the effective protection of motherhood and childhood. The origin of these movements dates back to the era of bourgeois revolutions in France, England and the USA.

10. National liberation movements- mass actions aimed at overthrowing foreign domination and winning national independence, at the realization by national-ethnic communities of the right to self-determination, at the creation of an independent national state.

11. Peace movements- mass actions against the danger of new wars, for the strengthening of peace and friendship between peoples.

Social movements can have a serious impact on the life of modern society, giving its development a certain dynamic.

Collective behavior is mass, unpredictable reactions of people to critical situations that arise objectively and suddenly. Most often, collective behavior manifests itself in the crowd. A person, getting into the crowd, becomes infected with its passions. There is a mental unification of people at the “herd level”, as a result of which a homogeneous mass is created, which is easily influenced, easy to manipulate, creating an emotionally charged atmosphere.

Expressive movements arise within a limited social system that cannot be transformed in any way and from which it is impossible to get out. Individuals, changing their own attitude to such an unattractive reality, adapt to it with the help of various forms of emotional expression (dance, art, music, rituals, etc.). Expressive movements originated in ancient times and represented various mysteries in Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Persia, and India. Individuals participated in complex rites and rituals to distract themselves from the imperfect structure of society. Today, expressional movements can be observed among young people in the subcultures they created (hippies, rockers, punks, etc.). Often, expressive movements are associated with a belief in a better past life, i.e. turn to the exploits and glory of past generations, revive the symbols and way of life of their ancestors. Examples are veterans' movements, monarchist social movements. However, such movements are passive in nature and can have both a positive effect (promote reforms) and a negative one (may lead to uprisings). The property of expressive movements to idealize the past, comparing it with the present, can lead to the fact that such movements become an intermediate link between non-political and active political movements.

Utopian movements proclaim utopian ideas. After the work of Thomas More, the word "utopia" came to mean an ideal society, a society of perfection, which is possible only in our fantasies. But Thomas More was not the only one who was engaged in creating a model of an ideal society. In addition to him, Plato dealt with this problem in ancient times (“Ideal State”, “Republic”), utopian ideas gained great popularity in the 18-19 centuries, and in our time the American psychologist B. Skinner made a great contribution. The first utopian movements were religious movements and sects that proclaimed the idea of ​​equality and following the will of God. Worldly communities, followers of utopian ideas, proclaimed the image of a kind, cooperative, altruistic person, sweeping the idea of ​​a person’s personal happiness into the background, so their existence was short-lived, despite the eternal ideals of perfection. An example is the utopian movements proclaiming social equality under capitalism.

Reform movements are movements aimed at changing certain spheres and the structure of society. It is important to distinguish reforms from modernization. If the reform is partial and implies a change in any particular aspect of life, then modernization involves the complete destruction and construction of a completely new system, i.e. complete transformation of social life. For the emergence of such a phenomenon as a reform movement, two conditions are necessary:

1) It is necessary to have a positive attitude towards order in the community in question and focus on certain negative aspects of public life;

2) Having the opportunity to express one's opinion and actively act in support of or against a particular reform.

It is not difficult to guess that reform movements usually arise in democratic societies, where there are necessary conditions for freedom, and they cannot develop under conditions of totalitarianism. Examples of such movements can be abolitionist movements (for the abolition of certain laws), feminist movements (for gender equality), prohibition movements (prohibition of pornography, the construction of nuclear power plants, etc.). At present, society is not ready to fully accept such movements, but they are already getting used to them, and civic consciousness is gradually being formed.

Revolutionary movements have as their goal the overthrow of the existing social system and its complete destruction, followed by the creation of a new social order, significantly different from the previously existing one. The meaning of the word "revolution" should be clarified. Revolution in this case should be understood as "an unexpected, rapid, usually violent complete change in the social system, structure and functions of many basic social institutions." Revolutions are not the same as state or palace coups. The main difference lies in the fact that palace or state coups leave social institutions and the system of power in society unchanged, replacing only people in power. The concept of "revolution" also has other common meanings, for example, when it comes to gradual large-scale changes (industrial revolution, scientific and technological revolution, sexual revolution). If reform movements are trying to change only some of the shortcomings of an already existing system, then revolutionary movements will not take any action, explaining that such a social system does not deserve to be saved. On the example of history, one can clearly see that revolutionary movements often arise in such societies where revolution is the only way out of the current authoritarian situation and the only means of eliminating the imperfections of the social system, and in democratic societies the development of revolutionary movements is minimal, since reforms push back the revolution. As Frolov writes: “It is no coincidence that communist movements are not developed in such traditionally democratic countries as Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium or Denmark, and are strongly developed in those countries where repressive policies are carried out to some extent or the government is only considered democratic and its activities ineffective in carrying out social reforms”. American scientists L. Edward and C. Brinton (school of natural history), also engaged in the study of revolutionary movements, identified their most typical stages of successful development:

1) the accumulation of deep social anxiety and dissatisfaction over a number of years;

2) the inability of intellectuals to successfully criticize the status quo in a way that the general population understands them;

3) the emergence of an impulse to active action, to the uprising of a social myth or belief system that justifies this impulse;

4) a revolutionary explosion caused by the vacillation and weakness of the ruling elite;

5) the period of moderate rule, which soon comes down to attempts to control various groups of revolutionaries or to concessions in order to extinguish the outbursts of passions among the people;

6) access to the active positions of extremists and radicals who seize power and destroy any opposition;

7) the period of the terror regime;

8) a return to a calm state, stable power, and to some patterns of the former pre-revolutionary life.

It should again be noted that it is quite difficult to determine whether a given social movement is reformist or revolutionary in nature, since it can include both active members and radicals, and passive reformers.

Resistance movements are the efforts and actions of certain social groups and communities directed against the complete destruction of the transformations already taking place. Such movements arise among those who are dissatisfied with the too rapid course of the process and, as a rule, are always accompanied by reform and revolutionary movements. For example, during the reforms carried out by Peter I in Russia, opposition to these reforms formed. Usually, resistance movements include individuals who, in the process of reform, lose their privileges or will not have a place at all and a social position in the reformed structure of society.

In addition to this typology, the following types of social movements are distinguished:

Depending on the type of change: 1) Progressive or innovative. Such movements strive to introduce various innovations into the life of society. These may be new institutions, laws, ways of life, religious beliefs, and so on. Examples of such social movements can be republican, socialist movements, feminist movements. 2) Conservative or retroactive. This type of movement has as its goal a return to a pre-existing way of life. For example, various environmental movements, monarchist, etc.

Depending on the attitude to the goals of change: 1) Aimed at changing social structures. Such movements may transform into or join political parties and organizations, but most of them remain outside the reformist political system. 2) Aimed at personality changes. Examples of such movements are religious and sectarian movements.

Depending on the method of work: 1) Peaceful (non-violent) - use peaceful means to achieve their goals. 2) Violent - movements that use the methods of armed struggle.

Depending on the distribution zone: 1) Global movements with global goals, for example, internationals, movements of world social forms, etc. 2) Local movements that have a local level, i.e. regional tasks. 3) Multilevel movements, including and combining the solution of problems at all levels (local, regional, national and international).

Let us now briefly consider the life cycles of social groups. There are no identical social groups that go through the same stages of development, but there are four stages common to all: anxiety, excitement, formalization and institutionalization. At the first stage, mass uncertainty about the future appears, public discontent accumulates, at the second stage, all this discontent focuses on certain problems and all the causes of failures are identified with certain real objects. At the third stage, a number of agitators and figures appear who systematize the activity and ideology of the movement. At the fourth stage, the movements are practically established in the organization, i.e. have their own rules, codes, symbols, etc. There is also a fifth stage - the stage of the disintegration of the movement, but this opinion is not shared by all sociologists, because. in reality, for many social movements this is not the final stage. We must not forget that a social movement can cease to exist at any stage. Depending on various factors (internal, external, as a result of achieving their own goals), movements can break up into smaller organizations or disappear altogether.

How useful or harmful to society are social movements? From everything we have considered, we can conclude that this question is incorrect. First of all, social movements are one of the ways to change society. The work done allows us to more fully and deeply understand the nature of social processes and social movements and their role in the life of society.

Topic 11. Protest social movements

1. social movements

Among the whole variety of collective actions, one of their special varieties stands out. - social movements. They are distinguished two salient features.

Firstly, they are aimed at a specific goal - the implementation of some kind of social change.

Secondly,they develop within informal, not having an institutionalized and formalized character (in any case, not too formalized, weakly institutionalized) systems . In this sense, they are something between collective behavior (for example, in a crowd) and professional activity (for example, in some institution, in an administrative structure).

Social movements in the modern world are very numerous and noticeable. Abortion and abortion movements, environmental movement, consumer protection movement, feminist movement, political, religious, nationalist, anti-war movements, anti-nuclear movements, reformist, revolutionary movements, human rights movement - these are just a few examples. The area of ​​social life in which such phenomena take place, American sociologist Meyer Sald called « sector of social movements" . Some directly call our era " era of social movements or even claim that modern societies are becoming more and more clearly societies of social movements ».

This circumstance associated with certain fundamental features of modern society. It created conditions favorable for the formation, mobilization and development of social movements .

Firstly, process urbanization led to the formation of large crowds of people in a relatively small space. Cities have become the arena of intensive contacts, interactions and communications between people - numerous "units". This facilitated the formulation of common ideas and views, common values ​​and common ideologies. Thus, a natural basis for the manifestation of collective behavior and collective actions arose: cities became the environment from which the carriers of these actions were recruited. After all, many potential participants in social movements lived in close proximity to each other. Only here there were such conditions under which it was possible to quickly spread the “cry” (call people to the streets), ensure “going out into the street”, carry out through violent demonstrations the “politics of the street”, which develops into stronger and more lasting social movements. -zheniya It is no coincidence that social movements in the majority originated in cities.

Secondly, acted in a similar direction industrialization process , which contributed to the concentration in factories, factories and workers' settlements, on the factory outskirts of a huge mass of workers. Faced during the entire working time, that is, most of the day, with people who are in a similar life situation, forced to solve similar problems and have similar claims, they could easily formulate a common opinion, agree on a strategy of struggle, agree on a speech with collective protests. Also important was the feeling of strength that the very sight of the mass of workers gathered together, perceived by them directly, directly, visually, gave them. Numerous social movements were formed on the territory of industrial enterprises, putting forward not only economic slogans, demands for material compensation, but also political and moral ones, for example, movements in support of democracy, movements for women's emancipation, and some religious movements.

Thirdly, mass character of education had a twofold effect. On the one hand, significant masses of pupils, students, that is, people who, by virtue of their youth, were ready for general mobilization and collective activity, concentrated and gathered together. Not by chance Universities became centers of many important social movements. Suffice it to recall the Paris “spring of the barricades” of 1968, the waves of student protests and movements directed against the established norms of culture in the United States, related to approximately the same time, mass political protests of students in China, South Korea, and the Philippines in the 1980s and 90s years. At the same time, education helps to better understand issues related to the public political sphere, develops sensitivity to untruth and injustice, broadens horizons in the direction of finding strategic solutions for common, joint activities.

Fourth, development of modern technologies also facilitates the mobilization of social movements and their replenishment with participants. On the one side, media contribute to the crystallization of public opinion, strengthening the sense of community that goes beyond local boundaries, and on the other hand - advanced telecommunications , as well as computer network allow, regardless of the physical proximity of the actors, to quickly establish the necessary contacts and connections between them. In order to propagate their program provisions, social movements in our time turn to internet . Rich materials are published on its websites, for example, by environmental and anti-globalization movements. However, the relatively more traditional peasant or, say, national movements are also trying to use the new chances for dissemination of their ideas that modern technology gives them. When a popular uprising broke out in the province of Chiapas in Mexico in the 1990s, its leader, Subcommandante Marcos, immediately alerted the whole world by sending out a manifesto of the Movement of the Oppressed via the Internet, thus seeking to ensure support for their demands and justify their methods of armed fight.

Fifth, modern society , marked with the stamp of urbanization and industrialization, that is, primarily the urban and industrial environment, not only creates conditions for the mobilization of social movements and the recruitment of their supporters, but significantly increases the motivation of potential participants in. In such a society growing proportion of dissatisfied , the population of the disadvantaged (both in absolute terms, in the sense of poverty, poverty, unemployment, and in relative terms, when people feel the impossibility of reaching the desired heights of wealth and success). They formulate various reproaches, claims, demands. Despair pushes them to organize for a common, joint struggle for the improvement of living conditions. Society itself supplies the natural participants and supporters of protest movements, reformist and revolutionary movements. Along with this, the very fact of social atomization, the feeling of losing one’s roots, alienation, or that “loneliness in the crowd, which David Riesman wrote about, incline to search for a lost community, some common ground for action. And many find it precisely in social movements. Finally, destruction, devaluation of traditional values, normative chaos, or, as Emile Durkheim called it, the state of "anomie", cause the need to search for the meaning of life, worthy goals, guidelines and pointers on how to act. These needs are met, in particular, by religious movements, movements for moral renewal, for self-improvement, and so on.

At sixth, this kind of motivation is enhanced by the widespread in modern society activist and progressive ideology, which emphasizes the importance and necessity of changes, changes, as well as the dependence of these changes on the subjective activity of people. Society is not something given once and for all, its fate is not predetermined by someone from above, moreover, it is such or becomes such as a result of people's actions. This means not accepting fatalism and determinism, focusing directly on achieving progressive changes through joint efforts. Emphasis on subjectivity, on the fact that people are the creators of history, on the many possible development scenarios, on the role of decisions and choices made by people - all this shapes and promotes people who are more inclined to take social destinies into their own hands, in particular including them into social movements.

Seventh, in the political sphere most modern societies (countries) departs, abandons forms of dictatorship, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, leaning towards democracy . BUT democracy creates a particularly favorable “structure of political chances” for social movements ". A typical moment for it is the constitutional guarantee of freedoms - speech, association, assembly, and it is these freedoms that provide social movements with the opportunity to freely recruit, mobilize their supporters, spread their programs and ideologies, nominate leaders, create organizational forms of activity, and all this without fear of reprisals or restrictions. A certain level of political liberalization is a particularly important condition for the formation of resistance and revolutionary movements. The history of world revolutions also confirms the pattern: revolutions occur when the old regime weakens for one reason or another and is forced to make concessions and agreements. Not when the power is strong and resolute, but when it hesitates, removes strict prohibitions and restrictions, and softens the cruelty of punishments for disobedience.

Finally, activity within the framework of a social movement requires a certain share free time and energy of its participants , as well as other means necessary for successful activity (technical means, premises, printing installations, megaphones, paper for leaflets, radio stations, etc.). And such a “mobilization of funds”, human and material, turns out to be more easily achievable in modern society, in which the segment of free time is expanding, labor is losing its former character associated with the physical exploitation of a person, and a certain proportion of free capital not invested in the economy can be used for the needs of the social movement through various kinds of subsidies, gifts, allowances, etc. As a result of all these circumstances, social movements form the most important, main aspect of what we call modernity.

2. Types of social movements

essential the difference between social movements is revealed in the methods of action adopted by them, or as called it Charles Tilly "protest repertoire» .

One movement initially and fundamentally exclude forceful methods, the use of violence, terrorist acts. They are bet on peaceful stocks , means of persuasion, persuasion, remaining within the framework of legality, the constitutional field. A well-known example of this kind is the national movement Mahatma Gandhi in India. The Solidarity movement was proud of the fact that not even a single window on the street was broken in the fight against the regime. Similar principles were advocated by the leader of the civil rights movement in the United States Martin Luther King.

But there are also numerous national and nationalist, separatist, fundamentalist, revolutionary movements that recognize methods of violence in their most brutal forms as the only weapon of a successful struggle. An extreme example of this kind are movements supporting terrorism , that is, the use of violence directed against random victims and used to intimidate the entire society and demonstrate one's own strength. An example is Hezbollah in Palestine, Islamic Jihad, ETA in the Basque country, or IRA in Ireland.

In historical retrospect, social movements can be divided into " old" And " new". At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that in the 19th century such social movements prevailed that clearly represented separate segments of the social structure: classes, estates, professional categories . They recruited their members and supporters from the corresponding specific class, estate or professional environment, from its members. This character was labor movement, peasant movement, various trade union movements . The content of those social changes in the name of which they fought, also had a corresponding private definition. They sought to mobilize forces within the interests of those specific classes and groups that they represented, and in the center of their attention were material, economic interests associated with the institution of property, with the amount of earnings, with the standard of living, etc. . They were also distinguished by an internal hierarchical structure and a fairly high degree of organization, they were easily transformed both into political parties and into trade unions. In the 20th century, and especially in the second half of the 20th century, a new type of social movement appears.

New social movements , such as, for example, environmental, feminist, anti-nuclear proliferation, peace movement, anti-abortion movement, anti-death penalty movement, human rights movement etc., they recruit their members and supporters, as it were, crosswise from all natural divisions of society - class, estate, professional. Thus, they acquire not private, but universal character. People of the most diverse social status meet here, united by only one common idea: old and young, rich and poor, workers and managers, artists and housewives, scientists and priests. The values ​​around which such movements are centered are, as the Ronald Inglehart , « postmaterialistic" character . For example, they concern the quality of life in an undestroyed natural environment, personal dignity and human rights, preservation of life at the stage of conception, self-realization, identity, freedom, peace . All this is not private, not particular, but universal values, which are important not only for certain segments of society, but also for all people, in other words, universal human values. Finally, new social movements are characterized by much freer forms of organization, are more egalitarian, decentralized, based on the principle of voluntariness, include amateur forms of activity.

In countries where democracy already exists (at least formally) self-expression values (the level of democratic rights, the representation of women in power structures, the “responsiveness” of the ruling elites towards the people and their subordination to the rule of law ) are sufficiently distributed. People more often begin to protest against the unpopular decisions of the elites and in practice to realize the rights with which they are formally endowed. In addition, people who adhere to self-expression values ​​tend to have the means to ensure the effectiveness of their protest, since these values ​​are most likely to be formed in societies characterized by an abundance of socio-economic resources. Furthermore, as self-expression values ​​spread in society, they also penetrate the media giving new generations of journalists a more critical attitude and readiness to more closely monitor the facts of corruption in the ranks of the elites and incompetent actions of the state. These values ​​generate social forces that put pressure on democratic elites to be more “responsive” and accountable to the people, thereby strengthening democracy and increasing its effectiveness. .

A special phenomenon that appeared on the edge XX - XXI centuries,can be considered the formation of the newest forms of social movements, namely anti-globalist movements. Stormy protests in connection with conferences or meetings of the leaders of the richest countries in the world, as well as in connection with meetings and sessions of international financial and economic organizations - the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, which we witnessed in Seattle, Washington, Prague, Quebec, Gothenburg, Genoa, become a link between the movements of the old and the new type, represent a form, as it were, located in the middle, between them. With the old movements, they are brought together by a focus on economic problems, an anti-capitalist ideology, and an orientation against large transnational corporations. . But there is also a significant novelty here, which makes anti-globalization protests similar to new social movements. If the former social movements defended the private interests of certain classes, estates, strata of society, professional groups, then current anti-globalization movements set themselves goals that they see in more universal terms, speaking on behalf of "all ordinary people" against the demonized world of big business and capital . AND they fight not against the impoverishment, exploitation or dependence of certain groups, but with the subordination of all mankind to the power of money, to world capital. Materialistic values, which previously had a particular character by definition, rise to the level of universal values. Such an ideology attracts representatives of the most diverse classes, social strata, and professional groups to this movement, although, as in most social movements, youth dominates here. Cross-recruitment of supporters from all traditional divisions of society is another characteristic that brings anti-globalization movements closer to new social movements. The new social movements, and this latest latest mixed version of them, are giving more and more pronounced tone to the entire "sector of social movements" in the modern world.

This does not mean that the old social movements have already lost their relevance or have disappeared from the scene. Profound economic differences and contrasts, stark contrasts between the poles of poverty and wealth, endemic unemployment, multiple forms of discrimination, inequality and social injustice that brings modern capitalism, not only on a global scale, but also within each modern society, lead to the fact that the struggle for particular, class or group economic interests remains today as relevant and intense as before . The novelty lies, however, that with the ever-growing predominance of democratic regimes in the modern world, representatives of various classes, social strata, professional groups have found their place in the normal institutional political mechanism : acting as political parties, parliamentary factions, trade unions, pressure groups, etc., they lose the character of informal social movements of the traditional type that did not have institutional structuring. Thus, democratic politics, as it were, absorbed the old social movements, and at the post-industrial level, it was mainly social movements of a new type that remained.

3. Dynamics of social movements

Social movements arise, develop, experience their successes or failures, but eventually disintegrate and disappear. Every social movement over a longer or shorter period of time, it goes through its stages of development, experiences its “career”. It can be distinguished characteristic stages . Smelzer focused on the period of formation of the social movement, pointing out four conditions that must necessarily appear and coincide one after another in order for the movement to be formed.

1. First of all, a “favorable structural context” should develop in society. Above, we talked about the conditions that modern society, with such features as mass character, facilitating communication, ideological activity, democratic freedoms, etc., creates for social movements. But there are also special conditions that have their own historical specifics in specific societies . These include the tradition of the so-called protest reaction, rooted in the collective culture and mentality, passed down from century to century. One of the aspects of the legacy of the French Revolution is a pronounced in French society tendency to collective revolts, tendency to mass actions, to self-organization in order to protect group interests . The situation looks completely different, for example in Russia, where since tsarist times it has been deeply rooted tradition of obedience and passivity . There are societies in which a happy historical fate, one might say, has instilled a belief in the justification, expediency of the efforts being made, faith in success. But there are also societies that have inherited from their intricate history a "culture of defeat", a sense of impotence, hopelessness of any impulses. A factor that forms a favorable social context for social movements and manifests itself in different countries and at different times in varying degrees, there is also uncertainty about the future of this society, the opacity of its functioning, the shaken foundations of norms and values (according to the terminology of Emile Durkheim - social anomie). This may be due to deep organizational, cultural, affecting the sphere of traditions and customs, social changes that technical and industrial progress brings, as well as sharp economic crises, political changes in the social system, etc.
   1. A favorable structural context, however, creates only the general background against which social movements can arise, without, of course, predetermining their occurrence. It only creates the necessary conditions, but the existence of such conditions is not yet sufficient for the genesis of social movements. The next necessary condition, which by itself would also still be insufficient, is, as Smelser put it, the appearance of "structural stress". A contradiction of interests and values ​​between different segments of this society should appear in society. , as well as the resulting antagonisms and conflicts . In relation to the “old” social movements, the divergence of economic interests, the chances of satisfying basic material needs, which divided society into groups or classes, discriminated and privileged, into masses and elites, into various social classes, professional categories, age groups, were of primary importance here. , regions and forms of settlement (city-village). In relation to the "new" social movements, these are, first of all, differences in the assessment and understanding of values, which divides society into groups, or communities, professing different (and within each group, common or similar) moral principles that differ in the way of life, tastes, etc.
   2. But in addition to all this, in order for contradictions of this kind to become a motivation for common actions, they must become part of the collective consciousness. In the words of Smelzer, a "community of beliefs" must be formed. All these differences and opposites of interests and values ​​must be seen, comprehended, identified, interpreted, experienced emotionally . At the basis of many social movements we can find three most characteristic sensations arising from the assessment of the current situation in society: feelings of inequality, injustice and infringement . The appearance of such representations is always based on comparing one's own position with the position of "others" or on comparing reality (opportunity) with hopes (claims). Why are my needs less well met and the needs of others better? The problems of inequality and injustice are becoming the most important aspect of a more complex feeling and awareness of the infringement of one's rights, discrimination. American Social Movement Scholars Ted Gurr and James Davistalk about feeling relative disadvantage (deprivation) how about the most important psychological factor that generates readiness for mass protests and riots.
   3. The spread in society of certain “generalized” beliefs that become common property is already a state close to the emergence of a social movement. It signifies a complete readiness, both structural and psychological, to take general action. But, as a rule, this still requires the last push, which Smelser defined as "initiating event". It may be some individual or private action, but it should have such an emotional or symbolic sound that would shock this social group or, as they say, it would be able to bring people to the streets. Black woman Rosa Parke, who in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, got into the “whites only” section of the bus, one might say, went down in history, for this incident caused a wave of civil rights movement, which eventually led to the complete equality of the Negro population of Ame -ricky. Dismissal from work trade union activist Anna Valentinovich became a moment associated with the multimillion-dollar social movement "Solidarity", which ultimately led to the elimination of the communist regime in Poland, and through Poland and throughout Europe. Nuclear power plant accident on the island of Free Miles became the beginning of a powerful movement of opponents of the use of atomic energy, and chemical contamination in Bhopal area in India becomes an important event in the history of the environmental movement. Naturally, such events are first of all comprehended and experienced individually. The person thinks to himself: “Enough. It can't go on like this. I can't look at it indifferently. I can't take it anymore. Something needs to be done about this." Then he begins to talk about it with others, shares his excitement, indignation, this is picked up by the press, television, as a result, a separate incident becomes the subject of public discussion. At this moment, people realize that they are not alone in their feelings and in their desire for action. In a normal situation, we, as a rule, do not know what the masses of other citizens really think, what their values, opinions, beliefs are. We live in a state which the American psychologist Gordon Allport called "pluralistic ignorance". Uncertainty about whether we are really alone in our discontent, protest, our resentment, becomes a paralyzing factor that forces us to refrain from action. . The initiating event destroys "pluralistic ignorance". It suddenly turns out that the way I think, and others. So we can work together.

The initiating event completes the process of the genesis of a social movement . From here starts already his own "career". Its first stage becomes recruitment, "recruitment" of its members . Already at this point, social movements begin to differ from each other. There are movements in which this"recruiting" happens spontaneously, spontaneously, from below . In this case, they correspond to that traditional interpretation of social movements, which is called "volcanic model". The movement "erupts" like a volcano under the pressure of accumulated, mass forces acting from below. This often happens in movements that have racial, class, religious and national (nationalist) motivations.

In other movements, the activators, the organizers of these movements, who involve other participants in this movement, play a decisive role. . In a theory considering this "model of mobilization of forces and means", we are even talking about professional "entrepreneurs" - the organizers of social movements. The phenomenon of such an organized recruitment of supporters takes place in some "new" social movements, mass participation in which is caused by the activities of a special, initially close group of quasi-professional figures, who then proceed to "recruit" their supporters.

Main problem and the task of such "recruiting" is to imposition of the goals of the movement on their own, private interests of its potential supporters and members . In other words, it is about using such a rational motivation that would persuade people to participate in this movement, or about balancing private interests, losses and risks in such a way as to convince people, regardless of any emotions, that participation in such a movement is beneficial to them. This it is especially difficult in those cases when the goals set by the movement are of the nature of the so-called universal, public goods and values . These are goods and values ​​whose attainment is beneficial to all and which, by their very nature, cannot be reserved for only a few. Examples of such values ​​are freedom, independence, democracy, undestroyed nature, peace and security. In any society in which such goals are realized, they will inevitably become the property of everyone and everyone.

And it turns out that if a social movement struggles to achieve just such goods and values, then a certain brake arises and makes itself felt in "recruiting" his supporters, who is known as syndrome of a person striving not to depend on society. It is related to the fact that each person can reason as follows : if the movement wins, then I will get my benefit from this anyway - I will live in a free country, participate in the life of a democratic society, drink clean water, breathe clean air, etc. If the movement fails, for me personally (if I do not participate in this movement), this will not have any consequences, no repression will affect me, the worst that can happen is that everything will remain as it is. It means that many people motivation , which Weber, as we recall, called goal rationality, will force them to refrain from participating in the movement and take a “wait and see” attitude. They will become passive passengers who ride like a hare in the hope that they will be able to grab all the benefits without any cost. This happens the more often, the higher the risk, the greater the time, energy or other moral and material costs associated with participation in the movement. This is one of the classic examples of how the short-sighted rationality of the individual is in conflict with the rationality of the collective. If all people think in this way, then no one will take any actions and actions, the social movement simply will not arise, and its goals will not be achieved. Society as a whole will suffer, and this, of course, will turn against everyone who hoped to “ride like a hare”. And then all people will continue to live in a repressive system, submit to autocratic power, kill themselves with poisoned water and air, fear the specter of war, and so on. And when something needs to be done against it, each person begins to ask: “Why me, let others do it, let my neighbor do it.”

Therefore, social movements try to neutralize this kind of motivation. You can avoid the “wait and see” motivation syndrome in one of two ways..

Firstly, then, when we are guided not purposeful motivation , but what Weber called "value rationality" . This is the case when the value of the goal is higher than any, even the largest costs associated with activities aimed at achieving this goal . In such a situation, we usually say that "the end justifies the means." Such motivation is usually characteristic of the initiators, ideologists, leaders of the movement, who later form its main backbone.

Another possibility of mobilization "Hare passengers" - a modification of those calculations that follow from their individual rationality, by adding, offering them special benefits that will result from their participation in the movement and they will get in addition to common, public goods and values, as well as such private goods and values ​​that only participants in the movement can receive. Here we are talking primarily about the personal satisfaction that results from the very process of participation in the movement. Some social movements make special efforts to increase attractiveness. of this kind: they organize friendly meetings, clubs, holidays, theatrical performances. So, members of some charitable society meet at gala dinners; environmental movements practice joint excursions, field trips. Some movements accompany and surround their usual, daily activities with rituals and symbols. which gives them quasi-sacred character, and also try to create an impression of special exclusivity, secrecy, counting on the snobbery of those whom it may attract. Such means were used Masonic movement, and at the present stage, various satanic sects and movements. However, along with this kind of entertainment of the process of participation itself, more specific, material incentives for participation can be included in the calculations of purposefulness. For example, a political movement may contain promises to provide its activists with certain positions, positions, may give awards or allow only its trusted members to access the funds.

In the process of “recruiting”, two successive waves are distinguished .

First called primary recruiting, or selection. She covers those who join the movement for ideological or moral reasons . For them, the goals that this movement sets for itself are important. Such a perception of the movement means a high degree of engagement, enthusiasm, readiness for self-sacrifice, the risk of spending in the name of the highest goal that the movement puts forward.

The second wave, or secondary recruiting (secondary recruitment of supporters), based on completely different motives. When the movement already exists and, moreover, achieves obvious successes, the very belonging to it is attractive in itself, regardless of the instrumental goals of the movement. . This movement provides the establishment of social contacts, interesting joint activities, a sense of completeness and meaning of life , which is so often lacking in modern mass anonymous society. Such satisfaction is always brought by participation in the "team" of winners, the opportunity to enjoy part of its success, prestige, fame. It is clear that the membership that arises on such a basis has a different character than joining the movement on the wave of ideological enthusiasm. This membership is in a sense conditional, it lasts as long as everything goes smoothly. . But first failure, and even more so the defeat of movement leads to mass outflow , the flight from this movement of those who sought in it only the satisfaction of their desires related to participation in a comradely collective, in a “team”, or their prestigious searches and calculations.

In an undulating process of repeated recruitment of supporters the membership of a social movement is formed in such a way that it includes concentric circles, corresponding to varying degrees of enthusiasm, dedication, inspiration . Central ideological core form those who consider the movement as their vocation and associate with it a significant part of their life, and its periphery- those fans, or “fellow travelers”, who attach little importance to the goals of the movement, but try to join it only for the sake of some interesting or important undertaking for them. This clear distinction comes out especially clearly when the movement takes some kind of collective action. Then the backbone of the most active and determined participants is revealed, whose activities are especially stormy, who are ready to take the biggest risk, be arrested, etc. It is the faces of these people that television shows in reports about any street riots or demonstrations. At the same time, there are much more numerous masses of incomparably more passive participants who support the movement, but are not ready for bright, heroic deeds.

Different strata and degrees of participation also appear in the case of the defeat of the social movement. When it comes to the demobilization of a movement, it is done in the same way that an onion disintegrates, starting with the outer layers of the husk.

When a social movement begins its activity, the prospect opens up for the important role of the leader, the leader of the movement in matters of mobilization, coordination and organization of its constituent forces. . In most social movements already at a very early stage, the main figure appears - charismatic leader. The concept of charisma here is associated with some special, outstanding abilities, skill, knowledge, consistency, moral strength, etc., which are perceived by supporters and are qualified by them almost as superhuman. Perceiving the personality of their leader in this way, people are ready to absolutely trust, show complete obedience and loyalty towards him. It must be emphasized that, as in many other public affairs, the most significant here is the attribution to the leader of a certain charisma, which is done by the team . Paraphrasing a well-known theoretical position William Thomas , it can be said that if people consider someone as a great value, this someone is thereby already exalted, becomes such a value. Thus, charisma becomes a kind of relationship between the leader and his supporters, supporters, fans, followers. Charisma means such traits of a separate personality, for which there is, as it were, a public demand, which meet the expectations of people, correspond to their moods. . Finding charisma means getting to the point of these social expectations. As formulated as a paradox by one famous politician, « I am their leader, which means I follow them ". Designing charisma to order by specialists in the field public relations lies precisely in such modeling of the appearance, manner of behavior, speech, as well as the content of the speeches of the candidate in the elections, which will lead to meeting the expectations of the electorate, which are painstakingly revealed through the sounding of public opinion. Among the supporters of that figure who becomes a charismatic figure, special emotions, enthusiasm, and a cult appear. These people participate in the creation of charisma, finding satisfaction in the very submission, loyalty, obedience, unconditional, uncritical support. It is easy to see what extreme forms all this can take on the examples of the concerts of some pop culture idol, at boxing matches, at rallies in support of dictators.

In a social movement, charisma becomes a powerful mobilizing force . However, one of the features of charisma is its relative ephemeral nature. The state of enthusiasm of the participants in the movement usually does not last long, and the leader himself loses the halo of something extraordinary, almost supernatural, ideal when he starts his daily and absolutely necessary functions of leading the movement. It turns out that he looks completely different on the barricade than at the desk. Following Weber, we can call this the process of routinization of charisma. This is a signal the onset of the next phase, through which social movements usually pass, namely phases of crystallization of ideology, the formation of an organization and its inherent moral code - ethos.

Formerly somewhat vague the ideals of the social movement are transformed into a clear ideological system. The most important element of this system is vision of the future in which the ideas of this movement will be put into practice. Often this vision takes on the character of a utopia. . Their place in the ideology of the movement is also occupied by diagnosis , formulated often in the form of extreme, hysterical, catastrophic warnings of the problems the movement hopes to solve, the dangers it intends to prevent, and next to this "diagnosis" revealing causes, sources and, most importantly, personal indication on those actors or on those groups who are guilty of this state of affairs.

social movements often succumb to that form of thinking , which Karl Popper rel-forces to conspiracy theory. Parallel to this there is a differentiation of the previously bureaucratized organizational structures, different branches of power, specialized functional cells and niches are identified . According to the ideas of an American researcher, a specialist in the problems of social movements Meyer Sald , the movement at this point develops into something more, namely into an "organization of the type of social movement" and even into a kind of "industry of social movements" .

Some social movements are transformed into political parties , losing the character of spontaneous collective action, and find their place in political structures organized as certain institutions. Finally, in the social movement is developed a kind of set of rules of action and behavior, normative ethics. An important place in it is occupied by the codification of permissible, encouraged, as well as unacceptable, prohibited methods of action, or, to use the terminology of Charles Tilly, techniques from the "protest repertoire". Some social movements demand to refrain from the use of violence, others consider terrorism acceptable. . An important component of this normative ethics is rules of conduct within the organization , in relations with comrades, as well as in relation to ideological opponents and enemies. The first rules form the ethics of solidarity, and the second - the ethics of struggle.

Every social movement ends at some point. . This ending may naturally coincide with the victory achieved, with the achievement of those social changes, reforms or revolutionary transformations, which were the banner of the struggle and the goal of the movement. "Crisis of Victory" means the demobilization of the movement, its participants disperse, disperse, organizational structures fall apart, ideology loses its relevance . The attempts of quasi-professional figures, for whom this movement is the main arena of their activity, who associate their personal interests with it, to preserve and support such a movement, at best, leads to the appearance of some fragmentary forms of it, often acquiring a caricature character. .

The opposite situation occurs when the movement is defeated, when he fails to achieve his goals. The Crisis of a Lost Situation expressed in the growing disappointment of the participants, in the gradual demobilization, in the decline in activity, in the outflow of supporters . Such an end to the movement may also come as a result of repression, such as the state power is able to bring down on the reform or revolutionary movement, or which will be the result of opposition from outside. countermovements, mobilizing their forces to protect the status quo. This situation radically changes the calculation of the costs and risks associated with further participation in the movement, which leads to a departure from the movement of those masses whose motivation to participate was rather weak. Typically, in this case only the most determined and consistent ideologists remain in the movement , which in any new circumstances, in more favorable political conditions and with a modification of the strategy of action could be the seed of a renaissance .

Completing the analysis of various forms of collective activity, we can present the results of this analysis (Table 1).

table1. Forms of collective activity
sociological concept	defining trait
	volume (value) of actions for individual purposes	spatial and situational proximity (distance)	common goals and coordination	focus on changing society	institutionalization
Bulk Actions	+
collective behavior	+	+
Collective Action		+	+
social movements		+	+	+
Organized Action	+	+	+		+

Social movements are the most complex form of manifestation of collective activity . They form a category that occupies a border position between the sphere of current, constantly changing, flowing individual and collective actions, on the one hand, and more definite, permanent, crystallizing objects, on the other. At the same time, we could observe how in the field of social movements, more and more complex and durable long-term organizations are being formed, as well as how such movements are built into strong, crystalline structures of the state system, turning into various kinds of associations, associations, factions, clubs, blocs, political parties .

Civil rights movement.

Mobilization of Americans in the 1960s to achieve equal rights and opportunities for blacks in the South and to a lesser extent in the North of the United States, mainly through non-aggressive, non-traditional means. The leader and symbol of this movement was Martin Luther King Jr. but it has gained strength and influence through the participation of vast numbers of people, black and white, from all walks of life.

The first impetus for decisive action was the act of a black American Roses in the Park , who lived in Montgomery, Alabama. According to the laws that existed in this city, blacks had the right to occupy only the back seats on buses. The driver could demand from them to clear a whole row for one white or make them stand, even when there were empty seats. In December 1955, on her way home from work, Rosa Parke got on a city bus and took a vacant seat in the front row. She refused to change seats at the request of the driver and was arrested and fined $10 for violating a city ordinance.

And then 26-year-old Baptist pastor Martin Luther King, a man with outstanding charismatic qualities, called on the black population of the city in response to Parke's arrest to boycott bus transport. Boycott is a refusal to do business with a company or individual as a sign of disagreement with their policies or behavior, or as a coercive measure. A year after the boycott began, federal courts ruled that segregation in transportation was contrary to the equal protection of the law provision in the Constitution.

In 1957, with the help of King, the Council of Christian Leaders of the South to coordinate the actions of the members of the Civil Rights Movement. King was a consistent supporter of the policy of non-violent action in the struggle for racial equality. To achieve this goal, he preached the principle civil disobedience , those. deliberate but not aggressive non-compliance with unjust laws.

The whole world heard about Martin Luther King Jr. in August 1963 is he organized and led « march for jobs and freedom» on the Ba shington . Over 250,000 Americans, black and white, gathered at the Lincoln Memorial, where king made a speech . « I have a dream, he said, “that my children will live in a country where they will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by what kind of people they are.”

President Lyndon Johnson considered civil rights to be the highest priority in legislation. A few months after he became president, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the most significant step in the eradication of racial discrimination in the United States.

Other minorities fighting for their civil rights .

Laws and judicial decisions adopted in recent decades are aimed at protecting the rights of all minorities without exception. The Supreme Court, in a landmark 1987 decision, underlined the breadth of minority protection rulings. The judges unanimously agreed that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (now known as "Section 1981") provides comprehensive protection against discrimination to all minorities. Prior to this, representatives of white ethnic groups could not appeal to the law if they felt the bias of the court. Thanks to the 1987 decision members of any ethnic group – for example, Italians, Norwegians or Chinese – can claim monetary compensation if they prove in court that they were not hired, or refused to rent housing, or subjected to any other form of discrimination prohibited by law. Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides the same protection of civil rights, but provides for stricter litigation procedures to keep the number of claims to a minimum.

Americans with Disabilities .

In 1990, with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 43 million citizens with disabilities were recognized as a minority in need of care and protection. This law extends the scope of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to people with physical and mental disabilities, including those with AIDS and those in treatment for alcoholics and drug addicts. It guarantees them jobs, transportation, access to public places and communication services.

Disability rights advocates have suggested using existing civil rights laws as a model, mutatis mutandis. Their opponents said that the changes envisaged by the 1990 law (such as access to public transport and public places for people in wheelchairs) could cost the state billions of dollars. However, advocates of such rights insisted that these costs would be covered by reduced federal assistance and benefits for people with disabilities, since once they started working, they could provide for themselves.

A change in the law, no matter how desirable and urgent it may be, does not mean a change in people's attitudes. Laws aimed at eliminating racial discrimination cannot by themselves eliminate racism, and laws that prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities do not mean their unconditional acceptance by all members of society without exception. But civil rights advocates predict that prejudice against people with disabilities, as well as against other minorities, will gradually disappear as they become full members of American society.

Women and political equality.

The notion that women should be shielded from the harsh reality of life; up until the early 1970s, it formed the basis of laws concerning the civil rights of women.

Until the early 1970s women's civil rights laws were based on traditional ideas about the relationship between men and women. These laws were based protectionism- the idea of ​​women as weak beings who must be protected from the harsh reality of life. And they were indeed "protected" by discrimination in employment and in other areas of life. With few exceptions, women were similarly "protected" from participation in elections until the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1878 Susan Anthony , one of the activists of the women's movement, persuaded a senator from California to propose an amendment to the Constitution that read: "The right to vote of citizens of the United States shall not be denied or limited by the United States or any state on the basis of sex." The amendment was put to the vote several times over the course of 20 years and never received the required number of votes. During this time, several states - mostly in the West and the Midwest - have granted women the right to vote (still with restrictions).

At the beginning of the 20th century, the women's suffrage movement essentially merged with the political struggle to change the Constitution. This struggle ended in 1920 with the adoption nineteenth amendment which gave American women the right to vote. The amendment was adopted in the form proposed by Susan Anthony in 1878.

A significant step towards women's gaining equal rights with men was the passage of the Equal Pay Act in 1963. This law provides for equal pay for men and women if they do the same work. However, in order to completely eradicate protectionism, women needed equal opportunities in employment. They got them through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent legislation. This law established the Commission for Equality in Employment, which was supposed to protect the rights of those who were subjected to aggressive gender discrimination (sexism).

The civil rights movement, which began as a black movement, has been of great benefit to all minorities; in fact, all Americans needed it. The Indians were compensated for their unfair treatment and cruelty in the past. Hispanic Americans have realized the importance of united action to achieve economic and political equality. Civil rights won by African Americans extended to people with disabilities. With the help of legislation on civil rights and freedoms, it was possible to put an end to protectionism, which, in fact, was legalized discrimination against women in the field of education and employment.

Positive Action Program (affirmative action) is the provision by businesses, employers, various public and private institutions of additional opportunities for women, blacks, Hispanics and other minorities. It covers a range of public and private programs, projects and procedures, including, for example, a special set of privileges in employment and study, the provision of benefits and quotas in vocational education and training, and the conclusion of government contracts. The aim of all these programs is to move from equality of opportunity to equality of results.

Americans aspire to equality, but can never agree on the extent to which equality should be guaranteed by the state. At the heart of the conflict lies the difference between equality of opportunity and equality of outcome.

Equality of results can only be guaranteed by limiting free competition, without which, as we know, there can be no equality of opportunity. Most Americans object to quota and reserve policies that limit individual freedom and disrupt the natural process of competition. The main problem of a pluralistic democratic society is to find the right balance between freedom and the demands of equality.

Literature

Janda K., Berry D.M., Goldman D., Hula K.V. The Hard Path of Democracy: The Process of Government in the USA / Per. from English. - M.: Russian Political Encyclopedia (ROSSPEN), 2006. - P.504-522.

Inglehart R., Welzel K. Modernization, cultural change and democracy: the sequence of human development. - M.: New publishing house, 2011. - S.304-333.

Heywood E. Political science: A textbook for university students / Per. from English. ed. G.G. Vodolazov, V.Yu. Belsky. - M.: UNITY-DANA, 2005. - S.352-356.

Sztompka P. Sociology. Analysis of modern society / Per. from the floor S.M. Chervonnoy. - 2nd ed. - M.: Logos, 2010. - S.153-183.

It is very difficult to classify social movements, since one movement can only be an intermediate stage for another, several movements can merge at different periods of their development, acquire different shades, change their character, etc.

expressive movements. When people are inside a limited social system from which they cannot break out and which they cannot change, expressive social movements usually arise. Each individual participating in such a movement agrees with the existing unattractive reality, modifying his attitude towards it, but not modifying reality itself. Through dreams, visions, rituals, dances, games, and other forms of emotional expression, he finds a welcome emotional relief that makes his life bearable.

Expressive movements originated in ancient times. These include, for example, the mysteries that existed in Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Persia and India. The people who participated in them observed certain rituals, listened to soothsayers and magicians, created mystical teachings in order to almost completely separate from the imperfect, in their opinion, society. In our time, expressive movements are most clearly manifested in the youth environment. As an example, we can name hippies and rockers, labukhs and lubers, whose existence testifies to the attempts of young people to create their own subculture and distance themselves from a society alien to them.

Often expressive movements are associated with a belief in a better past life. Movements of this kind are rejected, they ignore the unfair reality and turn their gaze to the glorious past and the deeds of their ancestors. This is a movement of war veterans, monarchist movements that revive bygone rituals, symbols and find emotional satisfaction in wearing old military uniforms or returning to old customs and behavior. Such movements are most often associated with passive behavior, avoidance of reality. At the same time, they can pave the way for reforms or lead to rebellions, as they revitalize traditions and can function as an energizing force for the population. This is also facilitated by the desire of most people to idealize the past, to oppose the "heroic" times to the present. This property of expressive movements can make them an intermediate link between non-political and active political movements.

Utopian movements. The words "utopia" and "utopian" mean something unrealizable, impracticable. After T. More wrote his famous "Utopia", these words began to be understood as a kind of society of perfection that exists only in the human imagination. Many prominent writers and thinkers tried to describe such a society, from Plato to B. Skinner, an American psychologist, the leader of modern behaviorism. Especially many attempts to theoretically substantiate a perfect human society were made in the 18th and 19th centuries, when utopian ideas were especially popular. Until the “builders” of perfect societies were capable of a large-scale experiment in translating their ideas into reality, utopian movements were reduced to attempts to create ideal social systems in utopian circles, consisting of a few followers of utopian ideas, but subsequently they began to be actively introduced into life. .

Initially, small communities created by members of utopian movements were exclusively religious (the movement of the first Christians, the religious sects of the East, created on the basis of universal equality, etc.). The communities created on the basis of religious utopian movements turned out to be very resilient, since their members did not strive for personal happiness in this life and for material well-being. It was considered good for them to follow the will of God in common. Utopian ideals are viable and enduring. Therefore, after some time after the collapse of the movement, they can be reborn in other movements. Obviously, this is because people will never stop dreaming of a perfect society.

Modern utopian movements are constantly resisted by law-abiding members of society, who are terrified of new cultural patterns and reshuffling of roles and priorities in the new "best" way of life. Therefore, members of utopian movements, both ordinary and highly intelligent individuals, must have a high level of internal energy and activity.

Reform movements can be seen as attempts to change certain aspects of social life and the structure of society without its complete transformation. For individuals to unite to fight for reform, two conditions are necessary: ​​the participants in such movements must have a positive attitude towards the order in a given society, focusing only on certain negative aspects of the social order, and also have the opportunity to express their opinion and the opportunity to actively act in support of some or reform. In this regard, we can say that reform movements in their final form arise only in democratic societies, when people have considerable freedom and can criticize existing social institutions and change them at the request of the majority. Numerous types of reform movements, such as abolitionist (movements to repeal any law), feminist (movements for equal rights for women), prohibition (pornography, construction of nuclear power plants, etc.) cannot develop under totalitarian regimes. in which an attempt at any social change is regarded as a threat to the existing system of power.

revolutionary movements. Revolution in this case refers to a rapid, usually violent, complete change in the social system, structure and functions of many basic social institutions. Revolutions should be distinguished from state or palace coups, which are carried out by people who are at the helm of government and leave the institutions and system of power in society unchanged. The term "revolution" is sometimes applied to peaceful large-scale changes (for example, "industrial revolution", "sexual revolution"). But in this case we are dealing with a different meaning of the term. The revolutionary movement is trying to overthrow, destroy the existing social system and establish a new social order, largely different from the previous one. If reformers seek to correct only some of the shortcomings and defects in the existing social order, then revolutionaries believe that the system does not deserve to be saved.

Historical experience shows that democracy in the full sense of the word does not serve as a breeding ground for revolutionary movements. This is explained by the fact that democracy is the basis of social reforms, and reforms inevitably push back the revolution. At the same time, where authoritarian rule blocks reform movements, reformers are forced to criticize the government and other authoritarian institutions in society. At the same time, many of the failed reformers become revolutionaries. Thus, revolutionary movements thrive where reforms are blocked to such an extent that the only way to remedy the shortcomings of the social system is through a revolutionary movement. It is no coincidence that communist movements are not developed in such traditionally democratic countries as Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium or Denmark and are strongly developed in those countries where repressive policies are pursued to some extent or the government is only considered democratic and its activities are ineffective in carrying out social reforms.

Any revolutionary movement develops in an atmosphere of general social dissatisfaction. In the scientific literature, the most typical stages of the successful development of revolutionary movements are distinguished: 1) the accumulation of deep social unrest and dissatisfaction over a number of years; 2) the inability of intellectuals to successfully criticize the status quo so that the general population understands them; 3) the emergence of incentives for active action;

4) a revolutionary explosion caused by the vacillation and weakness of the ruling elite; 5) the period of moderate rule, which soon comes down to attempts to control various groups of revolutionaries or to concessions in order to extinguish the outbursts of passions among the people; 6) access to the active positions of extremists and radicals who seize power and destroy the opposition; 7) the period of the terror regime; 8) a return to a calm state, stable power, and to some patterns of the former pre-revolutionary life. On the whole, the French, Chinese and, finally, Russian revolutions proceeded according to this scheme.

resistance movements. If revolutionary movements arise among people who are not satisfied that social change is taking place too slowly, then resistance movements arise among those dissatisfied who believe that social change is happening too quickly. In other words, resistance movements are the efforts of certain groups of people aimed at blocking possible or eradicating changes that have already taken place. Such movements always accompany reform movements and revolutionary movements. An example is opposition movements in many societies. Thus, the implementation of reforms in Russia has led to the emergence of many opposition resistance movements, which include people who do not see their place in a reformed society or have lost their privileges in the course of such reforms.

• Behaviorism is one of the currents in Western political psychology, which consists in studying by objective methods the relationship between environmental influences and the reactions of humans and animals according to the "stimulus - reaction" scheme; the subject of research is observed behavior, subjective methods are rejected.