A Discussion On Social Activism

Assignment #1

In this reading response I will attempt to examine selective chapters of Another Politics in the context of driving transformative change and its relation to particular theoretical and practical frameworks of societal organization. When I think of Another Politics I imagine the historical, epistemological, and theoretical origins of social movements and transformations on local and global scales that ultimately initiated the “another politics”. Given that the book traces the key developments of social movements mainly in North America, one could argue that some of the information might have little relevance to one’s experiences coming from the Global South. By no means this is said to down play the fact that social activism is rooted and especially prevalent in North America, but rather to problematize the scope of Another Politics that disregards the reality of social transformations which are in vigorous need of pursue in Global South.

In “Organizing Now” Dixon outlines the “New Ways of Relating” that identify three approaches central to prefigurative politics, one of them is “being nice”. According to Janwoski, being nice is “asking them how they’re doing and asking if they need help and offering them the help they need or just sympathizing with them if they’re having a struggle” (93, 2014). Having said that, Dixon attempts to challenge the existing social relations, and aims to develop new ways of encountering the social space. But because, “being nice” is not merely about “asking” and “sympathizing”, and moreover, has little to no effect on those who are oppressed and marginalized; for instance, “workers stealing from their employers to supplement their inadequate wages, queers creating transgressive comm...

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...ivity workshop on social activist strategies; even though it is crystal clear that the emergency occurred needs an immediate response, one could argue this strategy is likely to be unsuccessful given the manner it was organized in, modes, and appliances utilized, if applicable.

In conclusion, social movement political agenda in itself is a multi-purpose oriented entity that draws upon various issues of social equity and equality, and etc. It is evident that Another Politics is aimed to expand and encompass a range of social and economic indicators through lived experiences of ordinary people into large-scale realities of present and more importantly, future. Thus, these theoretical frameworks are in need of strong practical stance that incorporate alliance, long-term planning, and consensus building, as opposed to facing a terrain of conflict and confrontation.