Critically evaluate mass society theory and new social movements theory.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. Mass society theory: Early on, sociologists believed that the people who formed social movements felt powerless, insignificant, and isolated in modern mass societies, which are impersonal, industrialized, and highly bureaucratized. Thus, according to mass society theory, social movements offer a sense of belonging to people who feel alienated and disconnected from others. Mass society theory may explain why some people form extreme political movements like Fascism and Nazism, but subsequent research has shown that movement organizers are typically not isolated but well-integrated into their families and communities. Also, historically, many political activists in the United States, including those behind the civil rights and women's rights movements during the late 1960s, weren't powerless but came from relatively privileged backgrounds.Unlike earlier perspectives, new social movements theory contributes to our understanding of collective behavior that crosses international boundaries. According to some critics, however, neither this perspective nor the groups that it examines are novel. Some social movements (like feminism and environmentalism) have been around for a long time and still focus on the same basic issues, like women's second-class citizenship and population growth. In addition, some scholars point out that educated middle-class or wealthy activists were as common in the old social movements as in more recent ones.Critics also contend that new social movements theory often overstates people's altruistic motivations. Many people who join environmental groups do so for reasons referred to as NIMBY (not in my backyard). That is, they're concerned about their own community's environment, but show little interest in ecological threats to people elsewhere.