Prior to the twentieth century, sociologists saw social movements as mobs, not change agents. Later scholars were much more sympathetic

Question

Describe this more positive view of social movements and the benefits it holds, not only for researchers, but society as a whole.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Social movements are good ways to understand our moral sensibilities. For example, movements have challenged ideas about who deserves legal rights, including the right to vote. Abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass fought to end slavery and give rights to African Americans. This tradition carried on and culminated in the civil rights movement as well as those movements it incited or inspired, including the women's movement and the gay rights movement. Antiabortion activists, too, have borrowed from this tradition and argued that human fetuses have rights; and many people now believe that certain animals have at least some rights, like the right not to be used in scientific experiments. It's safe to say that many fewer people (and other species) would have rights today were it not for social movements, which have dramatically changed the moral sensibilities of societies over the past two centuries. Social movements play a number of crucial roles in contemporary societies. They encourage us to figure out how we feel about government policies and social trends and new technologies. Movements have been one of the most important means by which ordinary people have limited the power of elites.Most of all, they are one means by which we work out our moral visions, transforming vague intuitions into principles and political demands.