Introduction
What are the facts about social change and movements? Daniel Hunter myth busts common misconceptions about how change happens.
This article has been sourced from Daniel Hunter’s book published by 350.org called The Climate Resistance Handbook. Read below or see pages 10 -12.
Movement Myths
When we study movements, we have to face a problem: We have been lied to about how change happens.
Myth: Movements are lit like a match
Movements don’t appear from nowhere. The young people in Mongolia had met for months in secret. Before that, others had tried experiments but failed. The youth spent time learning from them (and others outside of Mongolia). Yet a history textbook might skip all of that and begin the story with thousands of people supporting the strikers. The myth that movements “suddenly appear” ignores the early stages. It ignores how we have to build up small networks. It makes big actions seem more important than the early, small ones. And it skips over skill-building and studying other movements.
Myth: Movements are built by heroic figurehead leaders
When we think of famous movements, we may only think of Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi, or Nelson Mandela.
But movements are more than heroic leaders. Some movements have them. Some don’t. But all movements are built by many organisations, groups, and loose-knit networks that organise and act together for change. No organisation, action, or individual speaks for an entire movement.
Myth: Movements require complete internal unity
People act as though past movements had a clear vision, a clear plan, and all agreed. But that was never the case. The young Mongolian activists argued and disagreed. They had internal splits about tactics and policies.
Successful movements always have internal disagreements and division. Working for unity is great — and so is accepting the reality that we are not all going to see things the same way.
Myth: Petitions (or any single action) are a movement
This myth goes like this: Want to stop the fossil fuel industry? Get a big petition! Or get everyone to do a social media share! Or a big march! But in reality, no single tactic is a movement.
A movement requires many different types of tactics. Some tactics, anyone can do. Others will require higher personal risk than most people are willing to take. Some tactics, maybe only some people can do, like a lawyer fling a lawsuit or the mine workers going out on strike.
Movements require lots of different types of tactics — and relying on just one action will not result in change.
Myth: Movements succeed when they mobilise large, mass actions
Countless times the refrain is heard: “We just need to have a giant march.” However, movements don’t win because of singular actions, however big. That can lead us to always try to organise big actions.
Then we dismiss small actions, like those done in rural areas, communities who just joined us, or powerful but experimental tactics. And we can’t just keep organising for the one big action.
Movements need ongoing resistance — otherwise, the people in power can just wait until the event is over and continue ignoring movement requests.
Movements require sustained pressure for change at many levels. It takes time to build, but without ongoing resistance, movements don’t achieve their goals.
Myth: Movements only work in democratic countries, or where they don’t have police repression
Nonviolent social movements have overthrown powerful, oppressive regimes in the Philippines, Chile, Bolivia, Madagascar, Nepal, Czechoslovakia, Indonesia, Serbia, Mali and Ukraine, to name a few.
Powerful social movements occur frequently in repressive countries. In democratic regimes, people may rely on traditional channels for advocating social change (courts, elections, etc). But in places with harsh rulers, they have saved a step: People already know those institutions won’t save us. We have to organise ourselves.
While organising looks very different from in democratic countries, groups have found ways to build movements even in the most repressive countries.
Myth: Movements need media attention to win
This myth is common. And it’s true that media can help influence public opinion. But it’s not healthy for a movement to associate the health of the movement with how much media coverage it is getting.
The Mongolian youth would have been very frustrated if they had to rely on state-sponsored media to win. That’s why they did their hunger strike in a public square. If we believe we are effective because the media are covering us, then what happens when the media get bored and decide to stop covering us? Movements are related to the people — and the media is just one avenue to speak to them.
In conclusion…
Each of these myths makes us look outside of ourselves. We look for the heroic leader, the right circumstances, or what the newspapers say about us. That’s not power.
Movements are most effective when we look inward and find strength in ourselves and our relationships. These myths help us see power in the wrong way.
About Book
This article is from the Climate Resistance Handbook which brings together a wealth of learnings from the climate justice movement. It starts with breaking social myths about how social movements win. Then dives into campaign tools and frameworks you can use. It closes with how to grow your group and use creative, impactful actions and tactics. This book is full of stories of climate warriors from around the globe and historical movements. It’s filled with practical wisdom and inspiration to make you more effective, more active, and ready for what’s next.
Book Excerpts
The Commons Library has featured parts of the book as separate articles.
- How to Create a Campaign
- Social Change Myths
- Pillars of Support: The Upside down Triangle
- Replace Endless Actions with Campaigns
- Building Movement Capacity and Structure: Ella Baker and SNCC
- Building Leadership Capacity: The Ladder of Engagement
- Campaign Tactics
- Authoritarianism to Democracy: The Story of Mongolia
Other Languages
This article can be read in different languages. See pages 12 – 18 from the book links below. Please Note: With different translations these page numbers may vary slightly.
- Handboek voor Klimaatverzet Dutch – Nederlands
- Manuel de résistance climatique French – Français
- Handbuch für Klima-Retter:innen German – Deutsch
- Iklim Perlawanan PanduanIndonesian – Bahasa Indonesia
- クライメート・レジスタンス・ハンドブック Japanese – 日本
- Manual de Resistência Climática Portuguese – Português
Explore Further
- Books to Read if you are Interested in Activism, Social Change and Justice
- Bill Moyer’s Movement Action Plan and Four Roles of Activism
- All About Movements: Why Building Movements Creates Deeper Change
- All About Power: Understanding Social Power and Power Structures
- Frameworks for Winning Change
- You’re not Failing, Social Change can Be Slow
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND