Re: Let's Get Coherent! (was theory & praxis)

Marguerite-

As you clarify what you're advocating, I disagree more and more.

There are at least 2 levels here, the IS and the OUGHT.

1)
On the level of what is, of scientifically understanding social movements,
I think what you're proposing, a single charismatic leader for the
"anti-globalization movement," is unlikely to happen, at least not one
that everyone agrees on.

Why?  Precisely because the movement is very diverse.  No single leader
can unite this movement, and if a powerful voice was to emerge, s/he would
almost undoubtedly not represent the entire movement.  How could
s/he?  Very schematically, just for illustrative purposes, you have the
labor and environmental wings of the movement, in the North and the
South.  That implies at least 4 different sectors, and who could speak for
them all when there are clear differences of interest and priority among
them?

The "anti-globalization movement" is a network, not a unified
organization like the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference,
which Martin Luther King was the head of) or the AARP (American
Association of Retired People).  So, I believe that a "unified,
coherent" movement is not in the cards, via charismatic leadership or
otherwise, for better or worse.  That's the reality of the movement, and
where we start.  It's not a single-issue movement, let along a single
organization, so you can't very well expect a single leader to represent
it.

2)
On the question of OUGHT, I strongly disagree that the sort of leadership
you are advocating is a good thing.  It sounds more like a quasi-autocracy
to me.  Consult Todd Gitlin's "The Whole World Is Watching" for an
insightful analysis of the way TV distorted the 1960s movement against
U.S. imperialism in Vietnam by selectively promoting certain types of
leaders and events.

Should movements in general, and the "anti-globalization movement" in
particular foster effective leadership?  Yes, of course.  (I know enough
about social movements to know that even what appear to be leaderless
movements, like the Direct Action Network that planned the successful
shutdown of the WTO meeting in Seattle last year, actually would not work
if not for a very capable GROUP of leaders, not one El Jefe.)

But the idea of promoting a single, powerful leader for the movement is

1) structurally unlikely,
        and
2) undesirable.


Richard Hutchinson
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Weber State University
Ogden, Utah