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By William Dixon
Hemis: 420144
University of Portsmouth
April 2011
Specifically, this deductive research will explore the changing nature of emergent
This dissertation will not argue that a global consensus has been reached, but
rather that multiple forms of global collective identity and action are now apparent
and can be seen to emerge and operate in both globally interlinked and networked
study with the result of illuminating one such social and global consciousness.
The work serves to open new areas for enquiry and position sociological thinking
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Table of Contents
Abstract 2
Table of Contents 3
Table of figures 4
Introduction 6
Local Connections 12
Global Interactions 16
Conclusions 48
Appendices 51
Bibliography 58
Statement of originality 62
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Tables and Figures
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“Only by scanning with an open mind the new historical landscape will
we be able to find shining paths, dark abysses, and muddled
breakthroughs into the new society emerging from current crises.”
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Introduction
core, a focus on social change; the movements, changes, and transitions that
accompany forms of social life. The study will pay particular attention to the patterns
of social interconnectivity that continue to spread across our worlds, both in the
physical sense, and the accompanying perceived „realities‟ (Goffman, 1974) of our
„imagined worlds‟ (Appadurai, 2008). This dissertation will investigate and promote
“interwoven” with human “material activity” and “intercourse” (Marx and Engels,
1975, p. 65-66), is therefore now a production enacted and achieved on global scales.
The world is increasingly seen as a “singular place”, and, in many academic political
and social arenas, there is talk of an emergent “global consciousness” (Lechner and
consciousness” (Lechner and Boli, 2008, p.2). Literature reviews will be used to
constraints, then recognising in its place, the fluid and interconnected means by which
The research will thus take a “deductive” approach, beginning with theories of social
change and globalization, and then exercise them “to explain certain observations”
(Gilbert, 2001, p.27). In this instance a global social movement case study will be
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provided to illuminate and explore said theories of “global consciousness” (Lechner
and Boli, 2008, p.2). Conclusions are drawn around basic observations between the
construction of theory”, “the design methods for gathering data”, and the actual
“collection of data” (2001, p.22). This dissertation will follow a similar route. The
including firm attention to methodology and then a short deductive case study to
Following this introduction, chapter 1 will introduce the wider topic of social change
and outline key sociological overtones. Chapter 2 will provide sociological theory
that seeks to establish the characteristics of early pre-modern social forms. Chapter 3
will address changes in these patterns and move towards a theory of global
interconnectivity.
After widening the scope and potential of global interaction, chapter 4 will introduce
or collective action, which is seen to mirror wider patterns of social change and
provide loci of study. Chapter 5 will further introduce and discuss the research
methods used in the study of collective action, in turn selecting and highlighting the
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Chapter 6, the penultimate section of this work, will provide a social movement case
study which serves to example the theories presented. Conclusions will be drawn as
to the congruency of theory and data, with a focus on suggestions for further research.
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1.
The departure point for this dissertation is some “436,000 to 806,000” years ago, a
departure point at which best estimates locate the origin of the human species. This
departure, in the form of a “transition”, saw the human species evolve, forging its own
path divergent to that of its shared ancestors. The exact location of this transition is as
yet unknown; moreover, due to the historical distance at which this transition
evolutionary transition (Wills, 1995, p. 593). For the purposes of this dissertation, it
is not important how or where this particular transition occurred, but rather what
occurred after its beginnings, and, to an extent, throughout the entirety of human
history.
Since the birth/s of “mitochondrial eve” (Wills, 1995, p. 593) the human species has
grown and evolved to occupy all corners of the Earth; from “hunters and wanderers”
continue to explore and navigate the world, both physically and mentally, in one
direction or another. Humans are, “by design or default… on the move” (Bauman,
1998, p.2). This movement of people, along with all that has accompanied it, is of
special interest to “historians and sociologists”, who, for Appadurai, “have long been
aware that the world has been a congeries of large-scale interactions for many
centuries” (2008, p. 95). Evidence can be seen of these historical interactions; from
the early signs of „culture‟ to emerge in “prehistoric man” (Hinkle, 1936, p. 137)
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material and social structures come to the fore. Just as humans are on the move, so
too are the contours of their existences, and thus we see, retrospectively, a species
with a history of change and transition. These interactions, changes, and transitions to
be highlighted, are an overarching theme running throughout this dissertation and will
It is important to highlight at this stage, that the interactions, changes and transitions
addressed in this dissertation, are primarily social in nature, and that this dissertation
has at its core the ability to “defamiliarize the familiar”, to open up new areas of
attention (Bauman and May, 2001, p.10). This is achieved through awareness that to
understand any matter of individual concern or “trouble”, one must first locate and
understand the wider context or “public issue” in which that trouble is located.
and they have to do with “those limited areas of social life of which he is directly and
personally aware.” “Issues”, alternatively, “have to do with matters that transcend the
local environments of the individual” (p.8, 2000). “Social facts” are phenomenon that
exist beyond the individual (Durkheim, p.50, 1982), and thus by moving away from
individual value based perceptions and adopting what Weber termed a “value-free”
approach with “scientific integrity” (in Berger, p.15, 1966), it is possible to “open our
eyes to new horizons beyond our immediate experiences… to widen scope” (Bauman
The fore mentioned human movements, the interactions changes and transitions, are
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phenomenon in this dissertation, it first needs to be located and contextualised within
its wider historical and social placement. It is hoped that this process will serve to
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2.
Local Connections
highlight some key historical features. In returning to our initial departure point, the
Bauman suggests that the “constraints imposed on the freedom of movement” served
between „inside‟ and „outside‟ (1998, p.12). Moreover, the “inside‟ vs. „outside‟,
„here‟ vs. „out there,‟ „near‟ vs. „far away” oppositions, denoted the extent to which
solely through the means of wetware, generated information and messages that served
to “reiterate and reinforce” each other (Bauman, 1998, p.16). Giddens also reflects
that “all forms of social life are… constituted by actors‟ knowledge of them”, where
knowing how to be “is intrinsic to the conventions which are drawn upon and
what people were able to „draw on‟ was restricted to the local. Congruently Giddens
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highlights that in pre-modern societies “the spatial dimensions of social life are…
here, for the purposes of this study, is to acknowledge that what people were aware
of, the worlds they lived in and made sense of, their reality, was restricted to what
they could see, hear, touch, feel and remember. Their world, or what they were “alive
to” (Goffman, 1974, p.8) was the product of shared physical perspective and action,
of wetware, and the restricting time/distance of the outside, out there and far away
worlds.
Common Ground
To introduce the notion of consciousness then, in the simplest form of what people
are conscious of and hence the basis for action; attention can be paid to the localised
means by which it was formed. Erving Goffman, introducing his text Frame Analysis
(1974), begins with a discussion of the nature of reality. His aim is to locate in
“Our beliefs about what is, what is possible and what consequences flow from what
actions do not necessarily correspond to what is „objectively‟ true. „The facts‟ never
simply stare us in the face. We see them always through a glass, and that glass
consists of the interests, preconceptions, stereotypes and values we bring to the
situation. This glass is our frame of reference” (2005, p.51, emphasis added).
hunter wanderer, through to early industrial society, were frames based on local
locations on the planet. More specifically, different collectives of beliefs and values
can be seen to develop at differing geographical and historical locales. The important
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point here is that these “frameworks or schemata of interpretation” (Goffman, 1974,
fore mentioned “speed limits” and hence “the separation and the maintenance of
Distant Neighbours
Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism (1967). Although for Weber the focus
contrasting and comparing different societal belief systems, mainly Religious systems
to emerge and pertain to different population groupings. For Max Weber; religion
“swept through the great communities like a firebrand, welding them together” (pg.
155, 1993).
The focus here is not on Religion, but on the homogenised and localised frames
accompany such frames of reference. Brief attention can be paid to how such
different religious themes were generated by turning to the writings of Marx and
is at first directly interwoven with the material activity and the material intercourse of
men” (1975, p. 65-66). The early material activity of man, as discussed, was
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factors. The production of ideas, conceptions and consciousnesses, often religious in
form, occurred in different locations and was each a product of wetware. For Engels:
“All religion …is nothing but the fantastic reflection in men‟s minds of those
external forces which control their daily life, a reflection in which the terrestrial
forces assume the form of supernatural forces. In the beginnings of history it was the
forces of nature which were first so reflected, and which in the course of further
evolution underwent the most manifold and varied personifications among the
various peoples” (1975, p. 128).
For Bauman, ethical codes, mainly Religious in form, were designed to give the actor
“priori certainty” as to what should and should not be done (1995, p 4). Giddens also
preconceptions, stereotypes and values” (A. Cohen, 2005, p51), and to subsequently
historical collective frames mainly come in the form of “religious cosmologies” and
Local Consciousnesses
Subtracting the religious associations, attempt has been made to highlight the nature
of early human movements. These early communities or separate identities have been
wetware, from which, multiple but separated and localised frameworks of reference
consciousness.
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3.
Global Interactions
Moving Out
Many key sociological texts (Weber, 1993; Giddens, 1991; Bauman, 1998; Sennett,
1999) address the nature of pre modern societies as being linear in essence and
shifts in this aspect of social being, homogenized societies can be seen to experience
what Bauman termed a „reversal‟ of wetware; „separate identities‟ having their speed
limits removed. This is effective to both the individual (Bauman, 1998, p 12) and the
contained communities, which began to move outward; “the local became the
national”, the national becoming the global (Bauman, 1998, p 17). Here, instead of
to each other, and hence different messages appear, each “clamouring for attention”
(1998, p. 16). As Bauman details; the “implosion” of communication time means that
“space and spatial markers cease to matter” (1998, p 13). Likewise for Giddens, the
1991), where social relations of “individuals or groups” are ordered and reordered “in
and interaction between global communities. Dicken surmises the history of transport
“For most of human history, the speed and efficiency of transportation were
staggeringly low and the costs of overcoming the friction of distance prohibitively
high. Movement over land was especially slow and difficult before the development
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of the railways. Indeed, even as late as the early nineteenth century, the means of
transportation were not really very different from those prevailing in biblical times”
(2007, p.79).
Dicken charts the actual increase in speed achieved by new technologies. When
travel was enabled by sail boat or horse drawn coaches, circa 1500 – 1840, the best
average speed was 10 mph. A significant development was that of steam power from
the 1850s seeing a jump to 65 mph for locomotives and 36mph for steam ships.
Speed was again seen to increase greatly with the advent of propeller and jet aircraft
A significant development in the 20th century was the point where information could
the travel of bodies” (1998, p. 14). The progress of satellite and wireless technologies
messages or data can be sent and received around the world “virtually
To refer to Bauman‟s sentiments of the „great role‟ of information technology and the
emergence of the World Wide Web (1998, p 15), attention can be paid to the often
presence of global connections can go some way to explaining why the use of the
word „globalization‟ gained ground in the 1980s (Martell, 2010, p. 1) parallel to the
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rise of „the network‟ and the World Wide Web. As Smart denotes, one conception is
Many theorists have outlined and described what they see as the key features of
contemporary social modes and how these interconnections are forming, and,
although this dissertation is not to be primarily concerned with alignment with any
“historians and sociologists have long been aware that the world has been a congeries
of large-scale interactions for many centuries” (Appadurai, 2008, p. 95) and this is
Industrial nature of Society (Bell, 1973), the Information Age (Castells, 2010), and
“contributes to its unstable or mutable character” (1991, p.45) and where once we
“appeared” to have answers, now, “we are left with questions” (p.49). Referring to
the nature of humans as being by default on “the move” (Bauman, 1998, p.2), the
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Floating and Fixed
As a premise then, this dissertation will proceed simply by stating that modern forms
and the material intercourse of men” (Marx and Engels, 1975, p. 65-66), are no longer
(Goffman, 1974, p.21) are constructed through “disembedded” social systems, which,
essentially, have been lifted out from their “local contexts of interaction” and
“Modern organisations are able to connect the local and the global in ways which
would have been unthinkable in more traditional societies and in so doing routinely
affect the lives of many millions of people” (Giddens, 1991, p.20).
At this stage it is important to clarify that the processes leading to this state of
globalization has not happened to everybody, at least, not in the same way. It is
essential to stress, that although a reversal of wetware has occurred, and, to further
use Bauman‟s metaphor of the “speed limits” (1998, p.12) to human movement being
removed; that this removal has not been universally experienced. As Bauman details,
with regards to the movement of „elites‟, those who do not have ability to pay for
“[W]e must recognise the dialectical character of globalisation and also the influence
of processes of uneven development. Loss of autonomy on the part of some states or
groups of states has often gone along with an increase in that of others” (1991, p.67).
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narrowly deterministic, failing to see the many different aspects of the world that are
now at play on each other and the effects they have had. Specifically, when debate
Giddens notes a “tendency” for sociological work to “look for a single institutional
industrialism are seen to both be involved in modernity, one is not simply part of the
Here it is shown that the interconnectivity of modern social life is also not the
function of a sole determinant, but rather that a multitude of flows intersect and play
Global Consciousness
The movements, changes, and transitions discussed, from the early restricted motions
of pre modern societies, towards an era of interconnectivity, have seen the world
becoming a “single place”. As discussed, this is not to say that all has become alike,
but rather “local events bear the imprint of global processes” in some degree or
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another (Lechner and Boli, 2008, p.3). As mentioned, the institutions or flows that
comes to play on modern societies (Giddens, 1991; Appadurai, 2008) mean that even
if people are not aware of the “larger structures” in play, “their everyday life is
As highlighted in the initial chapters of this work, early pre modern societies were
interconnectivity, have seen these restraints lifted and are now able to draw on a
reference” (Goffman, 1974, p.11) is freed from local constraints and achieved through
a perspective that is, for some at least, global in scope. As Giddens highlights, the
individual is faced with questions of “what to do? How to act? Who to be?” For
Giddens these are central questions for people living in „late modernity,‟ furthermore,
(Giddens, 1991b, p 70). This work will look at such discourse and behaviour, with
There now seems present an emergent one “world culture and consciousness” where,
in many ways the world is seen and understood as a “single place” (Lechner and Boli,
2008, p.2). Again, this is not to suggest all is becoming one, but simply that new
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cultures, institutions, identities, and forms of consciousness are now being formed and
maintained through non localised means, around seeing the world or planet as a
though not, of course, a global consensus” (Lechner and Boli, 2008, p.10).
Although this work will not cling to any particular theoretical model, Castells
description of The Network Society (2010) is of use for understanding the multitude
of flows that play on modern social forms. For Castells, this new kind of “social
structure” is formed from “networks in all the key dimensions of social organization
and social practice”. Key, but by no means a sole determinant of these forms, is the
from the linear nature of pre modern societies (Castells, 2010; Weber, 1993; Giddens,
and the global” through integrated forms of media (Castells, 2010, p.xxvii). As
Giddens also clearly states, modern local communities are not “saturated”
environments of “familiar, taken for granted meanings, but in some large part a
locally-situated expression of distanciated relations” (1991, p.109), the local and the
It is beyond the scope or purpose of this work to highlight all possible ways in which
people are affected by these new forms of social organisation, or to cover the
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multitude of flows that are at play on groups or individuals. Indeed, as this piece
continues one such example will be studied in detail with the express aim of
social organisation. Indeed, who and where the individual actors are, and, how they
form in this dissembedded global space will form part of this enquiry.
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4.
Global Frameworks
As discussed and mirrored in much literature, although the movements changes and
transitions leading to contemporary forms of life have not reached any global
“consensus”, there does present a theme of “global consciousness” (Lechner and Boli,
2008, p.10). There now exists, in contrast to the previously noted localised
institutions, and global values” (Lechner and Boli, 2008, p.3), and, as world societies
stereotypes and values” (A. Cohen, 2005, p51), and to subsequently determine
Appadurai highlights the notion of “imagined worlds”, in that the global flows, or
“scapes”, are “fluid and irregular” in their relation to each other. More specifically,
that as different sorts of “actors” navigate these global flows, the “imagined worlds”
are the largely perspective based “constructs” that result from differing “angle[s] of
vision” held by individuals or collectives (Appadurai, 2008, p.98). This again bears
resonance with Goffman‟s earlier discussion of the nature of “reality” and the
order to “make sense of events” (1974, p.10). Common also to the notions of both
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Goffman and Appadurai is that these frameworks or worlds, logically, do not pertain
only to the individual but are the joint property of collective “groupings” and
“communities.” In fact, for Appadurai, the individual is the “last locus” of these
perspective based constructs; for these worlds are “navigated by agents who both
of events. A “schemata of interpretation” (1974, p.21) or way “to make sense” (p.10)
by actors to make “sense of events” (Goffman, 1974, p.10). Furthermore, this work
A History of Protest
To focus attention toward specific collective frameworks found with in the network
“ongoing collective efforts to bring about consequential social change” (1997, p.244).
movements in relation to their larger contextual setting. Feixa et al. (2009) set out to
describe how social movements have evolved over the years, initially discussing „old‟
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and „new‟ social movements. „Old social movements‟ are said to have risen alongside
Located in the nineteenth century; „old social movements‟ bear resemblance to the
Feixa et al. detail “the revolutionary wave of 1948” as taking the old social movement
form, alongside “the Paris Commune and Soviet revolution,” These struggles were
defined by “concrete boarders of class, nation and social condition” (2009, p.426).
„New social movements‟ are said to have developed in “North America and Europe
after World War II.” These struggles tended to involve “identity-based criteria”, such
Feixa et al., new social movements are said to be predominantly conceived as “youth
Having outlined the nature of „old‟ and „new‟ social movements, Feixa et al.
introduce the contemporary notion of a „New, New‟ Social movement. This new
form is said to straddle the “frontier of physical and virtual space” at the turn of the
„new millennium‟. They are detailed to have emerged in response to the rise of global
„informational capitalism‟ (p. 426), and, as Feixa et al. outline, are said to operate in
the „globally networked space‟ identical to that which the „neo-liberal system‟ they
oppose also functions through. „New, New‟ Social movements „comprise a wide field
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activists link their „locally routed troubles‟ to an international movement. This is
„New, New‟ Social Movements have emerged since the implementation of these new
present or identify with (Goffman, 1974, p. 21). If „New, New‟ Social Movements
are Global movements, then questions as to the nature of global collective expression
can be researched, both from the perspective of the sociologist, and the global citizen.
Cohen and Kennedy highlight that until now, social movements have mainly been
making „global activity difficult‟ (2007, p.445). As discussed, and echoed by Cohen
detachment from national territories or interests enables among many freedoms, the
ability to “cooperate and generate alternative ideas and solutions more easily than
It is with this rational, that the study of a „New, new social movement‟ was chosen, as
and global activity. The case study will be analyzed to determine its „collective frame
of reference.‟ Benford and Snow detail the concept of “frame” as deriving from the
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theories of Goffman (1974); again, denoting a “schemata of interpretation,” a way to
“locate, perceive, identify, and label occurrences” in life “and the world at large”
It is proposed that the central aim of this dissertation, and what this literature review
has provided rational for; is that social change can be addressed through conducting
empirical research on collective action frames. Specifically, that as a site for struggle
and social change, „new, new social movement‟ frame analysis can provide insight to
emergent global consciousnesses, therefore of human interests that transcend the local
“A couple of hundred years ago we had reason to rise from the level of local
community to the then not-yet-imagined community of the state, of the nation. Now,
we have to make another step, a giant leap as a matter of fact – to rise to the level of
humanity as such” (Bauman, In Franklin, 2003, p.215).
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5.
Methodology
The noted developments of social movements can be seen to fit the larger pattern of
social change discussed in this work. Specifically, in early modern times, social
movements can be seen to develop and operate in localised forms, then, as discussed,
the gradual development of global interconnectivity has led to the disembedded and
networked form found in many contemporary social movements. Besides this clear
research on social movements” (Carty, 2011, p.1), specifically with regard to the
„New, New‟ Social movements mentioned (Feixa et al., 2009) the “emergence of new
information technologies” has strongly influenced this research (Carty, 2011, p.1).
Before this work proceeds to study one particular social movement and contribute to
the fore mentioned research, a brief review of methods and concepts used in existing
theory will help provide direction and clarity for this particular piece of research. As
the “theoretical” models that are used to study social movements have been developed
(Carty, 2011, p.19). In order for this singular case study to maximise its potential,
effort will be made to utilise the most developed and appropriate methodology
available.
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such as “framing” perspectives and collective identity (Carty, 2011, p.7; see also,
Porta and Diani, 1999; McCarthy, 1997; Bedford and Snow, 2000). To provide
contextual rational for the chosen methodology, these perspectives will be outlined
only briefly before continuing to detail the approach to be used in this case study.
Carty details that Sociologists in the “first half of the twentieth century” theorised
The main motivation for social movements to occur were “grievances” and largely
seen to emerge in those “who were not fully integrated into society.” Theories of
“structural strain and relative deprivation” addressed this (Carty, 2011, p.8).
Developments in this theoretical perspective were seen to originate from the “Chicago
psychology”, attention was paid to “situations of rapid change in social structures and
Relative to the overarching theme of this dissertation, is the notion that “collective
are seen as “both an integral part of the normal functioning of society and the
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Resource Mobilization Theory
for seeing social movement actors as simply “irrational” and the sole product of
1970s, research began to devalue theories of reactive irrationality and instead started
to focus analysis on the “processes by which the resources necessary for collective
action are mobilized”. Importantly, social movement action was seen as the result of
individual actors engaging in “a rational way” (Porta and Diani, 1999, p.7). As Carty
“[S]ocial movements develop when individuals with grievances are able to mobilize
sufficient resources… [Resource mobilization] focuses on organizational dynamics
and specifically on how individuals, groups, and organizations access and utilize
resources. These resources include knowledge, money, media attention, labor,
solidarity, organizational structure, legitimacy, and support from political elites.
Participants are characterized as purposeful and motivated on the basis of a
calculation of the costs and benefits regarding participation” (2011, p.10).
them. Again, of key relevance, is the “existence of horizontal solidarity links” (Porta
to the structural sources of conflict” arose (Porta and Diani, 1999, p.9). A central
drawback of resource mobilization theory, and a critique that has led to new forms of
social movement theory, is its lack of “attention to the cultural and symbolic
dimension of social life that often underpins such strategic action” (Carty, 2011,
p.10).
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Political Process Theory
environment in which social movements operate” (Porta and Diani, 1999, p.9).
“The political context therefore affects mobilizing efforts and influences which
claims will be pursued, which alliances are likely to ferment, and which political
strategies and tactics will be chosen” (Carty, 2011, p.10).
will become “transnational in scope and target” (1997, p.255). This echoes the
sentiments of Feixa et al., who stated that „New, New‟ social movements had emerged
in response to the rise of global „informational capitalism‟ and indeed occupy the
While this theory can be seen to include the best aspects of its predecessors, yet also
“political reductionism” (Porta and Diani, 1999, p.10). Carty notes that this
“drawback” was said to ignore “the “cognitive” processing of the social movement
actor, instead, presupposing “that all aspects of social movements – their emergence,
and outcomes – are determined by macro structural relations” (Carty, 2011, p.11).
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Frame Analysis
Political environments and resource management alone do not adequately “explain the
emergence of social movements, reasons for participation, and the strategic choices
that social movement actors make.” Carty states that “other mitigating factors” help
explain how actors “perceive and define” situations, hence subsequently “decide what
action should be taken.” Theorists writing about “new” social movements began to
turn” away from the „how‟ of collective action towards the „why‟ (Carty, 2011, p.12).
Research utilising this approach asserts that social movement participants are not
that acts to motivate individuals to act together. Importantly, these perceptions can be
orientations and grievances and decide to act collectively” (Carty, 2011, p.13).
mobilization “by helping to bridge the gap between the structural foundations for
action and the collective action itself” (Carty, 2011, p.13). Frame analysis brings
together central features of the fore mentioned theories. The creation of new values
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and beliefs, as denoted in collective behaviour theory as an automatic response to
change or conflict (Porta and Diani, 1999, p.6) can instead be seen as rational action,
whereby collective identity is seen as “an interactive, shared process that links
Melucci, collective identity “is constructed and continually negotiated, and provides a
At this point a brief aside is made to bring together some key points from the
preceding chapters and to make explicit, ties to the proposed methodology for this
Considerable time has been taken to familiarise the reader with the notion of frame.
interpret reality” (2011, p.13), the term originates, as discussed, from the work of
states its perception based notion of reality (1974, p.11), where, as discussed in earlier
values” (A. Cohen, 2005, p51). It is used to make “sense of events” and to
(2011, p.13) links with Appadurai‟s “imagined worlds”, the largely perspective based
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“constructs” that result from differing “angle[s] of vision” held by individuals or
collectives that navigate the world flows or scapes (Appadurai, 2008, p.98). As
(Goffman, 1974, p.21) are constructed through “disembedded” social systems, which
have been lifted out from their “local contexts of interaction” and restructured “across
indefinite spans of time-space” (Giddens, 1991, p.21). This was likened to a Network
Thus when the perspective of frame analysis is used for the study of contemporary
social movements, specifically “‟New, New‟ social movements” (Feixa et al., 2009,
p.426), then the framing of movement values and beliefs is done on a global scale,
essentially, the methodology for the framing of a global social movement or global
“shared understandings” of both the “world” and “themselves”. This in turn serves to
“legitimate and motivate collection action.” This perspective, and the analyses of it,
is grounded in the work of Benford and Snow (McCarthy, 1997, p.244); hence to
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frames are action-orientated sets of beliefs and meanings that inspire and legitimate
the activities and campaigns of a social movement organization” (Benford and Snow,
2000, p.614).
As Benford and Snow highlight, frames “simplify and condense aspects of the „world
out there‟” (2000, p.614), therefore, in the case of the global social movements, and
specifically ones that are orientated around the world being a “single place” (Lechner
and Boli, 2008, p.3), “great obstacles” present as to the amount of simplification and
national level, it is far more difficult at the transnational level”. He elaborates that
social movements seek to build frames that “resonate” in multiple and “diverse
cultural settings”. One obvious barrier also is the vast range of languages on the
planet; less obvious but of central importance, is that frames which “resonate with
diverse local personal experiences are not easily discovered” (1997, p.245). As was
1997, p.245).
The size and scope of the framing processes utilized by global social movements has
some clear impacts on the degree to which they can be identified and researched,
particularly in a work of this size and resource. Before proceeding to the next chapter
in which a specific case study will be identified and discussed, some parameters for
research will be set. Scope and direction for further research will be addressed in the
subsequent chapter and conclusion that follow, from this point though, so called “core
framing tasks” (Benford and Snow, 2000, p.615) will be performed in hope of
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providing initial insight and outlines of the select global social movement. As
touched on in the previous chapter, the individual is seen as the “last locus” of these
perspective based constructs; for these worlds are “navigated by agents who both
necessary parameter of this research that focus will be held towards the core framing
tasks as displayed by the macro level structure of the social movement; the individual
Benford and Snow place “core framing tasks” as the negotiation of “a shared
define as in need of change.” Furthermore, these core framing tasks outline who or
what is regarded as causing the “condition or situation,” and what in turn should be
done about it. These are given the descriptions diagnostic, prognostic, and
For the purposes of this research a slight change is made to the proposed
Congruently, for Castells this model helps to “put some order into a mass of disparate
material” and derives from Touraine‟s defining of social movements in line with
“three principles”; Identity, Adversary, Goal (Castells, 2010, p.74). This will be the
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In a similar vein to the “core framing tasks” outlined by Benford and Snow (2000,
p.615), Castells model includes diagnostic features. Instead however these are
combined into “the movement‟s adversary” or “principle enemy” (p.74). Thus the
problem, and who or what is causing it is combined. This still follows a central
between „good‟ and „evil‟ and construct movement protagonists and antagonists”
Castells model also clearly provides scope for prognostic and motivational framing
elements, specifically, his use of “societal goal refers to the movement‟s vision of the
kind of social order, or social organization, it would wish to attain in the historical
(Benford and Snow, 2000, p.615) and will be addressed under the “societal goal”
Finally, the central reason for switching to Castells model is the inclusion of
search of the social movement‟s identity includes a vital element, that is, “the self-
definition of the movement of what it is” (2010b, p.74). As was stressed earlier in
this work, and is its central focus essentially, the emergent global “culture and
consciousness” sees identities being articulated around the notion of the world being a
“singular place” (Lechner and Boli, 2008, p.2). Inclusion of Identity will enable this
as a specific focus.
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6.
By way of brief introduction, Cohen‟s General Theory of Subcultures (2005) can shed
light on the emergence of The Zeitgeist Movement in early 2009. Referring again to
“the frame of reference,” Cohen highlights that actors who experience problems to
which there are no “ready-at-hand solutions,” will be left with feelings of “tension,
Intended to be an artistic expression, The Zeitgeist Movie (Joseph, 2007) can be seen
remark”. Such a gesture is seen by Cohen as a way to stick ones “neck out” and look
for like minded individuals to respond to a problem. The emergence of a new cultural
form is crucially dependant both on the “number of actors with similar problems” and
their ability to interact with “one another” (Cohen, 2005, p.54). As highlighted
facilitated new forms of social organization (Castells, 2010), and the Zeitgeist
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“formation” to result from such a gesture, is “perhaps unanticipated by any of them…
Following its 2007 release, „Zeitgeist the Movie‟ was seen by an estimated “100
million people by 2009” (Joseph, 2011), its sequel Zeitgeist Addendum (Joseph,
2008) received over “50,000,000 views within its first year” of release (Press release,
Confirmation of viewings was sought from Google over 12 months ago, and sadly no
response has been received. However, primary research collected in preparation for
this study, has shown that the movement has grown some 22% over the past 12
months, with a membership total, since 2009, now standing at close to 450,000 (see
figure 1.) and a further 520,000 subscribers to newsletters. These members are to be
found in close to 200 different countries (see appendix 2. for complete listings) and,
37 different languages.
450,000
440,000
430,000
420,000
410,000
400,000
390,000
380,000
370,000
360,000
350,000
15/03/2010
29/03/2010
12/04/2010
26/04/2010
10/05/2010
24/05/2010
07/06/2010
21/06/2010
05/07/2010
19/07/2010
02/08/2010
16/08/2010
30/08/2010
13/09/2010
27/09/2010
11/10/2010
25/10/2010
08/11/2010
22/11/2010
06/12/2010
20/12/2010
03/01/2011
17/01/2011
31/01/2011
14/02/2011
28/02/2011
Fig. 1.
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With a plethora of materials available, The Zeitgeist Movement presents as a truly
in a range of globally and locally coordinated events. On the 15th January, 2011, the
third film in the Zeitgeist series was released in over 300 venues worldwide in more
than 30 different languages (See Appendix 1). Currently, there are 49 international
national chapters and project teams. These are networked and all accessible via a
gateway page (The Zeitgeist Movement, 2011a). Data on the growth of these groups,
as well as individual membership has been collected for over 12 months, subsequent
materials has been listed in appendix 3, but stress is made that to identify all materials
related are beyond the scope of this study. At this point, research will continue within
the set parameters of framing the movement‟s identity, adversary, and goal.
Identity
“The term „zeitgeist‟ is defined as the intellectual moral cultural climate of an era.
The term „movement‟ simply implies motion or change. Therefore the Zeitgeist
Movement is thus an organisation that urges change in the dominant intellectual
moral and cultural climate of the time. Specifically, to values and practices which
would better serve the wellbeing of the whole of humanity, regardless of race
religion creed or any other form of contrived social status” (Joseph, 2009).
organization that urges change. In line with the over riding theme of this work, and
“it‟s one world… a single round planet” and, furthermore, stresses “its time that we
recognise it as such… The world‟s going to have to learn to work together” (Joseph,
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2011b). The zeitgeist movement has at the centre of its identity a belief in equality,
and that a move to a global social system that benefits all is required. Thus the
Zeitgeist Movement does not recognise itself as a “political movement… it does not
class.” Rather, it recognises the world as “one organism with the human species as a
singular family.”
The Zeitgeist Movement advocates, in this direction, “the application of the scientific
method for social concern.” Thus another core element of its identity is its alignment
with science, which, it states, has been responsible for the biggest advances and
materials are found to be heavily cited and referenced with science from many
disciplines. The latest film release featured, including others; Dr Robert Sapolsky,
the Study of Violence, Harvard Medical school (2000); and Dr John McMurtry,
Professor Emeritus of Guelph University (2002; 1992). This is not to say that the fore
mentioned scholars are members of the movement, but simply that identity and claims
made, are based and justified on the scientific discourses of those mentioned. In all
cases, scholars were interviewed and provided consent for materials to be used by the
movement.
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In summary, the Zeitgeist Movement‟s identity is that of a global species, deciding to
firmly ignore and challenge divisional concepts. Instead they bear a heavy
Adversary
“So, when we recognise the fact that the human organism, which has a great deal of
adaptive flexibility allowing us to survive in many different conditions, is also
rigidly programmed for certain environmental requirements or, human needs; a
social imperative begins to emerge. Just as our bodies require physical nutrients, the
human brain demands positive forms of environmental stimulus at all stages of
development, whilst also being protected from negative sorts of stimulus. And if
things that should happen do not, or if things that shouldn‟t happen do, it is now
apparent that the door can be opened not only for a cascade of mental and physical
diseases, but many detrimental human behaviours as well” (Joseph, 2011d).
There are many of hours of dedicated materials directed towards the “bio-psycho-
social” nature of human beings. Again, with no divides being drawn between the
basic human needs of one group or another, heavy attention is paid, and scientific
evidence provided, for the fundamental notion that humans have behavioural ties to
“condition we have created in the modern world,” specifically, to whether our “socio-
economic system” supports our “health” and can be seen as “a positive force for
society is actually going against the core evolutionary requirements needed to create
Vast arrays of articulations towards these questions are offered. A central tenant of
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claim to use, every economy in the world sees “money pursued for the sake of
money” and national wealth tied to “production.” It is proposed that the “money
sequence of value” has become completely decoupled from “the life sequence of
value,” furthermore, that in the “economic doctrine” deriving and qualified by Adam
Smith et al., complete confusion is made over the fact that money sequence values are
disorder,” and a strong and empirically supportive argument is made that the GDP of
a country does not equate to its social wellbeing, in fact the effects of unequal and
competition based social systems on human behaviours and societal health is strongly
Lengthy discussions are hence paid to the design of our “classic economic models”,
monetary exchange that simply cannot be allowed to stop or even substantially slow”.
The waste and social environmental consequences are also firmly addressed at length;
“But, hold on, I thought an economy was meant to, I don‟t know, economize?
Doesn‟t the very term have to do with preservation and efficiency, and a reduction of
waste? So how does our system which demands consumption, and the more the
better, efficiently preserve or economize at all? Well, it doesn‟t” (Joseph, 2011d).
“Absence of waste, that‟s what efficiency is; absence of waste. This system is more
wasteful than all the other existing systems in the history of the planet. Every level
of life organization and life system is in a state of crisis and challenge and decay or
collapse. No peer review journal in the last thirty years will tell you anything
different, that is that every life system is in decline. As well as social programs, our
water access, try to name any means of life that isn‟t threatened or endangered. You
can‟t, there isn‟t one, and that‟s very, very despairing. But we haven‟t even figured
out the causal mechanism yet, we don‟t want to face the causal mechanism, we just
want to go on, you know, that‟s what insanity is, where you keep doing the same
thing over again although it clearly doesn‟t work” (McMurtry, in Joseph, 2011d).
The Zeitgeist Movement lays out an argument against, or adversarial frame, in the
according to Joseph and evidence used, do “the exact opposite of what a real economy
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is supposed to do”. Before proceeding to the movements framed societal goal, an
system itself. Attention is paid to those who benefit most and least from the system,
thus those more likely to defend it; but key to the movement is that those divisions, as
with the aforementioned behaviours, are “symptomatic of the system” itself (2011d).
“Make no mistake, the greatest destroyer of ecology, the greatest source of waste and
depletion and pollution, the greatest purveyor of violence, war, crime, poverty,
animal abuse and inhumanity, the greatest generator of personal and social neurosis,
mental disorders, depression, anxiety, not to mention the greatest source of social
paralysis stopping us from moving into new methodologies, for personal health,
global sustainability and progress on this planet; is not some corrupt government, or
legislation, not some rouge corporation or banking cartel, not some flaw of human
nature, and not some hidden secret cabal that controls the world. It is in fact, the
socio-economic system itself” (Joseph, 2011d).
Societal Goal
Forms of resistance to corporate globalization have often been criticized for lacking in
Forum on Globalization, 2008). This is certainly not true of the Zeitgeist Movement.
Building on the work of Jacques Fresco (2002), a 95 year old “social engineer” from
Venus, Florida, a completely new societal design has been proposed. Computer aided
design models are available for numerous aspects of this concept, figure 2 shows
Fresco‟s circular city design, modelled by Buxton (2002; original concept, Fresco,
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2006), appendix 4 displays additional designs, but as stated by Fresco, these are just
“visual aides” and included for the reader in such a context; the actual appearance
would vary dependant on the “current state of technology.” It is claimed that all
designs are based on currently available methods (Fresco, in Gazecki, 2006). The
wider specific “goal” behind such designs, as directly outlined by director Joseph, is
science, or more specifically “the scientific method”, is placed at the centre of the
proposed societal goal. Fresco asserts that “science tells the truth,” that:
“Science is the closer approximations to the way the world really works… a scientist
doesn‟t try to get along with people, they tell them what their findings are… all
systems that can be put to test should be put to test, all decisions should be based
upon research” (Fresco, in Joseph, 2011d).
For the Zeitgeist Movement, the science points towards “systems theory,” a train of
logic that recognises the “fabric of the natural world, from human biology, to the
earthly biosphere, to the gravitational pull of the solar system itself, is one huge
meet current challenges. This is referred to as a “Resource Based Economy” and its
we live on a planet of finite resources and that no resource needed for life should be
materials, this represents a “true economy” where resources are managed on a global
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scale, by “a unified, dynamically updating, global economic management machine…
“A resource based economy is simply the scientific method applied for social
concern, an approach utterly absent in the world today. Society is a technical
invention, and the most efficient methods of optimized health, physical production,
distribution, city infrastructure and alike, reside in the field of science and
technology, not politics or monetary economics” (Joseph, 2011d).
In the societal goal articulated by the Zeitgeist Movement, the adversarial “money-
management system”. Central to this idea, is the radical, yet logically presented
would see production and distribution formed around a global “access” system.
Again, this “access” is to be based on universal human needs and necessities, not what
a market permits. The central point is that this resource access is made available to all
human beings and delivered in line with the “Earths natural referents” (Joseph,
2011d).
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7.
Conclusion
It is not the task of the dissertation to draw conclusions as to the viability of the
and Snow‟s concept of framing credibility may be of use, designed to address „frame
perspectives, along side those of frame analysis, would enable a more complete
picture of any such social movement or collective action. As stressed by Carty, and
broached in this work; inclusion of “collective identity” links the „how‟ and „why‟ of
“collective behaviour”, exploring how social actors decide to share meanings and “act
perspective based constructs”; the individual actor, would prove fruitful (Appadurai,
2008, p.98). Intriguing research would surely be the relationship between the two;
exactly how the macro level framework imparts and emerges with the individual, or
The focus of this dissertation however, is not the specific movement or case study
localized means of construction. The case study, provided only to compliment the
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wider literature review and contextualization of such global narratives, served to
illuminate articulations as to the world being seen as a “single place” (Joseph, 2011b;
Lechner and Boli, 2008, p.2). The Zeitgeist Movement displays such values and
beliefs, and even though it is beyond the scope of this dissertation to fully detail all of
its facets, clear evidence is provided for a discourse based on global perspectives and
sociability and cultural values and beliefs, this “realignment of groups”, as Cohen
states, is “emergent on a group level” (2005, p.55). The world can be said to be
however, is the forming of a “global consensus” (Lechner and Boli, 2008, p.10).
circulatory patterns and continual reflexive restructuring (Giddens, 1991, p.45). This
leads not to certainty, but to the “puzzling” presence of more “questions.” This
“phenomenon” does not pertain solely to the lengthy works of scholars and eager
undergraduate students, but “filters” down, “into anxieties that press on everyone”
(p.49). This “new historical landscape” (Castells, 2010b, p.74) presents and
articulates new questions for the sociologist and global citizen, and, it is vital that
these new questions are pursued. Furthermore, emergent articulations and ideas
found in the global community, such as the removal of money for a global resource
based economy, can all too easily be dismissed and be seen to violate commonsense.
questions from a “value free” standpoint (Weber, in Berger, p.15, 1966), and to
exercise a key function, to “defamiliarize the familiar” (Bauman and May, 2001,
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p.10). Research in to concepts outside of the current frame of reference, if nothing
“I fear that by looking for solutions in the formulas of Economics 101, we will be at
a loss in the dark world resulting from the failure to regulate a new kind of economy
under new technological conditions. This is why investigating the networked
structure of our global, networked economy may help to design strategies and
policies adapted to the realities of our time” (Castells, 2010a, p. xxii).
“[O]nly by scanning with an open mind the new historical landscape will we be able
to find shining paths, dark abysses, and muddled breakthroughs into the new society
emerging from current crises” (Castells, 2010b, p.74.).
United Nations global population projections peak in 2075, where an estimated 9.22
billion people (2004, p.1) will likely inhabit one “singular place” (Lechner and Boli,
2008, p.2), existing socio-economic and environmental tensions will likely continue.
The adjoining challenges posed by the “new technological conditions” and “kind of
economy” (Castells, 2010, p. xxii) required to meet both human and social
dissertation makes a modest play at such a „scan‟, an attempt to pin down and take a
snapshot of this “new historical landscape” (Castells, 2010b, p.74). It aims not to
draw any grand conclusions, but to be used in conjunction with similar efforts, to
contribute overall to the understanding and questioning of the world in which we live
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Appendix 1 – Zeitgeist Moving Forward Press Release
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Appendix 2. Countries with Members.
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North Korea Tanzania
Northern Mariana Islands Thailand
Norway Togo
Oman Tokelau
Pakistan Tonga
Palau Trinidad and Tobago
Panama Tunisia
Papua New Guinea Turkey
Paraguay Turkmenistan
Peru Turks and Caicos Islands
Philippines Tuvalu
Pitcairn Island Uganda
Poland Ukraine
Polynesia (French) United Arab Emirates
Portugal United Kingdom
Puerto Rico United States
Qatar Uruguay
Reunion (French) Uzbekistan
Romania Vanuatu
Russian Federation Vatican City State
Rwanda Venezuela
S. Georgia & S. Sandwich
Vietnam
Isls.
Saint Helena Virgin Islands (British)
Saint Kitts & Nevis Anguilla Virgin Islands (USA)
Saint Lucia Wallis and Futuna Islands
Saint Tome and Principe Western Sahara
Saint Vincent & Grenadines Yemen
Samoa Yugoslavia
San Marino Zambia
Saudi Arabia Zimbabwe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Islands
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tadjikistan
Taiwan
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Appendix 3 - The Zeitgeist Movement Resources
Films
Lectures/Presentations
Activist Orientation
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3932487043163636261#
Audio
Literature
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Appendix 4 – Venus Project Design
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Dissertation Bibliography
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STATEMENT OF ORGINALITY
I confirm that to the best of my understanding this work has been prepared in
Signed..................................................................
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