Mobilization Beyond an Economic Perspective: Why People Get Involved

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2001
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Award
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
The question of why people join social movements has intrigued me, partially at least, due to its complexity. There seems to be a number of fields from which one could approach such a question: political, social, anthropological, historical, psychological ... the list goes on. However, as with the rest of social studies, much of the fieldwork has been done in the name of economics. While there is certainly nothing inherently wrong with using an economic perspective for academe, when applying economics to social activities, there are certain limitations in the models used. Attempts economists make at imposing an all-encompassing model on society often fall short when accounting for those involved in social movements. People are depicted as being motivated by "rational" self-interests and this is often not the case. The aim of this study is to examine the interests of people who participate in social movements and determine what portion of their efforts are towards the cause for which they fight and what is for their benefit. Certainly, there are many complicating factors when examining people's motivations, however, instead of reporting on one or two universal factors, I will instead use the theories of many who have studied social movements. I will compare some of these favorably, and some unfavorably, with my case study, namely the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle. There are a few theorists upon whom I will concentrate much of my energies, and some I will merely touch on for segments of my debate. The literature review compiles responses to the work of Mancur Olson, who, from a rational choice economist's perspective, responded to the question of why people join civil society. He and his followers, James Q. Wilson and Karl Dieter-Opp, argue that people are not likely to invest time and effort in movement activity unless motivated through certain incentive systems. I will first detail Olson's explanation for this belief and then use arguments against his theories by scholars who disagree for various reasons. Gerald Marwell and Pamela Oliver take a rational choice viewpoint and disagree with Olson's theoretical workings, while Bruce Fireman and William Gamson argue that the 'selective incentives' which Olson feel are necessary for a movement's success are indeed peripheral. Bert Klandermans, Donna Della Porta, Mary Searle-Chatetjee and Doug McAdam attempt to account for the many variables created by social psychological settings. Other theorists I have researched contribute ideas to the phenomenon of movement and interest group joining that disagree with Olson's incentive-based notions. To be fair, the study of collective action and its causes has changed drastically since Olson wrote The Logic of Collective Action in 1965, rendering some of his interpretations obsolete, and somewhat cumbersome to apply to the study of social movements. It is clear that not all of what he referred to as collective action would be considered a social movement (e.g. donations given to a municipality for park improvements). However, his groundbreaking work makes many connections to social movements and many movement theorists have taken sides in responding to his work. My methodology section covers how I will approach responding to the question of why people get involved in social movements. It comprises of a hypothesis, a definition of concepts and variables, and finally my reasoning for choosing the WTO protests in Seattle as my case study. The WTO section begins with a description of the history and influence of the WTO. Next, I outline the reasons why protesters have targeted the WTO, and their demands for change in the organization. Finally, I include some background on how the WTO and civil society interact. The section entitled "Case Study" details how I respond to the question of why people get involved. It includes the results obtained from interviews and surveys. The data gathered from these sources is examined for general trends and given a surface level exploration. In the conclusion, I more thoroughly investigate the results of my field research. It is here where the theory presented from the literature review will prove valuable. Also, I will include sections from other scholars who have directly answered some issues regarding social movements and the WTO without going through Olson and rational choice theory as others, including myself, have. They are incorporated in the conclusion and not the lit review because they are more complete responses, which I have chosen to include only after having completed my fieldwork. From this, my efforts are to elaborate the motives people have for joining and participating in a social movement.
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