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An Introductionto
the Study of
Social /
Movements / byALAIN TOURAINE
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750 SOCIAL RESEARCH
TypesofSocial Conflicts
There is an almostgeneralagreementthatsocialmovements
shouldbe conceivedas a specialtypeof socialconflict.Many
typesof collectivebehaviorare not social conflicts:panics,
crazes,fashions,currentsof opinion,culturalinnovationsare
not conflicts,even if theydefinein a preciseway whatthey
react to. A conflictpresupposesa clear definitionof oppo-
nentsor competiting actorsand oftheresourcestheyare fight-
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 751
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752 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 753
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754 SOCIAL RESEARCH
7 P. Schmitter,
"Corporatism and Policy-Making in Contemporary Western
Europe," ComparativePoliticalStudies,April 1977, pp. 7-38.
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 755
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756 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 757
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758 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 759
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760 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 761
11A. Touraine,TheSelf-Production
ofSociety of ChicagoPress,
(Chicago:University
1977).
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762 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 763
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764 SOCIAL RESEARCH
Figure 1.
HomoOEconomicus Totalitarian systems
N, s
Collective pursuit of Reconstruction of
interests identity
(Sub-movements) >v >j* anti-movements)
1
Pure State
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 765
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766 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 767
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768 SOCIAL RESEARCH
withWesterncountrieswhichidentifiedthemselveswithra-
tionalitywhile they were torturingin Algiersor dropping
napalmon Vietnamesevillages.This double rejectioncreated
a totallynegativeimage of social lifein whichalienationand
heteronomous integrationcould be challengedonlyby margi-
nal revoltsor by individualist aestheticculture.Such a social
philosophyplayed an importantrole in the historyof ideas
and ideologies,but it has been highlydestructiveof social
analysis.The necessarycritiqueof a decliningor corrupted
typeof socialmovementended up arbitrarily in theimageof a
societywithoutactors.The image of our societiesas entirely
dominatedby systemsof controland manipulationis so far
fromobservablefactthatit lured manysociologists to replace
fieldstudiesby doctrinaireinterpretations. It transformed it-
self in some countriesinto the dominantideologyof a self-
destroying intelligentsia.
(3) A sociologyof social movementsand more generallya
sociologyof actioncan be moreconcretely definedbyopposi-
tion withanothersociologicalapproach forwhichany refer-
ence to "structural" problemsor conflictsshould be deleted.
We no longerlive in a social system,says thisschool,but in
situationswhichcannotbe definedexceptas a diversified flow
of changes. They take so seriouslythe ideas of modernity,
achievement, and developmentthattheydefinesocial actors
entirelyby their strategies,by theirroles and relativeinflu-
ence in theprocessof change.The mostconspicuousexample
of thisapproach is the critiquemade againstscientific man-
agement,as definedbyTaylor,Ford, and business schools,in
thenameof a strategic viewof management. Symbolically,the
Japanese model replacesthe American model of management.
This sociologyproposesa pragmaticviewof actorsand con-
flictsand rejectsany referenceto a "center,"be it definedin
termsof culturalvalues, of a logic of domination,or as a
centralsocialmovement.Whatis generallyknownas sociology
of organizationshas been the stronghold of thistheory,which
actuallydestroys concept organizationand replacesit
the of
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 769
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770 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 771
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772 SOCIAL RESEARCH
TheNatureofSocial Movements
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 773
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774 SOCIAL RESEARCH
If I devotedtheprecedingpages to a ratherlongdefinition
of a givenapproachin relationwithothers,mypurposewas to
get rid of a primitivetypeof social thoughtwhichidentifies
analyticalcategorieswithhistoricalfacts.We have no rightto
say thatthe United Statesis an industrialor postindustrial,
democraticor capitalistcountry,as if all aspectsof American
life should be consideredas attributes of one of these defi-
nitions.Onlyconcreteresearchand discussionscan definethe
degreeof integration of specificconflicts
intoa generalsocial
movement.
I devoteda seriesof researchprojectsto theanalysisof what
is oftencalled new social movements, thatis, more precisely,
new socialconflicts. My goal was and still
is to detectwhether
or notthereare somecommonelements insomeofthem,ifthere
is somesocialmovement in conflictswhichhave obviously other
components.What is strikingtodayis thatthishypothesisis
often accepted,even if it is in rathervague terms.Many
observersare aware of the factthatcentralconflicts deal less
withlabor and economic problemsthan withculturaland
especiallyethicalproblems,because the dominationwhichis
challengedcontrolsnot only "means of production"but the
productionof symbolicgoods, that is, of information and
images, of cultureitself.
These briefremarks do not intend to
demonstrate such a generalhypothesis but onlyto makeclear
thatthe precedingpages can help us to understandhow a
centralconflictand social movementcan appear througha
greatvarietyof conflicts in whichothercomponentscan have
more weightand be even predominant.
(3) The reasonwhyso manypeople are spontaneously con-
vincedof the pluralityof conflictsis thattheyidentify social
movementswithoppositionor "popular" movementswhich
challenge"social order." On the contrary,a popular social
movement cannotbe separatedfroma socialmovement of the
"rulingclass," and only theirconflictcan be consideredas
central.Holdersof economicor politicalpowermustbe ana-
lyzed as a social movementinsteadof being identifiedwith
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 775
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776 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 777
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778 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 779
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780 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 781
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782 SOCIAL RESEARCH
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 783
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784 SOCIAL RESEARCH
Conclusion
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 785
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786 SOCIAL RESEARCH
Figure 3.
Economic Analysis of organizations, Functionalist?) Study of j Defense of
V systems I cultural
, ." ^s* y^ f action I 'and
^ *^ and flnational
' yS social mo-lspecif ici ty
Rationalism Decisions and strategies Structuro-marxism vements
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THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 787
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