The purpose of Piven and Cloward’s (1978) book is to investigate the reasons, mechanics, and outcomes of social movements in a capitalistic society. The authors’ main argument is that mass movements are subject to social structures controlled by elites and, therefore, cannot achieve significant change due to the lack of necessary resources, which obstructs their participation in the political process. The phenomenon of social movements is based on historically specific circumstances and cannot be influenced by masses, which is why their influence is diminished. The authors of the book are political theorists, sociologists, and activists who actively worked in the 1960-1970s. The historical and social background of the time is marked by the need for restructuring the model for social welfare.
Some of the ideas in this week’s reading resonate with those presented in the previous articles. For example, the ability of governments to control financial expenditures for the lower-class discussed by Mead finds its resemblance in Piven and Cloward’s (1978) claims about the elite’s control over masses within social structures. Also, since social movements are primarily characterized by masses, the problems they address, and the goals they pursue need to resonate with many people. When viewed from Kingdon’s perspective, the process of movements’ formation is a part of the process when a condition is being recognized as a problem relevant to agenda-setting.
In the introductory section of the book, the authors discuss the process of lower-class movements, the reasons, and the outcomes of them. In Piven and Cloward’s (1978) opinion, the only way the social movement of poor people can succeed is through formal institutional organization led by activists or revolutionaries. However, even when organized formally, the movements do not have the necessary resources, which are available to the elites, to sustain their achievements for a long time. Therefore, although the elites yield some goals to the poor, the lower class cannot succeed in any global change. Moreover, the history presents “moments when large numbers of lower-class people are roused to indignation and defiance,” masses feel inspired and believe in the possibility of change (Piven & Cloward, 1978, p. xxi). However, neither activists nor masses create such moments; they can only use them to pursue their goals. Still, they cannot become legitimate participants of the political process due to their limited resources.
The first chapter presents an in-depth view of the political structure as a controlling tool of elites over the lower-class people and their movements. The authors open their chapter by referring to a general assumption concerning the nature of authority, which implies that those who control wealth production and physical coercion have the power of those who have no control (Piven & Cloward, 1978). These majorities or elites lead the political process and impose rules and culture. Under such circumstances, underrepresented populations have the only resource to reach equality, which is riots. Due to such structural conditions, the only possible assets the poor have at the moments when their movements are possible are limited to those that diminish the force and scale of impact.
Finally, in the second chapter, the authors refer to a specific type of social movement that involves the unemployed. Again, Piven and Cloward (1978) underline the influence of structural society by explaining that relief systems used to aid the jobless are applied as a controlling tool. People tend to blame themselves for their failures to find a job and withhold from a relief system to maintain a reputable status (Piven & Cloward, 1978). However, when the scale of unemployment reached its maximum, people organized different types of protests and demanded food or job relief from the authorities. As history shows, mass protests around the country contributed to the transvaluation of the poor but eventually failed to meet the needs due to the failure of local elites to cope with the movements. Thus, the three initial sections of the book provide a substantial basis for the conceptualization of how social movements evolve and what impact they have.
Reference
Piven, F. F., & Cloward, R. A. (1978). Poor people’s movements: Why they succeed, how they fail. New York, NY: Vintage Books.