POLI 1003 Essay
Why do people protest? Give as many reasons as you can but make sure you are thinking about “reasons” in a general sense (i.e. excluding specific reasons for a certain social protest in a certain place). In your view, are social protests constructive or destructive to a nation’s politics and society?
A protest is an expression or declaration whereby a person expresses a personal objection or disapproval of an act (Lehman & Phelps, 2005). It is a one-off incident and is a form of collective action and of social movement at the same time. Protests can take place in many ways, such as street protests, petitions, boycotts and demonstrations. It is about how to mobilize strangers which all have a specific and shared claim concerning a specific issue to come out and protest against an institution. In the protests, the claims have to be a concrete demand and promoted and framed for a higher cause, like linked to the core values of a society so that it is strong enough to mobilize people to stand for that claim.
The main reason why people protest is that protest is a mean for people to present their claims concerning specific issues. Protestors will stop and their protests will not go on once their demands are satisfied. Firstly, according to Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto, people rebel and protest because of the existence of class conflicts and class struggles, either between the bourgeois and the proletariats or the proletariats and the communists (Tucker, 1978). In the case of the bourgeois and the proletariats, the bourgeois are the oppressors and the proletariats are being oppressed. As the bourgeois own most of the mean of production, the proletariats have to work for them. The class struggle between the bourgeois and proletariats are described by Marx as “against the property relations that are the conditions for the existence of the bourgeoisie and its rule” (Tucker, 1978). Marx believes that class struggle is the dividing force behind history.
A protest is an expression or declaration whereby a person expresses a personal objection or disapproval of an act (Lehman & Phelps, 2005). It is a one-off incident and is a form of collective action and of social movement at the same time. Protests can take place in many ways, such as street protests, petitions, boycotts and demonstrations. It is about how to mobilize strangers which all have a specific and shared claim concerning a specific issue to come out and protest against an institution. In the protests, the claims have to be a concrete demand and promoted and framed for a higher cause, like linked to the core values of a society so that it is strong enough to mobilize people to stand for that claim.
The main reason why people protest is that protest is a mean for people to present their claims concerning specific issues. Protestors will stop and their protests will not go on once their demands are satisfied. Firstly, according to Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto, people rebel and protest because of the existence of class conflicts and class struggles, either between the bourgeois and the proletariats or the proletariats and the communists (Tucker, 1978). In the case of the bourgeois and the proletariats, the bourgeois are the oppressors and the proletariats are being oppressed. As the bourgeois own most of the mean of production, the proletariats have to work for them. The class struggle between the bourgeois and proletariats are described by Marx as “against the property relations that are the conditions for the existence of the bourgeoisie and its rule” (Tucker, 1978). Marx believes that class struggle is the dividing force behind history.
Bibliography: Gurr, Ted. (1970). Why Men Rebel. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Lehman, Jeffery & Phelps, Shirelle. (2005). Protest: West’s Encyclopedia of American Law. Retrieved from http://law-journals-books.vlex.com/vid/protest-51574356?ix_resultado=1.0&query%5Bbuscable_id%5D=2707&query%5Bbuscable_type%5D=Fuente&query%5Bfilters_order%5D=source&query%5Bq%5D=protest Los Angeles Times. (2012, Jan 2). Occupy Wall Street. Retrieved from http://timelines.latimes.com/occupy-wall-street-movement/ Perry, Elizabeth J. (2008). Reclaiming the Chinese Revolution. The Journal of Asian Studies, 67, 1147-1164. Tucker, Robert C. (1978). The Marx-Engels Reader. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Zhao, Shirley. (2012, Sept 8). Record-high turnout for anti-national education protests . Retrieved from http://www.timeout.com.hk/big-smog/features/53078/record-high-turnout-for-anti-national-education-protests.html