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Freedom Is an Endless Meeting: Democracy in American Social Movements Paperback – May 1, 2004
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Polletta traces the history of democracy in early labor struggles and pre-World War II pacifism, in the civil rights, new left, and women's liberation movements of the sixties and seventies, and in today's faith-based organizing and anti-corporate globalization campaigns. In the process, she uncovers neglected sources of democratic inspiration—Depression-era labor educators and Mississippi voting registration workers, among them—as well as practical strategies of social protest. But Freedom Is an Endless Meeting also highlights the obstacles that arise when activists model their democracies after familiar nonpolitical relationships such as friendship, tutelage, and religious fellowship. Doing so has brought into their deliberations the trust, respect, and caring typical of those relationships. But it has also fostered values that run counter to democracy, such as exclusivity and an aversion to rules, and these have been the fault lines around which participatory democracies have often splintered. Indeed, Polletta attributes the fragility of the form less to its basic inefficiency or inequity than to the gaps between activists' democratic commitments and the cultural models on which they have depended to enact those commitments. The challenge, she concludes, is to forge new kinds of democratic relationships, ones that balance trust with accountability, respect with openness to disagreement, and caring with inclusiveness.
For anyone concerned about the prospects for democracy in America, Freedom Is an Endless Meeting will offer abundant historical, theoretical, and practical insights.
"This is an excellent study of activist politics in the United States over the past century. . . . Assiduously researched, impressively informed by a great number of thoughtful interviews with key members of American social movements, and deeply engaged with its subject matter, the book is likely to become a key text in the study of grass-roots democracy in America."—Kate Fullbrook, Times Literary Supplement
"Polletta's portrayal challenges the common assumption that morality and strategy are incompatible, that those who aim at winning must compromise principle while those who insist on morality are destined to be ineffective. . . . Rather than dwell on trying to explain the decline of 60s movements, Polletta shows how participatory democracy has become the guiding framework for many of today's activists."—Richard Flacks, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"In Freedom Is an Endless Meeting, Francesca Polletta has produced a remarkable work of historical sociology. . . . She provides the fullest theoretical work of historical sociology. . . . She provides the fullest theoretical picture of participatory democracy, rich with nuance, ambiguity, and irony, that this reviewer has yet seen. . . . This wise book should be studied closely by both academics and by social change activists."—Stewart Burns, Journal of American History
- Print length295 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
- Publication dateMay 1, 2004
- Dimensions6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100226674495
- ISBN-13978-0226571638
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From the Inside Flap
Polletta traces the history of democracy in early labor struggles and pre-World War II pacifism, in the civil rights, new left, and women's liberation movements of the sixties and seventies, and in today's faith-based organizing and anti-corporate globalization campaigns. In the process, she uncovers neglected sources of democratic inspiration Depression-era labor educators and Mississippi voting registration workers, among them as well as practical strategies of social protest. ButFreedom Is an Endless Meeting also highlights the obstacles that arise when activists model their democracies after familiar nonpolitical relationships such as friendship, tutelage, and religious fellowship. Doing so has brought into their deliberations the trust, respect, and caring typical of those relationships. But it has also fostered values that run counter to democracy, such as exclusivity and an aversion to rules, and these have been the fault lines around which participatory democracies have often splintered. Indeed, Polletta attributes the fragility of the form less to its basic inefficiency or inequity than to the gaps between activists' democratic commitments and the cultural models on which they have depended to enact those commitments. The challenge, she concludes, is to forge new kinds of democratic relationships, ones that balance trust with accountability, respect with openness to disagreement, and caring with inclusiveness.
For anyone concerned about the prospects for democracy in America, Freedom Is an Endless Meeting will offer abundant historical, theoretical, and practical insights.
From the Back Cover
Polletta traces the history of democracy in early labor struggles and pre-World War II pacifism, in the civil rights, new left, and women's liberation movements of the sixties and seventies, and in today's faith-based organizing and anti-corporate globalization campaigns. In the process, she uncovers neglected sources of democratic inspiration—Depression-era labor educators and Mississippi voting registration workers, among them—as well as practical strategies of social protest. But Freedom Is an Endless Meeting also highlights the obstacles that arise when activists model their democracies after familiar nonpolitical relationships such as friendship, tutelage, and religious fellowship. Doing so has brought into their deliberations the trust, respect, and caring typical of those relationships. But it has also fostered values that run counter to democracy, such as exclusivity and an aversion to rules, and these have been the fault lines around which participatory democracies have often splintered. Indeed, Polletta attributes the fragility of the form less to its basic inefficiency or inequity than to the gaps between activists' democratic commitments and the cultural models on which they have depended to enact those commitments. The challenge, she concludes, is to forge new kinds of democratic relationships, ones that balance trust with accountability, respect with openness to disagreement, and caring with inclusiveness.
For anyone concerned about the prospects for democracy in America, Freedom Is an Endless Meeting will offer abundant historical, theoretical, and practical insights.
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : University of Chicago Press; 1st edition (May 1, 2004)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 295 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0226674495
- ISBN-13 : 978-0226571638
- Item Weight : 1.03 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #635,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #801 in Democracy (Books)
- #19,857 in United States History (Books)
- #28,375 in Social Sciences (Books)
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2015Quality book in fine condition delivered in a timely way. Thanks.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2007This is simply one of my favorite books, all around, even including works of fiction. It's well written, well researched, insightful and relevant for activists in the trenches. The well written and relevant parts are, sadly, often not true of academic work on social movements. As for the well researched part, Polletta did an astounding amount of archival research and interviews with activists to write this book. What emerges is a fascinating history of how twentieth-century US progressive social movements have tried to implement participatory democracy in their own organizations. It is a chronicle of failed experiments, gradually historical learning and increasing success.
By reading this book, we get to see what has worked and what has failed. Polletta makes two main contributions in this book. First, she rebutts those who argue that participatory democracy is a nice ideal, but impractical--that top-down leadership is a more efficient form of organization. On the contrary, says Polletta, participatory democracy promotes 1) solidarity in groups, because everyone feels included in the decision-making process and thus more committed to any plan of action; 2) innovation, as more people take part in the back and forth as new ideas are developed; and 3) personal development, as active participation in decision-making lets more people develop new skills, including leadership skills.
The other major point Polletta makes is that it has been difficult for movement organizations to successfully implement participatory democracy because we have so few models of such interaction in mainstream society. Therefore, we often fall back on patterns of interaction we are familiar with--religious fellowship, friendship and the teacher-student relationship. In certain circumstances, these can work for a while, but historically they have always lead to trouble. We need to develop new models for relating to each other to make participatory democracy work. On the practical level, Polletta says that the contemporary community organizing and global justice movements have both developed good practices that seem to have solved many past historical problems--though in very different ways. (This is also not to say that they have solved all problems--new challenges certainly lie ahead.) On a more abstract level, Polletta points to the Latin-American ideal of the compañero/a, a relationship that is close, but based on the common bonds of political struggle, not modeled on friendship or kinship or some other familiar form.
All in all, this is an excellent, though-provoking, inspiring book.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2013A great book that provides a practical and analytical look at how participatory democratic advocacy groups function (and some of the pitfalls of their dysfunction). This was a great resource when my community formed its own social/political advocacy group. We still pass this book around as recommended reading.
Top reviews from other countries
- BA BulmanReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 5, 2013
5.0 out of 5 stars Relevent to Consensus Decision Making (CDM)
Used this as a source and invaluable point of reference for my masters dissertation on the strengths and weaknesses of consensus decision making. It is packed full of rich participant observation and sociological analysis. I don't agree with all the ideas, but there is a wealth of experience and knowledge here that is essential to really understanding the ups and downs of direct democracy.
- uselessarticleReviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2015
3.0 out of 5 stars Good social history
A good read and informative about the era