Diane, of the actions you mention I note a couple of commonalities
(1) All were actions around an ideal or "object" (unfortunate word!), but
did *not* involve a common *theory*, i.e. unity in aciton but not theory,
(2) Despite perceptions, I believe all were highly *mediated*, i.e., they
were not actions by lots of *individuals* but individuals through the
mediation of all sorts of organisations, networks and so on, generally
diverse, but real.
Andy
At 04:26 PM 1/23/01 -0700, you wrote:
>
>>>"when the outcome of the action matters more than individual positions,
>>>collective action becomes possible. "
>
>judy sez
>>
>>Now that is well said. But I still see a problem of communication as well
>>as action -- identifying the object that matters --- Unless this is a
>>matter of which collective has more might...?
>>
>well in the examples of collective action that i was referring to,
>Hungary, China (Tiannamen Square), Romania, more recently in Serbia,
>there was an object-of-hatred, perhaps,
>more to oust a particular regime, or despot,
>in contexts where personal freedoms are quite literally at stake -
>
>the collective actions taken in Seattle, during the World Trade
>conferences (last year?) for example,
>are about "other" people's freedoms,
>and the collective is gathering of smaller groups with diversified
>investments in kinds of "causes" - there, the questions of individual
>positions and negotiation are taking place - the violence fragments into
>conflicts of interest;
>
>in Serbia, there was no ambiguity about what had to be done, (uphold the
>results of the vote, oust the war-mongers)
>in Tianneman, there was also no ambiguity about what had to be done,
>(freedom to gather, freedom to protest, to make public ideals of
>democracies, etc),
>Romania = ousting the despot; Hungary, resisting the invasion,
>and so on -
>the outcomes here are greater than the individual's interests.
>civil wars, actually, are a form of collective action where individual
>positions are not as important as the "fight for freedom" so to speak.
>
>does that make sense? what kinds of collective actions are you thinking
>of, ? like, how to oust George Bush Jr. ? :)
>seriously: what kinds of collective actions are you thinking of? it's an
>important question.
>diane
>
>
>
> **********************************************************************
> :point where everything listens.
>and i slow down, learning how to
>enter - implicate and unspoken (still) heart-of-the-world.
>
>(Daphne Marlatt, "Coming to you")
>***********************************************************************
>
>diane celia hodges
>
> university of british columbia, centre for the study of curriculum and
>instruction
>==================== ==================== =======================
> university of colorado, denver, school of education
>
>Diane_Hodges@ceo.cudenver.edu
>
>
>
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