Class as Community: The New Dynamics of Social Change
- 1 March 1991
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Environment and Planning D: Society and Space
- Vol. 9 (1) , 117-128
- https://doi.org/10.1068/d090117
Abstract
The debate over whether class and community are alternative or mutually complementary bases of collective action is examined. A typology is developed to examine the relative contribution of each in determining the demands of grass-roots organizations. Specific emphasis within this analysis is on Tri-State Conference on Steel, a community–labor organization fighting plant closings in the Pittsburgh, PA, area. It is concluded that class consciousness can emerge out of participation in grass-roots movements, and the author focuses on the role of human agency in shaping this process. Further, it is concluded that grass-roots movements do have the potential for effecting structural reform.Keywords
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