The Problem With America’s Protest Feedback Loop
theatlantic.com
Saved by Jordan Braunstein
The Problem With America’s Protest Feedback Loop
Efficacy is always a problem of perception. People will undertake actions, even deeply demanding actions, if they are persuaded their participation can make a difference. The challenge for organizers of social movements is to create a range of actions, from thin to thick, that let participants feel they’re making effective change.
Ethan Zuckerman • Mistrust: Why Losing Faith in Institutions Provides the Tools to Transform Them
we find that protests generate substantial internet activity but have limited effects on political attitudes. Except for the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd, which shifted views on racial discrimination and increased votes for the Democrats, we estimate precise null effects of protests on public opinion and electoral... See more
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Clearly, an antiwar movement in the sixties that is still tying the hands of U.S. military plan- ners in 2012 can hardly be considered a failure. But it raises an intriguing question: What hap- pens when the creation of that sense of failure, of the complete ineffectiveness of political action against the system, becomes the chief objective of
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