A social movement is a group of people who aim to bring about change in society.
A social movement is a group of individuals or organizations that seeks to produce change in society. The term is usually used in reference to informal groups, without hierarchies or structures that support their functioning.
It should be noted that movement is a concept with various uses and meanings. It can refer to the action and effect of changing something's place or position , thus varying the location in which a certain object is located. The development and dissemination of a doctrine , a trend or a cause is also known as a movement.
Social , for its part, is a concept that comes from a Latin voice that refers to that belonging to or related to society (the set of individuals who interact with each other and share a culture). Social usually implies a sense of belonging.
Emergence of a social movement
The usual thing is that a social movement arises spontaneously in a crisis situation, as a response to the reality that oppresses the people. Sometimes it happens that these movements are motivated or receive support from political parties , unions or non-governmental organizations ( NGOs ), and, due to this, this spontaneous reaction is introduced into an organizational structure that allows carrying out the proposed tasks. with efficiency and organization ; Faced with this reality, movements usually lose their horizontal structure to become hierarchical organizations.
The social movement generally has a specific field of action since it is usually aimed at achieving specific improvements. The environmental movement , for example, works for environmental conservation, while the egalitarian movement seeks equal rights for people of different genders.
All of this allows us to affirm that the definition of a social movement cannot be precise or exact, since there are established political parties that proclaim themselves as a movement or NGOs that are usually considered fundamental parts of a certain movement.
Social movements usually emerge spontaneously.
animal activism
In recent years, one of the movements that has gained the most strength in the world is the animal movement , animal liberation movement or abolitionist movement . It brings together a large number of people who, throughout the world, work to achieve an improvement in the quality of life of non-human animals in the world.
This movement is supported by academic studies, awareness campaigns and organized groups that disseminate information revealing the violence and abuse to which animals are exposed on the planet to satisfy different human tastes. Those who are part of the animal rights movement oppose the use of animals in all their forms (research, food, clothing, etc.) and actively work to end anthropocentric speciesism (an attitude through which humans negatively discriminate against individuals from other species simply because they are not human).
Among the actions carried out by this social movement is the boycott of industries whose production depends on the captivity and use of animals for the manufacture of their products. One of the most widespread strategies by animal activists is anonymously entering establishments where meat, dairy and eggs are produced and collecting images that, when disseminated, have the objective of opening the eyes of consumers about the sufferings they suffer. those in which animals are exposed for the benefit of human beings. Among the most prominent animal movements it is worth mentioning Anima Naturalis , Animal Equality and Pacma .