Hallsworth argues that new social movements are mainly concerned with post-materialist values, in societies where most people have already attained a reasonable standard of living, which is why new social movements have risen. Cohen & Rai question whether there is a clear-cut distinction between old and new social movements. However, they do believe there have been changes with the use of new tactics, more use of modern technology and a shift towards organising on a global scale. There are more global social movements because there are more international organisations, communication has become easier and cheaper, TNCs have grown in power, environmental problems have become global and universal human rights issues have become more prominent. However, Cohen & Rai may exaggerate how some social movements have become global and neglect features of how social movements are carried out.
Crook et al associate the emergence of new social movements with a new politics of postmodernising societies. Old politics was class based and dominated by elites. It was focused on the state and seen as separate from everyday life. New politics involves a volatile electorate without strong class identities. There is a greater concern with moral issues than with sectional interests, a suspicion of leaders and elites, a move away from concentration on state activities, and a politicisation of culture and lifestyle. The move to the new politics is a result of class decomposition (members of the same class become increasingly different to one another) and social differentiation (those with similar backgrounds develop different lifestyles). This change in emphasis of politics has encouraged the growth of new social movements because they appeal to people’s moral principles, as well as their lifestyles. While Crook et al identify some important trends, they may exaggerate them as many sociologists deny that there has been a decomposition of classes.
There are many neo-Marxist arguments that attempt to explain why new social movements have risen. Habermas states that new social movements have risen because they take on issues that the government traditionally do not, such as human and animal rights. However, Habermas’ writings are susceptible to critiques as the government often negotiate with organisations such as Greenpeace over environmental issues. Touraine argues that postmodern society is increasingly more interested in the knowledge that we have acquired and not consumed. Young people are striving to use their extended knowledge to challenge the system and enable those less fortunate, both domestically and globally, to gain recognition of their rights and quality of life; this is achieved through new social movements. Marcuse incorporates capitalism into his argument, explaining that new social movements have risen because of alienation caused by capitalism. Young people in the west are beginning to reject materialism of the modern world, and joining more new social movements to fight for causes and gain an identity. This is emphasised in Melluci’s ideas, who says that new social movements provide their members with an identity they can’t find in the traditional political parties. While there is truth to these ideas, it is arguable that the young people rejecting materialism are a minority, and that many do not look for new social movements to gain an identity in society.
These views are challenged by Giddens, who examines the relationship between social movements and high modernity, as he does not believe we have entered a postmodern age. Giddens sees modernity as characterised by four institutional dimensions, each of which has corresponding social movements: capitalism produces labour movements such as unionism; military power produces peace movements opposed to destructive industrialised warfare; surveillance produces free speech/democratic movements; industrialism produces ecological movements. However, Giddens does not go into detail about issues such as the background and objectives of those who join new social movements, and the way they are organised.
Klein claims that global capitalism is responsible for the alienation fuelling an emerging global anti-corporate movement. She identifies five marketing strategies adopted by global corporations; logo inflation, sponsorship of cultural events, sport branding and sponsorship, the branding of youth culture and the branding of identity politics. As a result of the activities of global corporations (child labour of Nike for example), young people have lost faith in their governments, believing them to have colluded with global companies to the detriment of the developing world. They now want a different regime to represent them and new social movements offer an alternative way to challenge the state and big businesses.
In conclusion, many changing social and political contexts have related to the rise in new social movements. People are looking for new ways to gain identities and voice their opinions about social issues, and new social movements are increasingly becoming that vehicle for those messages to be spread.