New Social Movements in the West and Their Challange on Left-wing Parties

Professor Zang Xiuling, Institute of Contemporary Socialism, Shandong University, November 2021

Zang Xiuling is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Institute of Contemporary Socialism and School of Political Science and Public Management at Shandong University, and the director of the Institute of Political Parties at Shandong University.  Research directions include party politics, party building, and contemporary capitalism.

Her main works include “Research on the International Financial Crisis and the Changes and Trends of Contemporary Capitalism”, “Research on the Relationship between Socialism and Capitalism”, and “Research on New Development Issues of Contemporary Capitalism”.

[Abstract] The new social movements in the West is relative?? to the traditional workers’ movement in the West. It is one of the most significant socio-political phenomena occurring in Western countries at present, and it has an important and profound influence on Western left-wing parties and the future political direction of the West countries.

The new social movements in the West has undergone four stages of development since 1968 France events, and is characterised by a diversity of participants, have different values and objectives, and they have multiple interest fields. Along with the changes in the social structure of Western societies and the development of new social movements, the moderate left-wing parties in the West are becoming more and more centrist, the radical left-wing parties are becoming more and more active, and the extreme left-wing parties are becoming more and more populist.

At present, only by combining the practice of the new social movement in the West with the continuous innovation and development of left-wing party theory, and by strengthening the construction of left-wing parties in the West to lead the development of the new social movement in the West, can the world socialist movement gradually come out of the trough and move towards the climax.

[Keywords] New social movements, left-wing political parties, socialism, Western Marxism

The new social movement in the West is relative to the traditional workers’ movement in the West. However, unlike the homogenous orientation (Collective) of traditional workers’ movements and their focus on material interests, the new Western social movements are more inclined to a variety of non-material interests and value goals. The new social movement in the West is a general term for the loose mass protest activities of the middle classes (or strata) and marginalised groups that formed themselves as a resistance force at a time when the world socialist movement is at a low ebb, actively exposing and struggling against the inherent flaws of the capitalist system. Its rise is one of the most significant socio-political phenomena that has taken place in Western countries since the end of the Second World War, and is having a significant and profound impact on Western left-wing parties and the future direction of politics, as well as on the future and direction of Western party politics.

The historical evolution of the new social movements in the West and their main characteristics

The new social movements in the West began in the late 1960s with the French May Storm, developed in the 1970s and 1980s, and transformed in the 1990s. Since the outbreak of the international financial crisis in 2008, especially in the 21st century, the Western New Social Movement has entered a new period of development and HAVE teken on many new characteristics.

The origins of the Western New Social Movement.

In May 1968, a mass movement, known as the “May Storm,” broke out in Paris, France. The “May Storm” was a magnificent new social movement launched by young French college students and quickly sparked the participation of workers and other social classes.

To begin with, people in Europe and the United States have taken to the streets in succession, using nonviolent means such as demonstrations, processions and sit ins, and set off surging waves of anti war movement, feminist movement, anti nuclear movement, national liberation movement, ecological movement, etc. Social movements with completely different participants and different protest themes have swept across almost all developed Western capitalist countries.

 The “May Storm” and its series of mass protest movements that erupted in major developed capitalist countries in the West are a new political and social phenomenon and expression of interest demands during an unusual period of world development.

In the 1960s, Western society was in a “golden age” of sustained economic prosperity and development. In a general sense, with the development of the economy and the improvement of people’s living standards, society should tend towards harmony and stability. But at this time, behind the prosperity of the major developed capitalist countries in the West, there was social instability. Taking France as an example, From 1963 to 1969, real wages in France increased by 3.6%, and France entered a consumer oriented society. Economic growth was accompanied by inflation. One million immigrants from North Africa led to a population surge in France, rising prices, and rising unemployment rates, posing a threat to the interests of the working class. More French people received higher education, but the overcrowded universities, mechanized education system, and conservative cultural atmosphere made many young people unhappy.  [1]

Therefore, in the consumer oriented society of France, the resistance of the public to the government and authority has become increasingly strong. This means that the “May Storm” as a “revolution not only questioned the capitalist society, but also questioned the industrial society. Consumer society which is doomed to die urgently.” [2].

It reflects the increasing dissatisfaction of the young generation who grew up in a new materialist and affluent environment after World War II umder the conditions of society’s status quo of spiritual poverty.

Therefore, the younger generation, starting from individualism and idealism, pays more attention to intangible interests-ilgi alanları and value goals, and vigorously challenged and criticized the culture, society, and criticized spirit of capitalism.

At the same time, it also reflected that after World War II, with the rapid development of modern industry and the third scientific and technological revolution, major changes are taking place in the social strata and class structure of the major developed capitalist countries in the West:

the traditional working class was being sharply reduced, accompanied by government officials, service personnel working in the tertiary industry, specialists and technicians, middle management working in the modern enterprises The new middle class (or class) composed mainly of teachers and others has become the backbone of the social class (or stratum).

This is also the main reason why the main force of the New Social Movement in the West, initiated by the May Storm in France, was composed of young students, anti war elements, women, homosexuals, and green people, rather than being led and promoted by the working class, the protagonist of the Western traditional socialist movement. The May Storm initiated a new Western social movement that relied on the non-traditional working class as the main force against capitalism.

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