2010-2020 saw more mass protests around the world than at any other point in human history, but the societal changes that resulted were often the opposite of what protesters demanded. Author Vincent Bevins explains why.
Historically it has been sustained, smaller, local action that has produced results far more frequently than attempted general strikes. Everybody wants to do this the quick way and they aren’t willing to roll up their sleeves and put in the time to do it locally. They think that everybody’s just going to nod and stop working and it’s all going to be glorious, but that’s just not how it goes down. You can count the number of truly successful general strikes that were clear victories on one hand.
Historically it has been sustained, smaller, local action that has produced results far more frequently than attempted general strikes. Everybody wants to do this the quick way and they aren’t willing to roll up their sleeves and put in the time to do it locally. They think that everybody’s just going to nod and stop working and it’s all going to be glorious, but that’s just not how it goes down. You can count the number of truly successful general strikes that were clear victories on one hand.