A review by ibbys
Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail by Richard Cloward, Frances Fox Piven

4.0

Both academics and activists who were involved in the organizing of the Welfare Rights Movement of the 1960s, authors Piven and Cloward talk the talk and walk the walk. Their thesis is simple: the most concessions can be won from power through spontaneous, local and direct economic disruption, rather than through building formal bureaucratic organization and lobbying in the federal government. The effectiveness of a direct local tactic lies in its ability to create local political/financial strain and transform local and state politicians into lobbyists for their demands. As their historical investigation of four major American social movements show, this is not merely an outlaw romanticism, but a material necessity if any gains are to be made. From disruption in relief offices during the Great Depression, to sit-down strikes in industrial workplaces, to strategic provocation of violence in the pacifist Civil Rights demonstrations, P&C explore the most and least effective movement strategies employed throughout the 20th century. Finally they analyze the Welfare Rights Movement's effectiveness based largely on their own direct experience and observations. Such a rigorous and important book for activists, aspiring or current.