On the Newness of New Social Movements

In this study, new social movements are examined in comparison with old social movements. It has been argued that the novelty of new social movements stems from their responses to newly emerging social and political crises, which have changed the concept of political and the nature of social movements. The central argument is that social movements defend modern values, and there is no difference between old and new social movements regarding the values they support. However, since the new social movements are often compared to the working-class movement, the values they advocate are thought to be different. However, the working-class movement is not the sole movement in the nineteenth century, and it is possible to discuss various social movements. The new social movements emerged as reactions to representative democracy and established institutional politics. As the failures of the representative democracy are recognized, and as the scope of the political expands, new social movements have emerged to provide solutions to new problems. So, their newness is related to our contemporary conception of the political.