Startseite Wirtschaftswissenschaften Chapter 12 Organizing for Social Transformation from Below: Prefigurative Organizing and Civic Action
Kapitel
Lizenziert
Nicht lizenziert Erfordert eine Authentifizierung

Chapter 12 Organizing for Social Transformation from Below: Prefigurative Organizing and Civic Action

  • Simone Schiller-Merkens und Philipp Degens
Veröffentlichen auch Sie bei De Gruyter Brill
Erkunden Sie dieses Fachgebiet So veröffentlichen Sie bei uns
The Handbook of Organizing Economic, Ecological and Societal Transformation
Ein Kapitel aus dem Buch The Handbook of Organizing Economic, Ecological and Societal Transformation

Abstract

How can radical grassroots alternatives organize (for) a broader social transformation of the economy and society? In this paper, we address this question by examining two research streams that see the collective action of civil society as a core driver of processes of progressive social change: research on prefigurative organizing and civil society research. But while both bodies of literature generally embrace the transformative power of civil society, neither considers more thoroughly what it means to organize for social transformation. Building on the concept of civil society as civic action and the multi-political approach of prefigurative organizing, we show how a combination of the two allows for a more advanced understanding of social transformation from below. While the cross-sectoral notion of civic action provides a normative basis for prefiguration and underscores the relational perspective on prefiguration, the multi-political approach of prefigurative organizing highlights the organizing of social relations between a variety of actors across societal spheres. We characterize social transformation from below as a civic project of prefiguring alternatives and illustrate our conceptual considerations by turning to alternative food movements. Recent developments in both food policy councils and community-supported agriculture show how these movements seek to initiate large-scale change by forming multi-political and cross-sectoral alliances beyond their own initiatives and narrow communities.

Abstract

How can radical grassroots alternatives organize (for) a broader social transformation of the economy and society? In this paper, we address this question by examining two research streams that see the collective action of civil society as a core driver of processes of progressive social change: research on prefigurative organizing and civil society research. But while both bodies of literature generally embrace the transformative power of civil society, neither considers more thoroughly what it means to organize for social transformation. Building on the concept of civil society as civic action and the multi-political approach of prefigurative organizing, we show how a combination of the two allows for a more advanced understanding of social transformation from below. While the cross-sectoral notion of civic action provides a normative basis for prefiguration and underscores the relational perspective on prefiguration, the multi-political approach of prefigurative organizing highlights the organizing of social relations between a variety of actors across societal spheres. We characterize social transformation from below as a civic project of prefiguring alternatives and illustrate our conceptual considerations by turning to alternative food movements. Recent developments in both food policy councils and community-supported agriculture show how these movements seek to initiate large-scale change by forming multi-political and cross-sectoral alliances beyond their own initiatives and narrow communities.

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. List of Contributors IX
  4. Part One: By Way of Introduction
  5. Chapter 1 Organizing Economic, Environmental and Societal Transformation: An Introduction 1
  6. Chapter 2 Transformation: For Whom, By Whom, Where, Why and When? 27
  7. Part Two: Opening Up Futures
  8. Chapter 3 Post-anthropocentric Transformations of Consumption in the Anthropocene: Beyond the Nature-Culture Divide 49
  9. Chapter 4 ‘Organising Social Impact’ Master’s Programme as ‘Critical Praxis’ to Transform the University and Society 69
  10. Chapter 5 Futures: Necessity, Experiment and the School for Organizing 87
  11. Part Three: Techno-economic Transformations at Work
  12. Chapter 6 The Social Construction of Digital Technologies: The Politics behind Technology-centered Transformations 103
  13. Chapter 7 The Transformation of Work in the Digital Age: Coworking Spaces as Community-Based Models of Work Organization 125
  14. Chapter 8 Organizing Around Affect: Control and Potentiality in Contemporary Capitalism 145
  15. Part Four: Sustainable Environmental Transformation
  16. Chapter 9 Systemic Risks and Organizational Challenges in Transformative Processes: ‘Cybersecurity’ in the Food Field 165
  17. Chapter 10 Uniting the Means and Ends of Degrowth Transformation 189
  18. Chapter 11 Economic Organizations and the Transformation Towards Degrowth 209
  19. Part Five: Radical Democratic Futures
  20. Chapter 12 Organizing for Social Transformation from Below: Prefigurative Organizing and Civic Action 235
  21. Chapter 13 From Stakeholders to Communities of Care 257
  22. Chapter 14 The Possibilities of Radical Democratic Management 275
  23. Chapter 15 Searching for Transformative Potential: Comparing Conceptualizations of Open, Inclusive and Alternative Organizations 295
  24. Index 315
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110986945-012

Kapitel in diesem Buch

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. List of Contributors IX
  4. Part One: By Way of Introduction
  5. Chapter 1 Organizing Economic, Environmental and Societal Transformation: An Introduction 1
  6. Chapter 2 Transformation: For Whom, By Whom, Where, Why and When? 27
  7. Part Two: Opening Up Futures
  8. Chapter 3 Post-anthropocentric Transformations of Consumption in the Anthropocene: Beyond the Nature-Culture Divide 49
  9. Chapter 4 ‘Organising Social Impact’ Master’s Programme as ‘Critical Praxis’ to Transform the University and Society 69
  10. Chapter 5 Futures: Necessity, Experiment and the School for Organizing 87
  11. Part Three: Techno-economic Transformations at Work
  12. Chapter 6 The Social Construction of Digital Technologies: The Politics behind Technology-centered Transformations 103
  13. Chapter 7 The Transformation of Work in the Digital Age: Coworking Spaces as Community-Based Models of Work Organization 125
  14. Chapter 8 Organizing Around Affect: Control and Potentiality in Contemporary Capitalism 145
  15. Part Four: Sustainable Environmental Transformation
  16. Chapter 9 Systemic Risks and Organizational Challenges in Transformative Processes: ‘Cybersecurity’ in the Food Field 165
  17. Chapter 10 Uniting the Means and Ends of Degrowth Transformation 189
  18. Chapter 11 Economic Organizations and the Transformation Towards Degrowth 209
  19. Part Five: Radical Democratic Futures
  20. Chapter 12 Organizing for Social Transformation from Below: Prefigurative Organizing and Civic Action 235
  21. Chapter 13 From Stakeholders to Communities of Care 257
  22. Chapter 14 The Possibilities of Radical Democratic Management 275
  23. Chapter 15 Searching for Transformative Potential: Comparing Conceptualizations of Open, Inclusive and Alternative Organizations 295
  24. Index 315
Jetzt anmelden und 20% sparen
Institutioneller Zugang
Wie funktioniert Authentifizierung?
Haben Sie eine Idee, wie wir unsere Website verbessern können?
Bitte schreiben Sie uns.
© 2026 De Gruyter Brill
Heruntergeladen am 22.1.2026 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110986945-012/html
Button zum nach oben scrollen