"However, sociologists also warn that while playful citizenship and post-modern leaderless protests give a boost to a weary political space, there is also a tendency for citizens to engage in a one-off activity, blog about it and return to the private space to pursue one’s personal project. This is one of the dangers of fluid protest actions: citizens fail to develop a shared identity which can sustain the process of social change. It is quite telling that one of the resonant ways of framing the march was in terms of protesters being taxpayers, reminiscent of a language of a market consumer demanding better services because he or she pays a fee every month. The possibility that public engagement is used to protect one’s private entitlements is somewhat concerning."
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 06:12:29 +0000