Complexity and Social Movements: Multitudes at the Edge of Chaos ...

Notes
1 Introducing global movements
1 G.W. Bush’s assertion of the sanctity of ‘the American way of life’ and ‘America’s
economic interest’ as grounds for not ratifying the Kyoto climate change protocols
stands out as one particularly clear example of a decision embodying this ‘habit
of mind’. The need to avoid such mindsets within contemporary environmental
education is particularly important (see Orr 1994).
2 This is redolent of the notion of a ‘self’ and a ‘Self’ introduced by the deep green
philosopher Arnie Naess (1973, 1989) and performs similar work by positing
a human capacity to perceive both social and natural domains whilst recognising
the inescapable interdependence of these realms.
3 Advances in the natural sciences have subsequently highlighted the importance
of mitochondria in generating electrical impulses within organisms as they interact
with the prevailing environment. Rhythm and cadence are important elements
of musical performance in terms of energising an audience and shape pattern
recognition and valency in-utero representing perhaps the earliest form of socialisation.
Here the mother’s heart beat represent a primal metronome – a feature
of human evolution which would be removed should synthetic reproduction
become a norm.
4 Bateson’s approach to framing thus extended to a societal level through a
consideration acts of communication achieving forms of consciousness. By
contrast Goffman asserts his intention not to address social processes and
structural domains by applying frame analysis to the individual and regarding it
as a ubiquitous practice within social interaction.
5 This distinction is analogous to the one drawn by Touraine between an individual
and an actor (Touraine 1995).
6 This is particularly important as a redress to the very strong claims that have
been made within the social movement literature based entirely on the analysis
of newspaper clippings as if this represents the entirety of the movement
domain.
7 These elements of Bateson’s work represent particularly coherent expressions of
themes that later become formalised through Lyotard’s notion of the different
(Lyotard 1983), the increasing importance of autopoiesis argued by Luhman,
and the importance of aesthetics in relation to reflexive modernisation (Jowers
1994, Lash 1994, Welsh 2000).
8 Kropotkin’s emphasis on co-operation as an important evolutionary trait represents
an early ‘scientific’ formalisation of such thinking.
9 The work of the late Murray Edeleman is another significant example with his
focus on the symbolic uses of politics (1971) and the place of symbolic expression
within political language (1977). Neo-Marxist attempts to incorporate these