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The 4 Essentials for Social Movements (Yeselsin)

In an article by Ezra Klein on the Washington Post website, Rich Yeselson, a research coordinator at Change to Win responds to the Occupy Wall Street movement which has sprung up in other cities including Austin (see above). Yeselson offers this advice for social movements:

“Whether they will grow larger and sustain themselves beyond these initial street actions will depend upon four things:

  • the work of skilled organizers
  • the success of those organizers in getting people, once these events end, to meet over and over and over again
  • whether or not the movement can promote public policy solutions that are organically linked to the quotidian lives of its supporters
  • the ability of liberalism’s infrastructure of intellectuals, writers, artists and professionals to expend an enormous amount of their cultural capital in support of the movement.”

What do you think of his advice? How can church leaders apply this to our efforts to bring positive change and hope to others? Are there other essentials for extending the influence of a social movement?