Utopian Aspects of Social Movements in Postmodern Times: Some Examples of DIY Politics in the Netherlands
Author(s)
Poldervaart, Saskia
Abstract
The aim of this article is threefold. In the first place, the author shows that the idea that nothing is happening is connected with the dominant (modernist) theoretical approach to social movements. Political scientists and left-wing politicians characterise social movements as ones that make demands on the political system; they study these movements by counting how often their actions are mentioned in the media. However, what happens if people who are politically involved have an aversion to the political system and have stopped trusting the media? What if the media are simply not interested in their ideas and activities and consequently do not mention them? In the second place, by giving some examples of Dutch contemporary political protest groups and their international connections, the author demonstrates that, in fact, much political activity is taking place in the Netherlands. Since the 1990s, this type of politics have often been referred to as DiY: Do-it-Yourself, or ‘We-do-it-Ourselves’. Lastly, the author discusses these protest groups in the context of two theoretical discussions: a) postmodernism and the similarities and differences between the 1960s and 1990s; b) utopianism and its relationship with postmodernism, as expressed in DiY politics.
