Movement for a New Society: Training, vision, strategy more

The Movement for a New Society (MNS 1971-1988), was a global training and action network of groups, whose mission was to “spread the tools and consciousness of nonviolent social change.” MNS members, who continue to function as an activist support network, developed a three-pronged approach to social change:

• ANALYSIS: A critical and comprehensive
  assessment of the society and problems
• VISION: A detailed aspirational conception of a just,
  democratic, decentralized, and caring social order
• STRATEGY: Identifying goals, objectives, methods and
  effective tactics to win nonviolent revolutionary change

Their rapid and intensive development, implementation, and spread of these across North America and to every other continent, in addition to programs aimed at changing values and lives, earned MNS a reputation for proven effectiveness and a track record of successful accomplishment on many progressive goals.

See also:

• Bill Moyer’s final training video,
• Ukraine and Nonviolent Resistance
• MNSers perform “Rainstorm,” a 2-min.
  “light-and-lively” (or ice-breaker)
  
• And scores of most recommended resources
  at the MNS 50th Anniversary Reunion page

MNS was founded in 1971 in Philadelphia by leaders of A Quaker Action Group, former staff of the American Friends Service Committee, and secular activist pioneers and veterans of the Civil Rights, peace, anti-war, anti-nuclear, and environmental movements. Prominent among these founders, who were prolific organizers, strategists and authors, were: George Lakey, Bill Moyer, Richard and Phyllis Taylor, Lynne Shivers, Larry Scott, Lillian and George Willoughby, and others.

MNS members functioned via a network of “collectives” and founded, led and/or developed numerous other efforts and organizations addressing many timely political concerns. Among these were: Keystone Safe Energy Alliance, Pennsylvania Jobs with Peace, New Society Publishers, Common Courage Press, Community Printing, Peace Brigades International, and many others. After disbanding in 1988, leaders promptly founded and led or co-led numerous new organizations: Training for Change, United for a Fair Economy, Beautiful Trouble, and Earth Quaker Action Team; plus a host of local and regional campaigns, projects and actions. (Find more at ActivistTraining.org.)

MNS alums now, as then, continue to experiment with simple living, community and personal growth, drawing on feminist, anti-racist, anti-classist, and Quaker values, testimonies, and processes. They established “Life Centers” (also serving as activist training centers) in Philadelphia and other cities, whose residents set up or nurtured local co-ops, community organizations and coalitions of many stripes.

Beyond these, MNSers’ pioneering application and promotion of new shared leadership models, open and quick decision-making, effective meeting facilitation, “macro-analysis seminars,” and other inclusive group processes, continue to inspire and guide a wide range of progressive campaigns and organizations from the 1970s through the present. The global anti-nuclear power/renewable energy movement is a prime example in which MNS trainers, facilitators, strategy, and processes, such as quick decision-making in affinity groups, were indispensable. The best known historic example was in the highly successful, massive nonviolent civil disobedience actions by New England’s Clamshell Alliance to stop construction of a reactor at Seabrook, NH. Fifty MNS members and trainers were among 1414 activists arrested “occupying” that site on May 1, 1977, most of whom spent the next two weeks “jailed” in five New Hampshire National Guard armories until the state released, then dropped charges on them all!

Subsequent movements continue to utilize and benefit from its many influences — from those opposing war, discrimination and exploitative corporate global trade, such as Occupy, to today’s transnational, national and local racial and gender equity, climate, peace, justice, labor and human rights campaigns — and affinity groups such as Earth Quaker Action Team.

Movement for a New Society: Training, vision, strategy more. Find key MNS documents in Swarthmore Library Peace Collection.
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FOR MORE:

• Visit links in the Header above and Footer below
  
• Find key resources at ActivistTraining.org
• READ the MNS entry at Wikipedia.org
• For a critique of MNS and why it disbanded, read
  “Oppose and Propose: Lessons from MNS” (90 pages).