Organizing at the Grassroots

The grass-roots organizing of the 1970s is an ambitious and at least partially successful effort to bring working-class women and men into the political arena as organized, self-conscious actors. The organizations that provide structure and direction to this “movement” are indeed somewhat precarious, often staff-dominated, and highly dependent on immediate victories. As Michael Walzer points out, the structure of the American welfare state pushes them toward traditional interest-g...