The efficacy of people's movements

     "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

                                                                                                                                    -Voltaire

    Throughout human history, people have voiced their dissent through mass movements which have been either violent or non-violent. One of the earliest examples of mass movements can be said to be the slave revolt organized by Spartacus against the Roman Republic. Mass movements gradually became the voice of dissent for the people against tyrannical rulers and despots. A glorious example in this regard can be the French Revolution. As the age of democracy began in the modern era, the dissent of human beings against their rulers became legitimized and peaceful mass movements became the channel for people to air their grievances against their governments. Mass movements also became the backbone of the fight against colonialism and the Indian Freedom Struggle is a glorious example of anti-colonial mass movements. An important example of mass movements in liberal democracies is the American Civil Rights Movement, a precursor to the recent Black Lives Matter movement. 

    However, we see that in the modern era, the liberalism in liberal democracies has taken a back seat with democratic rulers such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India delegitimizing protest movements and the right to freedom of expression as seen during his government's response to the protests concerning the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 or the response to the recent farmer's protests concerning the controversial farm bills. So the question remains as to the efficacy of people's movements in the 21st century? This is because the State has now mastered advanced surveillance techniques to facilitate pre-emptive detention of protestors. Also, the State through its coercive machinery has effectively rendered mass movements useless through a constant witch-hunt of activists and dissenters as seen during the arrest of the activists alleged to be behind the Bhima Koregaon Riots in India. Therefore questions continue to arise as to the effectiveness of mass movements in the age of surveillance.

    But when analyzing the effectiveness of people's movements in the 21st century, we must first ask ourselves the question, should human beings accept tyranny? Should they bow down to despots? The answer lies in the meaning of the good life as interpreted by different people. If they desire to accept despotism that is their choice, However, if they desire to live the life of their own choosing, then they will never bow down to despotism and will always fight for their liberty. As long as such people exist, mass movements will never be rendered ineffective and will always exist in human society no matter how much the state machinery conspires to eliminate them.