Ch 13 - Technology, the Environment, and Social Movements Flashcards
normal accident
an accident that occurs inevitably although unpredictably because of the complexity of modern technologies
risk society
a society in which technology distributes environmental dangers among all categories of the population, although to varying degrees
technological determinism
the belief that technology is the main factor shaping human history
environmental racism
the tendency to heap environmental dangers on the disadvantaged, and especially on disadvantaged racial minorities
collective action
occurs when people act in unison to bring about or resist social, political, or economic change
social movement
a collective attempt to change all or part of a political or social order by means of rioting, petitioning, striking, demonstrating, and/or establishing pressure groups, unions, and political parties
relative deprivation
an intolerable gap between the social rewards people receive and the social rewards they expect to receive
breakdown theory
suggests that social movements emerge when traditional norms and patterns of social
solidarity theory
holds that social movements are social organizations that emerge when potential members can mobilize resources, take advantage of new political opportunities, and avoid high levels of social control by authorities
resource mobilization
the process by which social movements crystallize because of the increasing organizational, material, and other resources of movement members
political opportunities
chances for collective action and social movement growth that occur during election campaigns, when influential allies offer support to insurgents, when ruling political alignments become unstable, and when elite groups become divided and conflict with one another
frame alignment
the process by which individual interests, beliefs, and values become congruent and complementary with the activities, goals, and ideology of a social movement
