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79 (Melucci 1989, 77-78)
(Melucci 1989, 77-78)
Under these circumstances, not only the movements but power itself ceases to be a ’character’. Power is transformed into a set of signs which are frequently concealed, interwoven with procedures, or crystallized in the patterns of mass consumption of an expanding media market. In complex systems, no one appears to be responsible for the goals of social life. Hence, one of the fundamental roles of collective action is precisely that of rendering explicit these ends by creating public spaces in which power becomes visible. Power which is recognizable is also negotiable, since it can be confronted, and because it is forced to take differences into account. Collective action makes possible the negotiation and establishment of public agreements which, although increasingly transitory, nevertheless serve as a condition of a political democracy capable of protecting the community against the increasing risks of an arbitrary exercise of power or violence .... Since power is neutralized behind the formal rationality of procedures, it cannot be controlled unless it is rendered visible. However, in complex systems the available spaces for reaching agreements are limited and temporarv. They have to be redefined continually and rapidly, because the differences change, the conflicts shift, the agreements cease to satisfy and because new forms of domination are constantly emerging.
But in what sense can we still speak of change? Collective action produces two types of change. There is, first, a molecular change which is cultural in the anthropological sense: an alteration of daily life, of ways of living and forms of social and personal relationships. Second, there are the effects on the institutions and political systems (Tarrow, 1986). If in the 1960s collective action accelerated the advent of post-industrial capitalism (Tarrow, 1984), in the 1970s it encouraged an overhaul of the ideas and personnel of political organizations and the market. There is no doubt that the movement areas of the 1980s have been responsible for the alteration of public attitudes and the greater acceptance of difference. The private radio stations, for instance, have established a style in radio broadcasting, and have created a generation of professional figures (who subjectively see themselves as belonging to the movement, but who in reality are professional communicators with innovative market-orientated roles). [Melucci, Alberto. 1989. Nomads of the Present. London: Hutchinson Radius.]
