Revolution and Devolution

Type:

Book Chapter

Author:

Sophie Scott-Brown

Published:

2025

Publisher:

Oxford University PressOxford

Abstract Confronting power while learning to live without it was difficult. In the late 1950s, the Direct Action Committee found itself torn between the demands of organizing protests and those of promoting a participatory culture. This became more challenging when they began incorporating civil disobedience in their campaigns. Nevertheless, what experience taught them was that no opportunity should be wasted. In the weeks leading up to pickets at the North Pickenham base just outside of Swaffham, Norfolk, the team spent weeks in the local area speaking with local businesses, union representatives, and residents. This was to drum up support for their campaign, but it was also to spread the idea that deciding the future of community life in a democracy was a collective responsibility. The group also worked on improving the experience of the volunteers who joined them by offering training in organization and leadership. Their success here outweighed their actual campaign efforts. In fact, they were too successful, as the sixties dawned they found themselves facing their own redundancy.

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