Direct action

Direct action is a specific form of activism used to achieve social or political goals. Participants use their economic or political power to create change. They might aim to obstruct a specific law or government action. Other times, they use these methods to draw attention to a problem. This creates a dialogue to help solve perceived issues.

Direct action can be either violent or nonviolent. These actions target people, institutions, or property that participants find objectionable.

There are different ways to categorize these methods. Nonviolent direct action involves protest, noncooperation, and intervention. It avoids the use or threat of injurious force. Some people call this civil resistance or people power. In contrast, violent direct action involves physical or injurious force. This might include political violence, arson, or sabotage. There is a spectrum of how people define these terms. Some sociologists argue that property damage is not violence. However, others believe any harm to living things is violent.

Many different tactics exist within these categories. Nonviolent protesters might use sit-ins, strikes, or peaceful demonstrations. Some groups use pranks, such as throwing pies or using paint bombs. The group The Yes Men uses nonviolent pranks to make points. Some protesters dress in a "black bloc" to hide their identities. Others, like Ende Gelände, wear matching white suits. More forceful tactics include vandalism, theft, and tree spiking. Some groups even use "ecotage," which is sabotage used for environmental reasons.

History shows that the origins of this concept are difficult to pin down. The philosopher José Ortega y Gasset suggested the idea began in France around 1900. He linked it to French syndicalists and realists. The Industrial Workers of the World first used the term in 1910. They used it to describe a strike in Chicago. In 1912, Voltairine de Cleyre wrote about direct action in an essay. She used the Boston Tea Party as a historical example. She argued that these actions had historical sanction from the people.

Famous leaders have used these methods to change the world. Mahatma Gandhi used a method he called satyagraha. This involved the "removal of support" from government agencies. He targeted specific laws like the salt tax. Martin Luther King Jr. also used direct action through boycotts. He believed these methods created a necessary tension to demand a response. In 1999, activists in Seattle used these tactics to end a WTO conference early. In 2009, Greenpeace activists scaled a crane to protest climate change.

Direct action is used by many different types of groups today. Anarchists often organize almost exclusively through direct action. They do this because they reject hierarchical bureaucratic institutions. Some groups, like the Earth Liberation Front, use property destruction. They claim these acts are nonviolent because they do not harm living things. Other activists target the fossil fuel industry to stop oil drilling. Some protesters have even targeted arms factories in the United States and United Kingdom.

Using these methods often leads to the "activist's dilemma." This is a difficult choice for those trying to create change. Moderate actions are often ignored by those in power. Extreme actions might succeed in gaining immediate attention. However, extreme actions can be counterproductive. They might cause the public to think less of the protesters. In the United Kingdom, polls showed a split in opinion. Two thirds of people supported nonviolent environmental action. Yet, many believed that defacing public monuments should be a crime.