Scaling-up Everyday Politics: Dilemmas in Advancing Prefiguration and Policy Change

Whether called prefigurative politics, political consumerism or lifestyle politics, everyday practices as means to social change are increasingly recognized as important outcomes of social movements. However, their emergence has also triggered critical debates. Precisely because of their small-scale and particularistic nature, observers question the democratic potential of movement activism that caters mainly the (often privileged) actors that are directly involved, and many doubt whether such small-scale actions have the potential of fostering broader social change at all (Micheletti & Stolle, 2013). Based on such critical reflections, there is growing interest in the conditions under which prefigurative strategies can ‘scale-up’ in order to advance broader social change, e.g. by triggering large, government or company supported projects, or by influencing public or corporate policy (Smith et al., 2016). To scale-up or not to scale-up is however not a straightforward strategic decision. What makes this question particularly challenging is the fact that the narrative, identity and traditions of groups engaged in prefigurative strategies are often at odds with government- and company-oriented strategies (Seyfang, 2009). For instance, prefigurative strategies are often operated by disillusioned groups who wish to foster social change while avoiding interacting with institutions. Thus, while many groups recognize the importance of scaling-up, doing so can present them with fundamental dilemmas that present contradictions between different types of strategies and movement goals. Drawing on a case study of environmental movement organizations in Greater Manchester, this paper explores the role of ‘scaling-up’ in prefigurative repertoires. In so doing, we aim to increase our understanding of the possible contradictions between advancing different types of movement outcomes, and we aim to identify conditions that allow social movements to overcome those dilemmas.